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The Flavor Bender Recipes Courses Beverages Ube Milk Tea (Ube Bubble Tea)

Ube Milk Tea (Ube Bubble Tea)

45 mins
Easy
Beverages
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10.6K shares

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Author: Dini K.
Posted: 7/14/2020
Updated: 7/14/2020

Ube milk tea is a creamy, refreshing and indulgent drink, that is perfect for summer! Made even more impressive by the vibrant purple color. You can easily adapt this recipe to make fresh taro milk tea as well!

Ube milk tea is a creamy and refreshing summer drink!

As a follow up to my ube halaya and ube ice cream, I’ve got another delicious ube recipe for you guys today! I can honestly say we can’t have enough of ube desserts these days. That uniquely creamy texture and flavor make for a one of a kind dessert.

Last few days (weeks, really) have been surprisingly hot and humid here in Ottawa. Luckily we have had the perfect antidote; a big, cold glass of this Ube Milk Tea (and Ube Bubble Tea)!

Bubble tea is what hot summers are for, and I guarantee this gorgeous ube milk tea will be nothing short of a revelation! 🙂

Since this has become our drink of choice this summer, it was only fair that I shared the recipe with you guys.

An image of glasses of ube milk with boba straws on a table top.

Ways to make ube milk tea

There are a few different ways to make ube milk tea.

  1. Blending milk with mashed, fresh ube and sugar.
  2. Mixing milk with ube powder – I personally don’t like this option because ube powder doesn’t have the same flavor as fresh ube, and most ube powder mixes are too sweet for my liking.
  3. Blending milk with ube halaya.
  4. Adding ube extract to milk. This is the easiest option, and the most colorful!
  5. Substituting some of the milk for green tea.
  6. A combination of some of these options.

I personally prefer to make a “cheat’s ube halaya” that is not as thick as regular ube halaya, and then add some ube extract to this mixture as well. The benefits of my method of making ube milk tea this way are that;

  • I can make a big batch of it, and keep it in the fridge for up to 5 – 7 days.
  • I can take a portion of it and make ube bubble milk tea whenever I want.
  • Adds the creaminess you get from fresh ube, but also adds more color and flavor from the ube extract for a truly impressive drink!
  • Since I make this base with coconut milk, it combines the traditional ube halaya flavor with a delicious coconut milk flavor.
The ube base mixed with milk and placed in a glass jar for storage
The ube halaya base to make ube milk tea

How to make the ube base for ube milk tea

This base is super easy to make. I make it with frozen and grated ube, but you can also make it fresh ube that has been steamed.

Frozen ube in a packet

Ube is cooked in coconut milk and sugar until you get a really thick base.

Then you add more milk or coconut milk to turn the mixture into a runny paste. The base is now ready.

The ube base is made sweeter than ube halaya, so that when it’s mixed with milk to make ube milk tea, the sweetness is well balanced.

However, you can adjust the sweetness to your liking too. This can be done by reducing the sugar added to the base, and then add as much sweetener as you want when you make the milk tea.

Ube, sugar and coconut milk in a saucepan before cooking
The ube base cooked in the saucepan with a thick consistency

How to make ube milk tea

Making ube milk tea is as easy as adding the paste to milk and blending it. I like to use my stick blender because I make 1 – 2 servings at a time.

If you wanted to add more sugar, I recommend adding honey since it will dissolve more easily in the milk.

I also like to streak the glass with a bit of the paste to create gorgeous purple swirls when I prepare my ube boba milk tea drinks (see pictures in the post).

A serving glass smeared with the ube halaya base to create purple streaks on the inside
Pouring the blended ube milk into ube swirled glasses

Can I add boba pearls?

Of course! In fact, I insist that you add boba pearls to make ube bubble tea! 🙂 If you have homemade boba pearls, you can make them fresh ahead of time (or make enough for two days, and reheat them on the second day).

You can also buy quick cook boba pearls that take at most 5 minutes to cook in boiling water. This is the faster and more convenient option, but I do prefer the taste and texture of fresh boba pearls.

And if you’re feeling indulgent, you can even top it with a scoop of ube ice cream!

Freshly made boba pearls in a jar with honey
A scoop of ube ice cream on top the ice cream container

Can I substitute the ube?

Absolutely!

You can make purple sweet potato milk tea (or purple sweet potato bubble tea) by using steamed purple sweet potatoes instead of ube.

You can also make taro milk tea (or taro bubble tea), by substituting the ube with steamed taro.

Ube bubble tea with purple ube swirls

If you like this recipe, you may also like,

Ube halaya

Ube ice cream

Bubble milk Tea

Brown sugar boba milk

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5 from 3 votes

Ube milk tea (Ube bubble tea)

Author: Dini K.
Yield: Ube base will make enough for 8 - 10 drinks.
Cuisine: East Asian, Filipino
Sweet, creamy and vibrant, this Ube Milk Tea is a refreshing drink, perfect for summer! Add tapioca pearls to make delicious Ube Bubble Tea!
EASY - This recipe is easy to make. However you do require a specialty ingredient - Ube and ube extract which can be found in Asian stores (or Filipino stores)
Prep: 15 minutes minutes
cool down: 1 hour hour
Cook: 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 2 drinks
Print Rate

Ingredients:

Ube base (makes enough for 8 – 10 drinks)

  • 226 g frozen ube, thawed 1/2 packet, frozen ube
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp ube extract
  • ½ - 1 cup milk or evaporated milk

Ube milk tea (for two drinks)

  • ½ cup quick cook tapioca pearls or homemade tapioca pearls
  • ½ cup of the ube base
  • 2 cups of chilled milk you can also use a plant-based milk
  • A few ice cubes
  • Honey optional

Instructions:

Ube base

  • Place all the ingredients (except for the ube extract and evaporated milk) in a saucepan.
  • Cook the mixture while stirring frequently, and bring it to a boil.
  • Continue to stir more frequently while cooking, until the mixture becomes thick. The consistency at this stage should be such that when you stir it with a spatula, it should leave a trail in the mixture. Stir in the ube extract at this point.
  • Add about ½ cup of evaporated milk to get the mixture to a thick but pourable consistency. Add more if needed. Heat through for 1 – 2 minutes.
  • Place the ube base in a jar and store in the fridge for up to 4 – 5 days.

To make ube milk tea

  • First, cook the tapioca pearls according to package instructions. If you'd like to make my homemade boba pearls instead, cook them according to the recipe here.
  • Let the cooked boba pearls soak in cold water (just for a few minutes) until you get the drink ready. Alternatively, mix the drained tapioca pearls with some honey to keep them from sticking to each other.
  • Place the ube base in a blender, along with the ice and milk. Blend until the mixture is smooth and the base has mixed in well.
  • Add honey if you like your drink to be sweeter.
  • Divide the tapioca pearls into two glasses (at least 10 oz capacity).
  • Optional - Create some purple streaks with the ube base along the wall of the glass (see pictures in the post). If the ube base is too thick the following day, take a small portion of it and heat it gently in the microwave to make it more spreadable.
  • Pour the ube milk into the two glasses and serve with boba straws.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1glassCalories: 320kcal (16%)Carbohydrates: 41g (14%)Protein: 9g (18%)Fat: 14g (22%)Saturated Fat: 10g (63%)Cholesterol: 26mg (9%)Sodium: 128mg (6%)Potassium: 477mg (14%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 23g (26%)Vitamin A: 3658IU (73%)Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)Calcium: 300mg (30%)Iron: 1mg (6%)

“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”

Course:Breakfast, Desserts, Snacks, Tea / coffee break
Cuisine:East Asian, Filipino
Keyword:Bubble Tea, Milk Tea, Milkshakes, Purple Sweet potatoes, Sweet Potato, Ube recipes
Did you make this?Tag me on Instagram!I love seeing what you’ve made! Tag me on Instagram at @TheFlavorBender or leave me a comment & rating below.

More Recipes You'll Love...

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  • Ube Ice Cream (Purple Yam Ice Cream)
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  1. Mochi says

    September 11, 2022 at 11:55

    5 stars
    Super easy and delicious, and everyone who tried it when I made it loved it!

    First time working with real ube (though I’m obsessed with the flavor) and I was surprised how easy it was!

    Reply
  2. Ruth says

    June 20, 2022 at 21:41

    This looks amazing! Have you made large batches before? I’m wanting to make it for my brothers wedding and store in those large drink dispensers.

    Reply
    • Dini says

      June 21, 2022 at 12:09

      Hi Ruth
      Unfortunately I haven’t made it in huge batches before.
      It is possible though. You can even buy powdered taro to make it easier to make this drink in large batches if you like.
      However the boba pearls will be the deciding factor. Boba pearls harden the longer they stay in cold drinks, so they much be served fresh.
      I hope that helps.

      Reply
  3. Hayden says

    March 5, 2022 at 04:54

    Love the recipe.
    Which ube brand is this as I’m looking to buy ube powder . Any suggestions you have?

    Reply
    • Dini says

      March 7, 2022 at 10:57

      Hi Hayden
      I don’t use ube powder for this as I don’t like the powder option. As per my recipe I make an ube base, that is more like a paste or spread to make the drink.
      I hope that helps

      Reply
    • Helen S. says

      August 13, 2022 at 04:40

      You can definitely use Ube powder to make it. My fav is called Giron. To me that’s the best but a little pricey. You can also make the tapioca pearls ahead of time and freeze it. When you need it just boil the pearls again.

      Reply
  4. aish says

    July 10, 2021 at 15:46

    Update: Just tried it and it’s so bomb!! I excluded evaporated milk completely (didn’t have it) and added a little less honey which did end up still being sweetish … I didn’t have any extracts…just added a lil cardamom powder instead. So good!

    Reply
  5. aish says

    July 10, 2021 at 15:44

    5 stars
    Thanks a million x over! Third culture kid here & over-the-moon to have found you blog. Can’t wait to try this!

    Reply
  6. Jessica says

    May 21, 2021 at 19:32

    I love ube milk drink this recipe is wonderful I have to try this thanks

    Reply
  7. charlie pendang says

    August 6, 2020 at 17:47

    5 stars
    love it!!!

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Dini, a third culture kid by upbringing and a food-geek by nature. I was born in Sri Lanka, grew up in New Zealand and lived in Australia, and then the US, before moving to Canada in 2019! My food is a reflection of those amazing experiences!

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