How to Make Bubble Tea

Wondering how to make bubble tea at home? We are sharing three ways to make bubble tea at home and it's a lot easier to make than you think! Whether you want to make plain bubble tea, milk bubble tea, or fruity bubble tea, this simple bubble tea recipe is all you need. It's delicious, refreshing, and simple.

Plus, homemade bubble tea is so much better, healthier, and cheaper than store-bought. It's made with real ingredients (no syrups here!) and you can completely customize the amount of honey or sugar that you add to suit your needs.

It's officially summer which for me means bubble tea season. Who am I kidding? It's bubble tea season for me all year round. However, my consumption of milk tea probably triples during the summer. It is truly a way of life. Long story short, I am super excited to share this easy boba tea recipe with you today.

What is Bubble Tea?

Bubble tea (also known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, tapioca milk tea, or boba tea) is a Taiwanese drink that first originated in the 1980s and has since become widely popular all over Asia, and now all over the world. It is commonly made of tea, milk and chewy tapioca balls or pearls. It can also be made with other toppings in addition to the boba or instead of it, including coconut jelly, lychee, grass jelly, mango, and popping boba.

When it comes to bubble tea, there are so many different flavors that you can enjoy. From simple tea and pearls, to fruit flavors, there are endless of choices to choose from. Today, we are sharing three different ways to make bubble tea:

1. Plain Bubble Tea - with tea and tapioca pearls
2. Milk Bubble Tea - with tea, milk, tapioca pearls
3. Fruity Bubble Tea - with fruit, milk, and tapioca pearls

Why You'll Love Homemade Bubble Tea

• It's so easy to make bubble tea at home. Making bubble tea at home is a lot easier than you think. The most time-consuming part is cooking the boba, but really that takes just a few minutes of your actual time, while the rest of the time you are just waiting for it to cook.
• It's healthier than store-bought. Making homemade bubble tea is so much healthier than store-bought, especially when we are talking about the fruity milk teas. With this homemade recipe, we are using real fruit, unlike the store-bought drinks which use fruit syrup to achieve that flavor.
• It is not overpoweringly sweet. Most times, the bubble tea that you can get from a bubble tea shop is quite sweet. Again, this is because of the syrups that are added to the drink and the vast amount of sugar. With this recipe, we use a little honey (you can use brown sugar for a more traditional flavor), and you can customize the amount you add to the boba depending on your preference.
• It's cheaper than store-bought. Bubble tea these days are expensive! It is much cheaper to make your own than to pay someone to mix a couple ingredients together.
• It's convenient. I mean the comfort of whipping up a batch of this from your own home means that you can relax at home and soak in the sun on your balcony without stepping a foot out of your house or into your car (provided that you already have the ingredients at home!)

Ingredient Notes

To make bubble tea, you will need the following ingredients (full measurements in recipe card below):

• tapioca pearls - you will need tapioca pearls (also called boba) for this recipe because obviously you can't make bubble tea without the "bubbles". Tapioca pearls can be purchased online or at any local Asian grocery store.
• honey - honey is stirred into the cooked pearls to add that sweet syrupy flavour. You can also substitute the honey with brown sugar syrup by adding in ¼ cup brown sugar and a ¼ cup water and stirring it in until dissolved.
• tea - for the plain boba tea and the milk boba tea, you will need tea. I recommend use black or jasmine tea for the best flavor.
• milk - we use dairy milk, but feel free to use any kind of milk alternative such as almond milk, soy milk, or oat milk.
• fresh fruit - only required if making the fruit milk tea. We used strawberries, but you can use any fruit that you like such as mango, peach, blackberries, etc.
• ice cubes
• lemon slices - optional for garnishing the plain bubble tea.

Note that the amount of pearls we make for this recipe is enough for each of the 3 different flavors of tapioca milk tea. If you would like to just make one flavor, make sure to triple the measurements otherwise you will have too much tapioca pearls leftover, and they are hard to store.

Equipment

You will also need measuring cups and spoons, a large cooking pot, and potentially a blender (if making the fruit milk tea).

For serving, you will need glasses and wide straws to be able to accommodate the pearls. These also can also be purchased online or at your local Asian grocery store.

How to Make Tapioca Pearls (Boba)

1. Cook the boba. In a large saucepan, bring 8 cups of water to a boil over high heat. Add the tapioca pearls and stir gently until they begin to float to the top. Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Let it sit. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for another 20 minutes.
3. Add sweetener. Drain pearls and transfer to a small bowl. Mix in the honey and fully coat. Set aside for 5 minutes.

• 

• 

How to Make the Best Homemade Bubble Tea (Three Ways)

1. Divide the cooked pearls into three tall glasses.
2. Create any of the following bubble teas:
   1. Plain Bubble Tea: Add tea (or iced tea), ice, and lemon slice.
   2. Milk Bubble Tea: Add tea, milk, and ice.
   3. Fruity Bubble Tea: Blend fruit, milk, honey, and ice in a blender until smooth. Pour into glass.
3. Add a wide straw, and enjoy.

• 

• 

• 

Bubble Tea Recipe Video

More Drink Recipes

• Strawberry Lemonade
• Healthy Mango Yogurt Smoothie
• Majoon (Banana and Nut) Smoothie
• Peach Ice Tea
• Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Print

Recipe