Bubble tea is a tea-based beverage studded with chewy tapioca pearls, often called boba or boba milk tea. Once only found at tea shops, it’s easy to make at home with this straightforward recipe.
Table of contents
- 🔑 Key to Success #1 – Make the Tea Extra Stout
- 🔑 Key to Success #2 – Cook the Boba Tapioca Pearls
- 🔑 Key to Success #3 – Assemble the Drinks
- đź“Ś Get the Printable Recipe for Bubble Tea
Tapioca pearls themselves have little flavor; their appeal is the pleasantly chewy texture they add. Bubble tea is typically served with a wide straw so the pearls can be sipped easily. Here, we serve ours in mason jars with a wide smoothie straw for a casual, drinkable presentation.
🔑 Key to Success #1 – Make the Tea Extra Stout
I prefer English Breakfast for this recipe because it gives a robust flavor without excessive bitterness. Because you’ll be diluting the tea with milk and ice, brew it stronger than usual by steeping a bit longer.
Taste the tea as it steeps and remove the bags when the strength suits you—steeping longer yields a bolder finished drink, while removing bags earlier produces a milder cup.
🔑 Key to Success #2 – Cook the Boba Tapioca Pearls
Tapioca pearls can be found in the Asian aisle of many supermarkets or ordered online. They arrive dry and must be cooked to soften. A good guideline is about 3 cups of water for every 1/2 cup of dry pearls.
Bring the water to a boil, add the pearls, and stir until they float. Reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes, then test for doneness—cook a bit longer if you prefer softer pearls. Use them soon after cooking for the best texture.
If preparing in advance, store cooked pearls in simple syrup or sugar water to prevent them from drying out. If pearls firm up later, a quick 1-minute microwave with a little liquid can help soften them again.
🔑 Key to Success #3 – Assemble the Drinks
We like to assemble bubble tea in mason jars with wide straws. Start by pouring 1 cup of brewed tea into each jar. Divide the tapioca pearls between the jars and add a few ice cubes.
Customize each serving by adding 1–2 tablespoons of your preferred milk—whole, low-fat, almond, oat, or even sweetened condensed milk all work—and 1–2 tablespoons of sweetener to taste. Simple syrup blends easily, but honey, monk fruit sweetener, or granulated sugar are fine alternatives.
Stir gently, insert a wide straw, and enjoy.
đź“Ś Get the Printable Recipe for Bubble Tea
Save this bubble tea recipe to your favorite recipe collection. Below is the complete printable recipe and detailed instructions so you can make two servings at home.
Bubble Tea
Ingredients
- 4 bags black tea, such as English Breakfast
- 5 cups water, divided
- ½ cup tapioca pearls
- milk, any variety
- sweetener, simple syrup, honey, or your choice
For the Simple Syrup
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
Directions
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Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add tea bags and steep 15–30 minutes, then remove tea bags.
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Make simple syrup: combine ½ cup water and ½ cup sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until sugar dissolves, then cool.
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In a clean saucepan, bring 3 cups water to a boil. Add tapioca pearls and stir until they float. Reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes, or until soft to your preference.
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Remove pearls with a slotted spoon. If not using immediately, cover the pearls with simple syrup to keep them soft.
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Assemble: pour 1 cup tea into each glass, divide tapioca pearls, add ice, 1–2 tablespoons milk, and 1–2 tablespoons simple syrup or preferred sweetener to taste. Serve with a wide straw.
Notes
- Use any black tea you like; green tea also works. Adjust steeping time to control flavor intensity.
- Simple syrup can be made with white or brown sugar, or a mix of both for a different flavor profile.
- Cooking tapioca pearls is like cooking pasta: simmer longer for softer pearls or less for chewier texture.
- Cooked pearls dry out and will harden if left uncovered—store them in liquid if keeping longer than a few hours.
- If pearls firm up, heat briefly with a little liquid and stir until softened.
Equipment
- Saucepan for boiling tapioca pearls
- Small saucepan for simple syrup
- Wide straws or smoothie straws
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 112 kcal
Leave a comment or rating and share any substitutions or tips—it helps others and lets me know how it turned out for you.
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