Create rich and silky bubble tea at home using this recipe to recreate the drink that you love from bubble tea shops. {Vegetarian, Gluten-Free}
I absolutely love bubble tea (or sometimes called boba tea). Strong black tea becomes a creamy and sweet indulgence with the addition of milk and brown sugar syrup. And then those tapioca balls at the bottom give it contrast with a nice, chewy texture.
In Asia, bubble tea cafes are everywhere. They’re on every corner, and I’m starting to see more of them take over the scene here in the U.S. I think it’s wonderful that it’s becoming so popular here. But what you didn’t know about this sublime tea drink is that it’s easy to make at home!
Ingredients
Tapioca pearls
The “boba” that’s used in bubble tea are black tapioca pearls made from tapioca starch. Some of the fancier tea shops use fresh, scratch-made tapioca pearls. But more often than not, the shops use the packaged dried type. That’s the type you would use at home as well.
There are both regular and instant varieties of tapioca pearls. I highly recommend the instant type because they take much less time to prepare and taste just as good. I love to use the tapioca pearls from WuFuYuan. They take 5 minutes to get ready, and have a nice chewy texture like the ones from a tea shop.
Start by shopping at an Asian market, where you are sure to find the tapioca pearls. But these days you can easily shop for them online as well.
What type of tea to use
There are many ways to prepare bubble tea using different types of tea, or even fruit juice.
The original bubble tea always uses black tea. When I want to make a non-caffeinated drink at home, I love to use Rooibos tea, which is a special type of red tea. It creates a very rounded drink with a very rich flavor. These days matcha bubble tea is super popular and I have a recipe for that as well.
You can either use tea bags or loose leaf tea.
Sweeteners
My favorite sweetener for bubble tea is brown sugar syrup. You will use it to marinate the tapioca pearls and infuse the drink.
Alternatively, maple syrup is also a great option.
Milk
My favorite type of milk to use in bubble tea is Oatly Full Fat oat milk. Because it has a hint of sweetness and the texture is very silky. Soy milk, almond milk, or dairy full fat milk are also good options.
How to make bubble tea
- Cook the tapioca pearls
- Marinate the tapioca pearls in syrup
- Brew a very strong tea
- Add the tapioca pearls and syrup into a glass
- Pour in the brewed tea
- Finish it up with milk
That’s it! It’s super easy to make a great tasting bubble tea at home if you follow the tips below.
The tips of making great bubble tea
Brew a very strong tea
It’s important to brew a strong tea with less water than you would when making regular tea. In the past I liked to brew strong-ish tea and use heavy cream to create the silky texture. Now I prefer to use even less water to brew the tea, so I can use regular milk and still have a very rich texture.
Do not make the tapioca pearls too early
The instant type of tapioca pearls can hold its texture at room temperature for a couple of hours. They will gradually get tougher as time passes by. I highly recommend cooking them not too long before serving them, to preserve the nice texture.
Marinate the tapioca pearls before serving
If you order from a bubble tea shop, you’ll notice the tapioca pearls taste sweet. Some tapioca pearls are made with sugar already, but most do not have a sweet taste by themselves. It’s important to marinate them in the syrup so your drink will taste more authentic.
That’s all you need to know to make great tasting bubble tea at home.
Enjoy it hot on a wintery day, or add some ice cubes and serve it cold. You can also simply enjoy the bliss of bubble tea at room temperature if you prefer.
One sip and you’ll see how amazing bubble tea is in its purest form!
More delicious drink recipes
- Matcha Bubble Tea
- Chinese Jujube Tea (红枣茶)
- Easy Citron Tea (Made with Meyer Lemons)
- How to Make Bubble Tea (Boba Tea, 珍珠奶茶)
- Honey Lemon Tea
- Avocado Smoothie
How to Make Bubble Tea (Boba Tea, 珍珠奶茶)
Ingredients
Syrup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons hot water
Drink
- 1/2 cup instant black tapioca pearls (*Footnote 1)
- 6 black tea bags (or 4 tablespoons / 40 grams loose leaf black tea) (*Footnote 2)
- 2 cups plant-based milk
- Ice cubes for a cold drink (Optional)
Instructions
To prepare the syrup
- Add the brown sugar and hot water into a small bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. If the sugar does not dissolve, heat the bowl in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes then stir again.
To prepare tapioca pearls—the instant type
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Cook the tapioca pearls according to package instructions. Drain the tapioca pearls and run under cold tap water for a few seconds, to stop cooking. Drain again and transfer into the bowl of syrup. Let marinate while preparing the bubble tea. (*Footnote 3)
Prepare bubble tea
- Add 1 cup of boiling water and the tea into a glass or a pot that’s easy to pour from. Let the tea steep for 10 minutes to make a strong tea. Strain tea with a very fine colander or coffee filter (or remove the tea bags).
- Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the tapioca pearls along with the brown sugar syrup into each serving glass. Pour in 1/2 cup of the black tea. Add up to 1 cup of plant milk, or according to your taste.
- Stir to mix before drinking. You can adjust the taste by adding more tapioca pearls with syrup, tea or plant milk.
- Serve the drink hot, at room temperature, or add ice cubes to serve it cold.
Notes
- Instant tapioca pearls are easy to cook and they taste the best when served fresh. However, if you want to prepare them a day or more ahead, use the regular type instead. See footnote 4 on how to cook regular tapioca pearls.
- If you prefer non-caffeinated tea, I found that rooibos tea works really well in this recipe. I love to use loose leaf rooibos tea to make my bubble tea so I can drink it any time of day and it doesn’t affect my sleep.
- You can use the tapioca pearls once you’ve marinated them for 10 to 15 minutes, or place them in room temperature for half a day, until ready to use.
- To prepare regular tapioca pearls – Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add tapioca pearls and stir gently until they float to the top. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent them from sticking, until the tapioca pearls turn tender throughout, but are still a bit chewy in texture. Remove the pan from the stove, cover, and let rest for 15 minutes. Drain tapioca, rinse with cold running tap water to stop cooking, drain again and transfer to the bowl of syrup to marinate. You can use the tapioca pearls now, or store them in the fridge until ready to use. They will taste the best when fresh, but you can store them for a couple days. Their texture will become chewier the longer you let them sit.
