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Home » Recipes » How to Make Bubble Tea (Boba Tea)

Cold Drinks Recipes

How to Make Bubble Tea (Boba Tea)

How to Make Bubble Tea is one drink that I wanted to try making for a while. If you aren’t familiar with this sweet, cold drink, it is otherwise known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, or boba. 

how to make bubble tea

I love tea for its smooth and light taste. But, when it comes to a tasty summer tea, I only drank ice tea. Well, that quickly changed once I tasted Bubble tea. Now, you can say I’m a bit addicted to this creamy dessert-like tea. 

If you like tea, then I highly recommend you try this delicious alternative. I feel that it is the tea version of a coffee drink, yum!

But before I dive into the whole Boba Tea phenomena, this post is a part of a blog hop in which my friends and I came up with recipes that have 5-ingredients or less. You can find their yummy dishes at the end of this post. Yes, it looks like I’m the only one that came up with a drink post on how to make bubble tea. 

how to make bubble tea or boba tea

So, back to Bubble tea…

It is a perfect blend of tea, cream, and tapioca balls. Yes, you heard right, tapioca balls. If you are like me, you are probably wondering what Tapioca is. Well, Wikipedia says:

Tapioca balls are translucent spheres produced from tapioca, a starch extracted from the cassava root.

I remember eating tapioca pudding as a kid and loving it. Well, these are balls that are much bigger and of course chewier.

Bubble tea was invented in Taiwan in the 1980s, and technically there are two types of Bubble Tea. Teas without milk and milk teas. Now there are so many options for milk, so those of you who can’t have cow’s milk, you can use almond, soy, and coconut milk, to name a few. 

how to make bubble tea

We have a few Boba stores here in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we, on occasion, will little treat ourselves to this refreshing tea drink. Well, now with Shelter in Place these little shops were closed. So, this left us with the only option, and we had to make our tea. It made complete sense that I needed to write a post on how to make bubble tea!

how to make bubble tea

*The following post contains affiliate links

Here is What You’ll Need to Make Bubble Tea

Tapioca Balls

I found a great selection of tapioca balls on Amazon. After making a few drinks, I quickly realized I needed quite a few more tapiocas. So, I placed another order that of two packages that contain 2.2 pounds of Tapioca. Yes, we are serious about making this delicious tea drink. I know that some people make their Tapioca, so maybe I will attempt another recipe in the future. 

Almond Creamer

I bought a creamer that didn’t contain a Vanilla flavoring. I wanted it to taste as close to regular milk. I love the texture of this creamer, and when I placed it in my frother, it came out thick and perfect for my bubble tea. 

Milk Frother

If you don’t own a Nespresso frother, you can make this drink without it. Just make sure your creamer is thick in texture. I know in the past that I frothed some milk with the plunger of a Bodum French Press coffee maker. I placed the milk in the glass Bodum and moved the plunger up and down to create foam. 

Big Stainless Steel Straws

The oversize straws are a must purchase item. You see, in order to eat the boba balls at the bottom of your drink, you need large straws to suck them up. And believe me, the little straws aren’t big enough. The cool thing about these stainless steel straws is that they are perfect for fruit smoothies as well. I love that they are reusable, and they come with their little cleaning brush. 

My Favorite Black Tea

PG Tips is my favorite tea. It is a strong black tea that has a pretty smooth taste. The thing about making bubble tea is that you’ll want a somewhat strong drink since it gets a bit diluted by the creamer. So make sure to steep your tea for a long time. But, you can use whatever tea you like. 

Two Kinds of Sugars

When I thought of how to make bubble tea, I strongly felt that I needed to use brown sugar to sweeten the tea. This recipe includes both brown sugar and granulated sugar. I did try a tiny bit of honey, but it overwhelmed the flavor. But, if you love the taste of honey, try using it instead of the brown sugar. 

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Bubble Tea

This Bubble Tea recipe has only 5 ingredients and is dairy-free. Bubble tea is a cold drink, otherwise known as pearl milk tea or boba. You can make this drink to your desired sweetness.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time5 mins
Chill the tea1 hr
Course: Dessert, Drinks, tea
Cuisine: American, Chinese
Keyword: Boba Tea, Bubble Tea, Cold Drinks, Drinks, Tea
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 175kcal
Author: Janine Waite

Ingredients

  • 3 bags tea I love PG Tips Tea
  • 5 cups hot water
  • ½ cup tapioca balls
  • ¾ cup almond creamer I used the Silk brand
  • ⅛ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar packed

Ingredients to Sweetened the Tapioca

  • ⅛ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup water

Instructions

Tea

  • Place 3 tea bags in a teapot.
  • Pour 5 cups of hot water into the teapot.
  • Let the tea steep. Remove tea bags once you have a strong tea.
  • Add ⅛ cup granulated sugar and ¼ cup brown sugar to the warm tea. Stir tea thoroughly.
  • Let cool and place in the refrigerator to chill.

Tapioca

  • Pour Tapioca into a medium-size pot. Place about 5 cups of water in a pan so that the Tapioca is covered adequately with water.
  • Wait until Tapioca floats to the top. Cover pot and cook in medium heat for 5-8 minutes.
  • Turn off heat and cover Tapioca for 3 minutes.
  • Scoop out Tapioca and let it rest in cold water for 20 seconds. Drain and rinse and place in a bowl with a ½ cup for water and ⅛ cup sugar. Mix thoroughly.

How to Combine Ingredients

  • Place about 30 or so cooked tapiocas on the bottom of a 12-ounce drinking glass.
  • Pour about 1½ cups of sweetened tea in a glass.
  • Froth ¾ cup almond creamer in the Nespresso frother. Make sure to froth it with the cold option. You do this by holding down the button longer. This results in a cold foamy milk.
  • Top tea with frothed almond milk mixture.
  • Add a big stainless steel straw to the drink and enjoy. You can add ice if the drink is not cold enough.

Nutrition

Serving: 4servings | Calories: 175kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 67mg | Potassium: 18mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @happyhappynester or tag #happyhappynester!

Here are some other drinks you might like:

Pink Poolside Drink Recipes

Simple Punch Recipe

Lemon Ice Tea Recipe

 

Boba Tea recipe

I hope you enjoyed this post on how to make bubble tea. Since coming up with this recipe, I have made this drink a gazillion times for my family. And I noticed about this drink is you can tweak the amount of sugar, tea, creamer, and Tapioca to taste. Some people like sweet tea, and others like it unsweetened.

So don’t be afraid to experiment. You won’t hurt my feelings.

Have fun, and enjoy this creamy tea alternative!

Cheers,

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Check Out These Amazing 5-Ingredient Recipes!

Layered Hummus Dip – Modern Glam

Appetizer Trio With Roasted Rosemary Cashews – Classic Casual Home

Have you Made Pesto Lately? – Most Lovely Things

Homemade Hummus – Lemongrove Lane

How to Make Bubble Tea (Boba Tea) – Happy Happy Nester

Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cookies – Finding Lovely 

5 Ingredient Blueberry Crepes – Zevy Joy

Raspberry Lemonade Sorbet – Jenna Kate At Home

Easy Pasta Recipe – My 100 Year Old Home

Easy Italian Sausage Pasta – Maison De Pax

Creamy Grape Salad – Twelve on Main

 

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I named my blog Happy Happy Nester because I love everything related to the home. I’ve always enjoyed decorating my surroundings. Get cozy and stay for a bit, thanks for visiting!
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2 Comments

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Comments

  1. Ashley Stringfellow says

    May 30, 2020 at 3:30 pm

    5 stars
    I love boba! Your version looks delish! xo

    Reply

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  1. DIY Food Kits for Adults- Learn Something New - Happy Happy Nester says:
    January 20, 2021 at 8:28 am

    […] also have a post on how to make Bubble Tea if you are […]

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