Tiger Milk Tea
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!
Prep Time1 minute min
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Taiwanese
Servings: 2 people
Calories: 565kcal
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
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)
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.
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.
Calories: 565kcal | Carbohydrates: 105g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 156mg | Potassium: 626mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 72g | Vitamin A: 593IU | Calcium: 504mg | Iron: 1mg