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    Home » Drinks

    Published: Aug 15, 2022 · Modified: Apr 3, 2025 by Zen · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Tiger Milk Tea Boba (3-ingredients)

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    2 glasses of Brown Sugar Milk Tea with thick brown sugar syrup streaks and boba

    Tiger Milk Tea Boba, also known as Taiwanese Brown Sugar Milk Tea, is a super popular beverage in many Asian countries thanks to its creamy, deep toffee-like flavor. Like most bubble tea boba recipes, it's not difficult to recreate at home- cheaper too! Plus, it's done in under 20 minutes and requires only 3 ingredients!

    2 glasses of homemade Taiwanese tiger milk tea with brown sugar streaks on the glass.
    Jump to:
    • Why Make This
    • Ingredients
    • Variations & Substitutes
    • Step-by-Step Instructions
    • Where to Buy
    • How to Store
    • Expert Tips
    • Recipes FAQs
    • Recipes That Go Well With Milk Tea
    • Tiger Milk Tea
    • 💬 Comments

    Why Make This

    1. Taiwanese Tiger Milk Tea Boba, also known as Brown Sugar Boba Tea, is delicious!
    2. It's easy to make: 3 simple ingredients + easy steps + under 20 minutes
    3. And much cheaper to DIY at home- all those trips to boba shops add up in cost!

    Ingredients

    The 3 ingredients needed for brown sugar boba on a tablecloth.
    • Whole Milk: The creamy texture of the milk goes so well with the butterscotch notes of the brown sugar syrup that you really don't even need the tapioca pearls. I highly recommend using full-fat milk and none of that watery, tasteless skimmed stuff! (The original version, by Tiger Sugar, is made with organic milk FYI.) If you can't get fresh milk, don't fret- I sometimes use UHT milk (which is why I categorized it as a "pantry recipe!")
    • Brown sugar: you need to melt this into a thick syrup that will slowly coat the glass (and not slide down like water off a duck's back!) Substitutes: I sometimes use Gula Melaka, jaggery or a DIY dark brown sugar (from white sugar and molasses.)
    • Brown sugar tapioca pearls: Black tapioca pearls are a staple of Taiwanese Milk Tea/ Bubble Tea (also known as Taiwanese Zhen Zhu Gai Cai.) The ones for tiger milk tea are slightly special as the tapioca balls are soaked in brown sugar syrup. They taste like butterscotch! (For a South East Asian twist, substitute with Gula Melaka Syrup.) It's really easy to make homemade tapioca pearls, like the ones in my photo. However, if you're in a hurry, buy pre-made tapioca pearls from the Asian grocery store. (I recommend quick cool pearls.)

    For a full-list of ingredients, scroll down to the recipe card.

    Variations & Substitutes

    • Dairy-free Brown Sugar Boba drink: if vegan, substitute regular milk with a vegan milk. The beauty of this Taiwanese drink is in how well the richness of whole milk goes with the caramel syrup, so you want the creamiest plant-based milk you can find. Good options would be cashew milk, oat milk or coconut milk. Preferably, don't use almond milk which is quite sweet- the brown sugar syrup is more than sweet enough!
    • Iced Milk Tea: To get a cold brown sugar pearl milk tea, you simply use cold milk straight out of the fridge. Alternatively, you can add cubes of ice. Use bigger cubes to slow down melting and prevent your tea from becoming too diluted.
    • Caffeinated Black Tiger Tea recipe: Even though this is called "tiger milk tea", the original (by the boba shop Tiger Sugar) doesn't have any actual tea inside! As this popular drink became more common, variations which used black tea bags started popping up. Alternatively, try this Jasmine Milk Tea Boba.
    • Green Tiger Milk Tea: use green tea instead of black.
    • Healthier version: use maple syrup that has been thickened by boiling or mixing with a cornstarch slurry (then heated). The name of this drink comes from the "tiger stripes" that the brown sugar syrup makes on the sides of the glass, so you need your syrup thick. If not, they'll run down and disappear before you even add the milk! (That's why you can't substitute the brown sugar syrup with Manuka Honey- honey loses its goodness when boiled!)

    Step-by-Step Instructions

    Cooking the pearls

    Brown sugar pearls being added to a pot of boiling water.
    1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil then add your pearls to the pot.

    Note: if you prefer to make your own boba, as I did, I'll be sharing a post on that soon. (The beauty of DIY boba is that you can make whatever size pearls you want!)

    Homemade brown sugar tapioca pearls floating in a pot of boiling water.

    2. Boil the pearls till cooked i.e. once they start floating. My homemade ones started floating within 3 minutes but I continued boiling them for another 7 minutes to get them a bit softer and chewier.

    Note: Different brands take different amounts of time to cook- I recommend going for a quick-cook version! (Note: affiliate link)

    Cooking the syrup

    Melting brown sugar and water to make brown sugar syrup.

    3. Whilst the pearls are boiling, you can start making the brown sugar syrup. Add brown sugar and water to a pot over medium heat and allow the brown sugar to melt. (It may bubble a bit.)

    Alternatively: if you're using pre-made brown sugar syrup, you can just heat it in the pot whilst you wait for the pearls to finish cooking.

    Tip: be careful as melted sugar is VERY hot. Be careful not to let it burn but try not to stir for now, as that can promote crystallisation (forming a grainy syrup.) You can add a bit of lime juice or lemon juice if you're concerned about crystallisation.

    4. Once the pearls are cooked, add them to the syrup. Stir the pearls in the syrup, over medium heat, till it's super thick. You will probably need to stir it a bit here to prevent it from burning.

    It took me about 5-10 minutes to get the brown sugar syrup the right consistency (thick enough to coat the walls.)

    You know it's viscous enough when you stir the pot, and it takes a while for the syrup to fill the empty space you created (see photo above).

    Note: Do not be tempted to save time here- a runny syrup won't have the same effect!

    Tiger milk tea boba in brown sugar syrup.
    Look at how viscous the syrup is in this photo!

    Assembling the drink

    2 glasses of homemade Taiwanese tiger milk tea with brown sugar streaks on the glass.
    1. Hold a tall glass horizontally and place the syrup coated boba near the rim/ top of the glass. Slowly straighten the glass to allow the pearls to slide down, and create "tiger stripes."
    2. Allow the syrup to rest for 2 minutes before adding the milk- this helps the stripes to harden a little so they don't just disappear into the milk!
    3. After the 2 minutes are up, pour the cold milk into the glass.
    4. For iced tea (optional): you can add ice cubes but it may dilute the Tiger Milk Tea.

    IMPORTANT: if using freshly made syrup, your glass needs to be heat-proof! If not, wait till the caramel is cool before applying it to the cup.

    Note: Make sure all the walls of the glass are covered with streaks of syrup to get a pretty effect.

    Where to Buy

    Milk and brown sugar are obviously available almost everywhere but you will usually need to go to the Asian supermarket (or online) for the tapioca starch pearls.

    Fun fact: This drink is so popular you can even buy a bubble tea kit with all the brown sugar tea ingredients! (Note: affiliate link)

    How to Store

    Although this drink can be kept in the refrigerator overnight, it won't taste good. The streaks will dissolve into the milk after about 10 minutes and your boba will get hard.

    Recommendation: make it right before you want to drink it!

    Expert Tips

    Tip #1: If you don't have brown sugar, you can DIY your own brown sugar using white sugar and molasses.

    Tip #2: Cook the pearls right before making the drink- they taste best freshly cooked. Don't be tempted to prepare the drinks in advance as they'll harden and become starchy.

    Tip #3: Use a tall glass so you can get the full effect of the beautiful brown stripes! Alternatively, for "Mud Flip Tea," use an air-tight container (such as a Mason Jar) so that you can flip the tea to create the caramel streaks.

    Tip #4: You'll need a special thick straw for all those boba pearls!

    Recipes FAQs

    What is the best black tea for milk tea?

    Strong black teas like Ceylon are a good choice. In Taiwan, China and Hong Kong, the tea used for bubble tea is actually called "red tea"- its strong astringent flavor makes it perfect for all that milk and sugar!

    How much caffeine in milk tea?

    The original Brown Sugar Boba Milk Tea only contains milk and no tea, so zero caffeine. However, some versions add tea leaves- the amount of caffeine would depend on the type and amount of tea leaves used. Generally, black tea has more caffeine than green tea.

    Is milk tea good for diabetes?

    Sadly, the answer is no (for regular milk tea.) This tiger milk tea recipe, for example, is all about the brown sugar syrup which diabetics should consume in moderation. You can, however, make other types of milk tea without sugar but it won't quite taste the same! (Many milk tea bars allow you to choose the sugar level for your drink these days, ranging from 0-100%.)

    Is milk tea healthy?

    I love Taiwanese milk tea but I wouldn't call it a healthy drink! In tiger boba tea, for example, a lot of sugar is used to create the thick brown sugar syrup!

    2 glasses of homemade Taiwanese tiger milk tea with brown sugar streaks on the glass.

    Recipes That Go Well With Milk Tea

    • Crispy and flaky pan fried scallion pancakes on parchment paper.
      Taiwanese Green Onion Pancake
    • Close-up of cherry tomatoes and Chinese preserved plum side dish.
      13 Taiwanese Side Dishes Recipes (Authentic)
    • A tray of Japanese green tea mochi muffins fresh out of the oven.
      Easy Matcha Mochi Muffin (No Mixer)
    • Close-up of a sugar-free cup of sweet tea.
      19 Best Sugar Substitutes for Sweet Tea

    Enjoyed this Taiwanese Tiger Milk Tea recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & if you REALLY liked this delicious drink, a comment would make my week! Thank you and have a great day!

    2 glasses of milk tea with brown streaks on the walls of the glasses.

    Tiger Milk Tea

    Zen
    Tiger Milk Tea Boba, also known as Brown Sugar Bubble Tea, is a super popular beverage in many Asian countries thanks to its creamy, deep toffee-like flavor. Like most bubble tea recipes, it's not difficult to recreate at home- cheaper too! Plus, it's done in under 20 minutes and requires only 3 ingredients!
    5 from 19 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 1 minute min
    Cook Time 15 minutes mins
    Course Drinks
    Cuisine Taiwanese
    Servings 2 people
    Calories 565 kcal

    Equipment

    • Pot
    • heat proof spatula
    • Tall glass ideally heat proof- if not, wait till the syrup is cool before adding it to the cup.

    Ingredients
      

    Cooking the pearls

    • ½ Cup tapioca pearls I recommend quick-cook pearls to save time. (Different brands will take different amounts of time to cook.) Or making your own, as it's really easy!
    • Water Enough to fill half your pot, to boil the pearls in.

    Making the brown sugar syrup

    • ½ Cup brown sugar
    • 2-3 Tablespoons water Don't add anymore than this or it will take longer to cook the syrup down.

    Assembling the Tiger Milk Tea

    • 3 Cups milk give or take, based on the size of your glasses!
    • ice cubes optional, if you want an iced tea

    Instructions
     

    Cooking the pearls

    • Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil then add your pearls to the pot.
    • Boil the pearls till cooked i.e. till they start floating. My homemade ones started floating within 3 minutes but I continued boiling them for another 7 minutes to get them a bit softer and chewier. 
    • For shop bought pearls: Different brands take different amounts of time to cook- I recommend going for a quick-cook version! (Note: affiliate link)

    Cooking the syrup

    • Whilst the pearls are boiling, you can start making the brown sugar syrup. Add brown sugar and water to a pot over medium heat and allow the brown sugar to melt. (It may bubble a bit.)
    • Alternatively: if you're using pre-made brown sugar syrup, you can just heat it in the pot whilst you wait for the pearls to finish cooking.
      Either way, be careful as melted sugar is VERY hot. Be careful not to let the sugar burn but try not to stir for now, as that can promote crystallisation (forming a grainy syrup.) You can add a bit of lime juice or lemon juice if you're concerned about crystallisation.
    • Once the pearls are cooked, add them to the syrup. Stir the pearls in the syrup, over medium heat, till the syrup is super thick. You will probably need to stir here to prevent it from burning.
      It took me about 5-10 minutes to get the brown sugar syrup the right consistency (thick enough to coat the walls of the glass.) You know it's thick enough when you stir the pot, and it takes a while for the syrup to fill the empty space you created (see photo above).
      Note: Do not be tempted to save time here- a runny syrup won't have the same effect!

    Assembling the Tiger Milk Tea

    • Hold a tall glass horizontally and place the syrup coated boba near the rim/ top of the glass. Slowly straighten the glass to allow the pearls to slide down, and create "tiger stripes." Use half the pearls & syrup (about 5 tablespoons) per cup and make sure you coat a good portion of the walls.
    • Allow the syrup to rest for 2 minutes before adding the milk- this helps the stripes to harden a little so they don't just disappear into the milk! After the 2 minutes are up, pour the cold milk into the glass.
    • For iced tea (optional): you can add ice cubes but it may dilute the Tiger Milk Tea.

    Notes

    Presentation:
    • Use a tall glass so you can get the full effect of the beautiful brown stripes! Alternatively, for "Mud Flip Tea," use an air-tight container so that you can flip the tea to create the caramel streaks.
    • You'll need a special thick straw for all those boba pearls! (Note: affiliate link)
    Storage: Although this drink can be kept in the refrigerator overnight, it won't taste good. The streaks will dissolve into the milk and your boba will get hard. I recommend making it right before you want to drink it!
    If you don't have brown sugar, you can DIY your own brown sugar using white sugar and molasses.
    Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.

    Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 565kcalCarbohydrates: 105gProtein: 12gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 156mgPotassium: 626mgFiber: 0.3gSugar: 72gVitamin A: 593IUCalcium: 504mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @GreedyGirlGourmet or tag #greedygirlgourmet!

    Hope you like this Brown Sugar Milk Tea recipe as much as I do! If you have, a comment or share on social media would make my day! 🙂

    I have other recipes you may like here! :)

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Dana M Lally says

      January 22, 2025 at 2:19 am

      I'm new to this, so sorry if this question seems silly. Is there no actual tea in Tiger Milk Tea?
      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Zen says

        February 15, 2025 at 4:04 pm

        Hi Dana! Not silly at all 🙂 The original Tiger Milk tea, ironically, has no tea in it. (It's a Taiwanese drink and milk tea (with tea) is very popular in Taiwan, so they could have just carried the name over :P)

        Reply
    2. Nancy says

      October 06, 2022 at 8:34 pm

      5 stars
      Love boba and to be able to make it at home is wonderful. Thanks

      Reply
      • Zen says

        October 07, 2022 at 11:57 pm

        Thanks Nancy! I know I was blown away the 1st time I made my own pearls!

        Reply
    3. Keri says

      October 06, 2022 at 5:25 pm

      5 stars
      Loved this bubble tea recipe. I've spent a small fortune at our local Bob's tea place. Now I can make my own...

      Reply
      • Zen says

        October 07, 2022 at 11:58 pm

        Thanks Keri! Yes boba and lattes are my biggest spends 🙁 Which is why you see so many such recipes on my blog now! So much more cost-effective to DIY!

        Reply
    4. Audrey says

      September 22, 2022 at 11:29 pm

      5 stars
      Yum, this looks delicious! I can't wait to make this for me and my husband. He loves boba.

      Reply
      • Zen says

        October 07, 2022 at 11:55 pm

        Thanks Audrey let me know how your husband likes it!

        Reply
    5. Jerry says

      August 15, 2022 at 5:44 pm

      5 stars
      Loved this! Can’t wait for the homemade pearls recipe! I want to make my own boba!!

      Reply
      • Zen says

        August 20, 2022 at 3:00 pm

        Thanks Jerry, I'll post the boba recipe ASAP! 🙂

        Reply
    5 from 19 votes (15 ratings without comment)

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    2 glasses of Brown Sugar Milk Tea with thick brown sugar syrup streaks and boba
    Greedygirlgourmet eating 2 sandwiches in Scotland

    Hi I'm Zhen also known as GGG! I couldn't boil water till I was 18! However, I love creating community and nurturing people, so when I lived abroad (in St. Andrews then London) for 11 years, I started hosting regular parties for friends, and that's how I started cooking and helping out in professional kitchens. (Couldn't cook before that!) I even organised a supper club for charity (which strangers came to!) Learning to cook late, I make sure my recipes go into enough detail for those new to Asian cuisine or who love a test kitchen approach to cooking!

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