Description
This traditional milk tea recipe can be enjoyed iced or hot. It has a strong tea flavor thanks to the unique brewing process.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 cups water
- 6 black tea bags (or 6 tsp of loose-leaf black tea)
- 1/2 cup quick-cooking tapioca pearls
- 1 cup dark brown sugar plus 1 cup of hot water
- 4 tbsp heavy cream (or creamer)
- 1 cup milk (whole milk or almond milk)
- 1 pinch of salt
- ice cubes
Instructions
- Cook the tapioca pearls according to the package instructions. Drain, rinse briefly with cold water, and return them to the saucepan (with no heat).
- Cover the pearls with brown sugar and 1 cup of hot water. Stir.
- Allow the tapioca pearls to soak in the brown sugar syrup for 30 minutes.
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, turn the heat low, and add the tea bags or leaves.
- Cook for 1 minute, then add the milk and the pinch of salt.
- Stir constantly for 1 more minute. Then, remove the tea bags or leaves and set the tea aside to cool to room temperature.
- To assemble the boba drink, divide the tapioca pearls between your serving glasses. Reserve the brown sugar syrup.
- Top with a large handful of ice.
- Add the heavy cream and drizzle in a spoonful or two of the reserved brown sugar syrup.
- Slowly pour 1/2 of the milk tea into each glass.
- Add a boba straw, and enjoy!
Notes
- Brew the tea in a saucepan, so you have room to add the milk. Adding the milk while the tea is brewing helps combine the flavors, creating a more robustly flavored milk tea.
- Instead of brewing a little bit of tea for a long time, you brew lots of tea for a short time. This creates an intensely-flavored milk tea.
- You can use different sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, or agave. Each will add a unique taste.
- Don’t add ice cubes to the brewed tea to cool it faster—you’ll dilute it, and the finished milk tea will be watery.
- If you prefer hot milk tea, still allow the tapioca pearls to cool and soak but combine the ingredients while the tea and milk are still hot, and do not add ice.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes