Milk Tea Tapioca Recipes

BOBA (COCONUT MILK BLACK TEA WITH TAPIOCA PEARLS)

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in a large stockpot. Pour in tapioca and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Remove from heat and let balls sit in water for 25 minutes.
• Return stockpot to the heat; simmer and stir for 25 minutes more. Remove from heat and let rest again until centers of the balls are no longer powder, another 25 minutes. Drain.
• Combine brown sugar and white sugar in a large bowl. Pour tapioca balls into the sugar mixture. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 15 minutes while preparing the tea.
• Process tea, coconut cream, ice, milk, and sugar together in a blender until combined.
• Scoop 1/4 cup of the tapioca into each tall glass and fill with tea. Enjoy with large straws to suck up the tapioca, or use spoons.

CLASSIC MILK TEA

Steps:

• Combine the brown and white sugars in a heatproof bowl. Whisk in the hot water until dissolved. Let cool, then pour into a clean, resealable container and refrigerate up to 1 month.
• In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the boba and cook for 30 minutes, stirring frequently during the first 10 minutes of cooking to prevent the boba from sitting at the bottom of the pot and burning. Cover the pot so the water doesn't evaporate, and stir occasionally for the remainder of the time. Add more hot water if necessary to keep the boba covered.
• After the 30 minutes of cooking, take the pot off the heat and let the boba rest for another 30 minutes.
• After the resting time, strain the boba in a colander or a strainer, discarding the water, and pour them into a mixing bowl. Stir in ½ cup Sweetening Syrup. After an additional 30 minutes (so 1½ hours total from the time you started cooking), the boba should have absorbed the sweetness; it won't get any sweeter if it continues to sit longer.
• Now your boba is ready to serve; hold it warm or at room temperature (our preference). When you add it to drinks, scoop some of the balls out with a little strainer to leave the syrup behind. The boba keeps for about 4 hours before it starts to lose its texture.
• Combine the tea leaves in a mixing bowl; stir well to fully mix. Store in an airtight container.
• Fill a tall glass with the ice cubes. Heat filtered water to 190ºF. Steep 2 tablespoons of the tea leaf blend in 5 oz. of the hot water for 4 minutes. Strain the tea over the ice, and set the glass aside to allow the ice to fully melt.
• Fill a glass with the toppings, if using, and the ice, and then add the syrup. Pour the tea over the ice. Add the half-and-half. Stir until everything is mixed.

BROWN SUGAR BOBA MILK TEA

Steps:

• For the syrup: Stir the brown sugar with 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until the mixture is the consistency of a loose maple syrup, about 8 minutes. Add the syrup to a heat-safe jar to cool while cooking the boba.
• Place the boba in a fine sieve and shake off any excess cornstarch.
• Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the boba, stirring to prevent them from sticking together, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the boba float to the top and darken in color with translucent edges, about 4 minutes if the boba are fresh and about 7 minutes if they are frozen. Drain the boba and rinse with cold water (they will be chewy but will firm up as they cool).
• Add the boba to the brown sugar syrup and let sit until the syrup is at room temperature, about 20 minutes.
• For the tea: Divide the boba among 4 glasses using a slotted spoon and add 1 tablespoon of the syrup to each glass, letting the syrup streak and coat the inside of the glass. Divide the tea and milk evenly among the glasses and serve.
• Whisk 1/3 cup water with 1 cup of the tapioca starch in a small bowl. The slurry may look separated but will come together in the next step.
• Add the brown sugar and 2/3 cup water to a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium high and whisk in the tapioca slurry until the mixture begins to just tighten and the water fully incorporates, about 30 seconds.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 1 cup tapioca starch using a heatproof spatula until it forms a ball of shaggy dough, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Dust a work surface with tapioca flour. Gather the dough together from the saucepan, transfer it to the surface and let cool, 3 to 4 minutes. Knead the dough until it is smooth, springy to the touch and no longer sticky, adding tapioca starch as needed, about 7 minutes. If the dough feels too dry, wet your hands and knead in water from your hands.
• Divide the dough into 6 pieces and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Roll out 1 piece of dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch with a rolling pin. Use a 1/2-inch-wide bubble tea straw with the tip dusted in tapioca starch to cut pieces from the dough, making sure to dust the straw occasionally to prevent sticking. Gather the dough scraps into a ball and repeat the process. Discard any leftover dough after this step as it will be too dry to use again. Repeat with the remaining 5 pieces of dough.
• Lightly dust a baking sheet with tapioca starch. Roll the boba pieces into pea-sized balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. If the dough feels too dry or is cracking, dampen your fingers with a little water and knead it. Use immediately or freeze the boba in a single layer until hard, about 2 hours. Transfer to a resealable freezer bag and freeze until ready to use.

HOW TO MAKE BUBBLE TEA

Steps:

• Put the teabags or tea leaves in 100ml boiling water and leave to brew for 10-15 mins. Discard the teabags or tea leaves, then set the tea aside to cool to room temperature.
• Bring 500ml water to a rolling boil in a small saucepan set over a medium heat, then add the tapioca balls. Using a rubber spatula, stir the water and make sure the balls, or boba, are not sticking to the side of the pan. Turn the heat up to reach a rolling boil for 2 mins, then turn off the heat, but keep the pan on the stove with a lid on for another 2 mins. Drain the boba in a sieve under gentle running tap water for about 20 seconds to slow down the cooking. Using the same spatula, gently push the boba around in the mesh to make sure they don't stick and are cooling down evenly. Once they're cool to the touch, set in a mixing bowl, add the 1 tsp dark brown sugar and mix in thoroughly.
• To make the sugar syrup, add the 50g dark sugar to 60ml water in the same pan set over a medium heat. Slowly stir and let it come to a boil, making sure all the sugar has dissolved. Turn off the heat and leave to cool down. It will thicken as it cools. This will make approx. 80ml syrup, about 2½ servings. Any leftover syrup will keep in a jar in the fridge for up to a month. A dd the cooked boba and mix until thoroughly coated. The boba can be left covered for up to three hours. Do not refrigerate as they will harden.
• Assemble the bubble tea. Put the sweetened boba in a 485ml drinking glass, or two smaller glasses if you want to share. Swirl the boba to create a marble effect on the wall of the glass. Pour in the brewed tea and 1 tbsp of sugar syrup. Add ½ cup of ice and, using a metal spoon, stir the glass so the syrup and the tea are thoroughly mixed but make sure you don't scrape off the sticky marbling effect on the wall of the glass. Top up with 200ml of cold milk and serve with a boba straw.