How to Make Bubble Tea at Home: 35 Bubble Tea Recipes We Love (2024)

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How to Make Bubble Tea at Home: 35 Bubble Tea Recipes We Love (14)

Say the word bubble tea and you’ll notice ears perking up and heads turning wherever you are. While bubble tea originated in Taiwan in the 1980s, it has become popular in many parts of the world and has blown up in North America. Many cities are full of bubble tea shops that make the delicious drink perfectly to your preferences. With different bases and toppings, you can customize bubble tea however you like! And now you can make bubble tea easily at home! There are lots of bubble tea recipes you can create, whether you want to stick to the classic bubble milk tea, or would rather switch it up. Check out our favourite bubble tea recipes and make this yummy drink at home.

What is Bubble Tea?

Bubble tea, also called boba, is a Taiwainese iced drink that consists of a tea base, milk or fruit flavouring, ice, and chewy tapioca pearls. The tapioca pearls are arguably the most notable feature of bubble tea. Boba pearls were originally used in shaved ice desserts, and paired with syrups, beans and chewy rice balls. The pearls are made from tapioca starch, an extract of the South American cassava plant, and start out white, hard and tasteless. They’re boiled inside huge, bubbling vats and steeped in sugary caramelized syrup for hours, until they’re transformed into the black tapioca pearls we know and love!

There are plenty of ways to customize your bubble tea. It starts with the base, which is usually made from black or green tea and can be personalized with syrups such as simple syrup or flavoured syrups like peach, strawberry and lychee. It’s also common for milk to be added to teas, turning them into boba milk teas. Customization is what makes bubble tea so special. Along with boba, you can also add other toppings such as grass jelly, aloe vera, sago, taro balls, red bean and whipped foam/cream.

How to Make Bubble Tea at Home in 4 Steps

Step 1: Prepare the Tea
Choose the type of tea you’d like to use for your bubble tea and steep 8 bags of tea (or three tablespoons of loose leaf tea) with 4 cups of freshly boiled water. Allow the tea to sit in the water until it cools completely. Keep in mind that you want the tea to be strong. Since you’re adding milk and ice cubes, the tea flavour can become diluted if it’s not steeped enough.

Step 2: Make the Simple Syrup
The most classic way to sweeten bubble tea is with a simple syrup. Add ½ cup water and ½ cup sugar to a saucepan and stir them together. You can use your choice of sugar, whether it’s white, brown, or coconut. Heat on medium heat until the water boils and the sugar completely dissolves. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow it to cool. You can then transfer it to a jar to use in your bubble tea.

Step 3: Get the Tapioca Pearls Ready
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add the tapioca pearls, stirring them until they float to the top. Cook them for about 5 more minutes and check to see if they’re at your desired texture and softness. You can cook them for a few more minutes if you find they’re still too hard. When they’re ready, remove the pearls from the hot water with a slotted spoon and quickly rinse them with water.

Step 4: Assemble the Bubble Tea
Strain your tea into a pitcher and place the tapioca pearls into your glasses. Pour 1 cup of tea into each glass then add 1 ½ tablespoons of milk and 1 ½ tablespoons of simple syrup into each glass. You can add more milk and syrup if you like!

35 Bubble Tea Recipes We Love

1. Taiwanese Bubble Tea | Tasty
2. Brown Sugar Boba | Food 52
3. Jasmine Green Bubble Tea | Numi Tea Blog
4. Honey Milk Bubble Tea | BC Dairy
5. Matcha Bubble Tea | Real + Vibrant
6. Strawberry Rose Bubble Tea | Veggiekins
7. Taro Bubble Milk Tea | Living Fresh Daily
8. Orange Blossom Honey Bubble Tea | Thrifty Jinxy
9. Avocado Bubble Tea | Pepper Bowl
10. Milk Tea with Coffee Jelly | Baking Mischief
11. Coconut Bubble Tea | Savory Tooth
12. Mango Boba | Sprinkle Bakes
13. Boba Cold Brew | The Movement Menu
14. Thai Almond Milk Bubble Tea | Love and Olive Oil
15. Jasmine Tea Milk with Honey Boba | Thirsty for Tea
16. Mascarpone Bubble Tea | Dairy Farmers of Canada
17. Easy Red Bean Bubble Tea | Contemplating Sweets
18. Chai Bubble Tea | Numi Tea Blog
19. Brown Sugar Coconut Bubble Tea | Pastry Affair
20. Pumpkin Spice Bubble Tea | Honestly Yum
21. Spicy Mango Bubble Tea | The Gastrognome
22. Birthday Cake Bubble Tea | Veggiekins
23. Boba Pearl Coffee Milk with Palm Sugar Syrup | Much Butter
24. Bubble Tea Freakshakes | Tastemade
25. Plum Spice Bubble Milk Tea | Daily Dish Recipes
26. Thai Bubble Tea | Recipe World
27. Raspberry Peach Bubble Tea | Mildly Meandering
28. Passionfruit Mango Bubble Tea | The Viet Vegan
29. Cantaloupe Bubble Tea | Colourful Palette
30. Chocolate Rooibos Chia Seed Bubble Tea | Jeanette’s Healthy Living
31. Caramelized Bubble Milk Tea | China Sichuan Food
32. Blueberry Jam Bubble Tea | David’s Tea
33. Vegan Green Tea Bubble Tea | The Viet Vegan
34. Peaches N’ Cream Bubble Tea | Yummly
35. Bubble Milk Tea | The Spruce Eats

Making bubble tea at home isn’t as hard as it may seem! Follow these steps and recipes to make delicious boba in the comfort of your own home!

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Kate is a freelance writer with a background in fashion, beauty and wellness. When she’s not trying out new recipes, taking a hot yoga class, or curled up with a good book, you can find her blogging about lifestyle tips and entrepreneurialism at Layered Indulgence.

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How to Make Bubble Tea at Home: 35 Bubble Tea Recipes We Love (2024)

FAQs

What is the best bubble tea to try first? ›

We strongly recommend trying real fruit bubble teas or milk teas as your first boba drink – the former come in so many flavors that you will surely find a one that you like, and the latter embrace the principles of traditional Taiwanese bobas, and are unique compared to other milk-based drinks.

Why is bubble tea so expensive? ›

Furthermore, the report's analysis showed that costs were highly correlated with supply chain, store, and headcount efficiency. Price movements in any of these factors, which can be impacted by economic and market conditions, are likely to result in higher bubble tea prices for consumers.

How do you make DIY bubbles? ›

With honey: Mix 4 cups of water with 1 cup dish soap first, then add 1/3 cup of honey. With corn syrup: Mix 3 cups water, 1 cup soap and 1/2 cup corn syrup.

Is boba tea Healthy? ›

Boba tea is generally safe to drink, but you'll want to enjoy it in moderation. The beverage is usually high in sugar and calories and contains an additive that might lead to constipation. Drinking too much boba tea may increase your risk of diabetes and obesity.

What is the best boba flavor for kids? ›

Strawberry boba is certainly eye-catching with its bright pink color, making it a social media-worthy choice. The first thing boba drinkers note about this flavor is just how impossibly sweet it is. This drink is a huge hit for kids or those with a big sweet tooth.

What's the most popular bubble tea Flavour? ›

Bubble tea can be made with any type of tea, but black tea is most commonly used. The most popular bubble tea flavour is probably milk tea, which is simply black tea with milk, sugar and tapioca pearls. Other types of tea you could use include green tea, oolong tea, herbal tea, white tea and fruit teas.

What age can kids have boba? ›

We've established that kids can drink boba, but is it safe for them? Absolutely! Bubble tea is made from various natural ingredients, like tapioca, fruit jams, or milk, so there's nothing to worry about – it's a great treat for people of all ages.

What the heck is boba? ›

In the 1980s, the pearls were enlarged, rolled together with brown sugar (which is what gives it its color) and added to milk tea. Today boba — also referred to as tapioca pearls or the bubbles in bubble milk tea — is almost always made up with a combination of starches.

What is boba tea for beginners? ›

Whatever you call it, in its most basic form, the drink consists of black tea, milk, ice, and chewy tapioca pearls, all shaken together like a martini and served with that famously fat straw to accommodate the marbles of tapioca that cluster at the bottom of the cup.

What is the most unhealthy bubble tea? ›

The hospital compared the sugar level in seven types of bubble tea orders, and found that the unhealthiest option by far was brown sugar milk tea with pearls. This drink contained 18.5 teaspoons of sugar. The second most unhealthy option was winter melon tea, at 16 teaspoons of sugar.

Is it OK to drink bubble tea everyday? ›

Regular or excessive consumption of bubble tea without adjusting daily calorie intake can lead to weight gain. The combination of fruit syrup, milk, and tapioca can increase the number of calories by 350-400. As explained above, bubble tea contains very little fiber. This can cause constipation if consumed regularly.

Is bubble tea healthier than co*ke? ›

Two cups of milk bubble tea with pearls are about a third of the average recommended intake of 1,800-2,000 calories for healthy individuals. A 500ml cup of brown sugar boba milk is also believed to contain as much as 92g of sugar, about three times more than the amount of sugar in a 320ml can of Coca-Cola.

How do you make bubble mixture without glycerin? ›

We find that this basic recipe of 4 cups warm water, plus 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup blue Dawn dish soap works great without glycerin!

What is a substitute for tapioca pearls in bubble tea? ›

To make Taiwanese/Chinese style boba without tapioca pearls or bubble tea powder, you can use alternative ingredients such as chewy fruit jelly or fruit bits, such as lychee or strawberry. Here's a simple recipe: Ingredients: 1 cup of water.

How are bubble tea popping bubbles made? ›

Unlike traditional boba, which is tapioca-based, popping boba is made using the spherification process that relies on the reaction of sodium alginate and either calcium chloride or calcium lactate. Popping boba has a thin, gel-like skin with juice inside that bursts when squeezed.

What's the difference between boba and bubble tea? ›

Boba tea is simply another name for bubble tea. The term is derived from the Chinese word "bōbà," which denotes chewy tapioca balls. So, to be clear, bubble tea and boba tea are completely synonymous terms that refer to the same type of drink.

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