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Refreshing strawberry milk tea with boba tapioca pearls is easy to make at home. Loaded with fresh fruit, homemade bubble tea is better than storebought. | aheadofthyme.com

Strawberry Milk Tea


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  • Author: Sam | Ahead of Thyme
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 2 servings
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

Refreshing strawberry milk tea with boba tapioca pearls is easy to make at home. Loaded with fresh fruit, homemade bubble tea is better than storebought. 


Ingredients

  • 1 tea bagblack tea or green tea
  • 3/4 cup boiling water
  • 1/2 cup dried (boba) tapioca pearls
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 and 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar (or honey)
  • 2 cups fresh strawberries
  • 1 and 1/4 cups milkdairy or non-dairy
  • 1 cup ice
  • 2 tablespoons honey (optional)

Instructions

Make the tea:

  1. Transfer the boiling water to a cup or shallow bowl and add the tea bag. Allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bag and allow the tea to cool to room temperature. 
  2. Transfer the tea to the fridge to chill completely.

Make the boba tapioca pearls:

  1. In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups water to a boil over high heat. Add tapioca pearls and turn the heat down to medium-low. Cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
  2. Turn off the heat and let the tapioca pearls sit in the hot water for another 20-25 minutes.
  3. Drain the pearls through a fine mesh sieve and return to the saucepan. Add in brown sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Stir well and heat over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the syrup starts to thicken a bit, about 4-5 minutes. When the pearls are fully cooked through, they should be soft and chewy.

Make the strawberry milk tea:

  1. In a large blender, combine strawberries, milk, chilled tea, and ice in a blender until smooth. Add in some honey if you want added sweetness (note that the brown sugar tapioca pearls will add sweetness).

Assemble the bubble tea:

  1. Divide the cooked tapioca pearls into two tall glasses.
  2. Pour the strawberry milk tea over top. Give the drinks a quick stir and serve with wide straws.

Notes

How to store strawberry milk tea: Strawberry bubble tea is best enjoyed fresh, but it will last in the fridge for about 4 hours. You can enjoy it after a day but the boba pearls will lose its texture and get hard. In this case, you can remove the boba with a slotted spoon and enjoy the rest of the drink.

How to store cooked tapioca pearls. If you have extra boba, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature. Cover and fully coat them in the brown sugar syrup so that they don't stick to each other. But again, you need to consume them within 4 hours, as they will start to get mushy. Do not store in the refrigerator otherwise they will harden.

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: Drink
  • Method: Blender
  • Cuisine: Asian