Jasmine Milk Tea Boba

A glass of cold jasmine bubble tea with tapioca pearls and an edible flower.

5 from 39 votes

Jasmine Milk Tea Boba is a quick and easy drink to DIY. You only need 4 easy-to-get ingredients and 20 minutes- it's cheaper and faster than going to the boba shops!

Prep Time1

Cook Time20

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: Taiwanese

Servings: people

Calories: 492kcal

Author: Zen

Equipment

2 Pots
Tall, heat-proof glass

Ingredients

Cooking the pearls

1 Cup Tapioca pearls After cooking, you can soak the pearls in homemade brown sugar syrup for more flavor.
½ Pot Water

Brewing tea

3 Jasmine green tea bags Substitute: other types of jasmine tea, such as jasmine oolong etc
3 Cups Whole Milk If you want a lighter milk tea, you can replace 1-2 Cups of milk with hot water. (You want to use a total of 3 Cups of liquid altogether.) Remember not to use boiling water or the drink will be bitter!
Evaporated milk, optional Only if you want a very decadent drink! Substitute: condensed milk or cream

Assembling the drink

Sugar, to taste Substitute: simple syrup, honey etc

Instructions

Cooking bubble tea pearls

Fill half a large pot with water then bring the water to a rolling boil. Add the pearls, and boil till the pearls are floating over medium heat.
Stir every now and then to prevent sticking. Although the pearls are said to be cooked once they float, the inside might still be hard. I recommend boiling for another 5-10 minutes after they start floating. (The time required will vary from brand to brand, the size of pearls and your desired chewiness.)

Brewing Jasmine Green Tea

Heat the milk to about 175-180°F (80C- 85C.) Do not let the milk boil or it may split.
Once hot, steep the jasmine green tea leaves/ tea bag for a minimum of 2-3 minutes then strain/ remove the tea bag. (I steeped mine for 5 minutes. Usually, green tea is not steeped for more than 2-3 minutes as it may lead to a bitter aftertaste, but the sugar and milk will help to mask any harsh notes. Try not to go over 10 minutes- the bottom of your pot may burn, unless you use very low heat or stir a lot.)

Assembling the drink

Add the cooked pearls to a heat-proof, tall glass. (You probably want to fill a maximum ¼-1/3 of the cup with the pearls unless you really like them.)
Top up the cup with the hot creamy jasmine tea from the previous step.
Add a sweetener of your choice (to taste.) Mix well then enjoy!
Optional: add a splash of cream or condensed/ evaporated milk for an extra rich drink.

Notes

For iced jasmine milk tea:

Ideally brew the tea 1-2 hours in advance then sweeten to taste (It's easier to dissolve sugar whilst hot.)
Allow it to cool in the fridge for 1-2 hours. (We cool the tea first to make sure that the ice doesn't milk and dilute the flavor of the Jasmine Milk Tea.)
Right before serving, cook the pearls. (The pearls taste best right after cooking- cooked pearls don't store that well.)
Add the pearls and ice cubes to a cup, then fill up with milk. I recommend adding the cream for this cold version, as the ice will dilute the flavor when melted!

You will need to taste again (after chilling) to check if the sweetness level works for you, as our perception of sweetness changes with the temperature.

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

Nutrition