Bubble Tea Drink (Boba Milk Tea)

Course: Afternoon, Breakfast, Snacks, Tea / coffee break

Cuisine: Asian, East Asian, Taiwan

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 25

Inactive cooling time (overnight): 8

Total Time: 8 55

Servings: Drinks

Calories: 314kcal

Author: Dini Kodippili

Learn how to make refreshing bubble tea at home. Delicious milk tea, perfectly sweetened, and with chewy, soft boba pearls. Bubble milk tea is the perfect summer drink!

EASY - This recipe is very easy to make. Good, strong black tea makes the difference in flavor. You can use store-bought quick cook boba pearls to make this recipe even easier and quicker.

US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions.

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Ingredients

Hot brewed tea

720 mL water 3 cups
24 g black tea 5 tbsp large loose tea (Or 12 tea bags)

Cold brewed tea

720 mL water 3 cups, at room temperature (preferably filtered)
36 g black tea 7 tbsp large loose tea (Or 18 tea bags)

Boba pearls

1 cup easy cook boba pearls Or 1 ¼ cups for generous servings (You can also make homemade boba pearls if you like)

Sugar syrup

150 g brown sugar ¾ cup (Or white sugar)
60 mL water ¼ cup

To serve

960 mL whole milk 4 cups (Or plant based milk)
Ice Optional (as needed)

Instructions

Hot brewed tea

Place the water in a saucepan and bring it to a boil with the lid on. Once it comes to a boil, turn off the heat, or lower to a simmer.
720 mL water
Add the tea leaves (or tea bags). Let the tea steep in the hot water for about 10 - 15 minutes. OR let the tea gently simmer (with the lid on) for 10 - 15 minutes. Stir the tea leaves to ensure that the tea absorbs the water to properly infuse. (See notes)
24 g black tea
Strain the tea leaves. Gently apply a little pressure to remove some of the liquid in the tea leaves, but don't squeeze too much. You should have about 2 - 2¼ cups of strongly brewed tea. Please taste the tea at this stage as it should taste very strong, with extremely strong tannin flavor.
Place the tea in the fridge to cool down. It will get cloudy as it cools down because of the high tannins in the strong tea.

Cold brew tea

Place the tea leaves in a French press.
36 g black tea
Pour the room temperature water into the French press and stir the leaves to make sure they are saturated with water.
720 mL water
Press the French press plunger until the tea leaves are just below the surface of the water, so that they remain submerged in the water.
Let the tea leaves steep for 12 hours at room temperature. Strain the tea leaves, and place the tea in the fridge to cool down.

Boba pearls

If you’re using homemade boba pearls, follow my recipe on how to make boba pearls to cook them.
1 cup easy cook boba pearls
If you’re using quick cook boba pearls, follow the directions on the package to cook the boba pearls.
When the boba pearls have been cooked, remove the pearls from the water and place them in a bowl with some of the cooking water (to prevent the boba pearls from sticking together).

Sugar syrup

Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and stir to combine. Heat over medium heat while stirring to melt all of the sugar.
150 g brown sugar, 60 mL water
Let the syrup come to a boil. Cook for a further 2 - 3 minutes, until the syrup has thickened up slightly.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the boba pearls from the cooking water, and add the warm boba pearls into the sugar syrup and stir to ensure the pearls are not sticking together. Simmer for a further 1 - 2 minutes IF NEEDED to get a syrup-like consistency.
Use the pearls while they are slightly warm.

To serve

In a glass (11 - 12 oz), place ¼ cup of tapioca pearls, along with some of the sugar syrup.
Pour about ½ cup of brewed tea per drink. The tea should be chilled or at least at room temperature (if you’re adding ice).
Add ice, and then add 1 cup of milk per drink. Stir to combine. Taste and add more sugar syrup if you'd like the drink sweeter.
960 mL whole milk, Ice

Notes

Notes on seeping tea

The strength of the tea base will only be as good (and strong) as the type of tea that was used. Unfortunately, this can vary the results that you get depending on which brand / type of tea you use.

Please taste the tea to make sure it is very strong. If it isn't, then let it steep longer. If you steeped the tea for 30 minutes and it's still not strong, I would reocmmend using a different type of tea.

These adaptations will need to be done if the tea that you used is different from what I generally use as tea quality can vary.

Note on chilling the tea

If you're making hot brewed tea, and you'd like to enjoy the tea ASAP, you can keep the container with the tea in the freezer, or in an ice bath.

You can also shake the tea in a cocktail shaker with some ice to cool it down more rapidly. However, the more ice you use, the more diluted the tea flavor will be.

See the post for more recipe tips and different bubble tea flavors.

Nutrition