Taiwanese Bubble / Booba / Pearl Tea

by Frank Tiu • featured in Delicious Asian Drinks

 

 

Ingredients

for 2 servings

Black Tea

• 2 cups water (480 g)
• 6 black tea bags

Tapioca Pearls and Brown Sugar Syrup

• ½ cup medium black tapioca pearls (50 g)
• 2 cups brown sugar (440 g)
• 1 cup hot water (240 mL)

Assembly

• ½ cup tapioca pearls, cooked (50 g)
• ½ cup ice (30 g)
• brown sugar syrup, to taste
• 1 cup black tea, chilled (240 mL)
• ¼ cup half & half (60 mL)

Special Equipment

• 2 wide-opening straws

Preparation

1. In a medium pot over high heat, combine the water and tea bags. Bring to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat and let the tea cool to room temperature.
2. Bring a medium pot of water to boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, add the tapioca pearls and boil until softened, about 20 minutes.
3. Drain the pearls through a strainer.
4. Set the strainer with the pearls over a medium bowl. Add the brown sugar to the strainer and pour the hot water over.
5. Stir to dissolve the brown sugar. Soak the pearls in brown sugar syrup for 30 minutes, then store the bubbles and syrup separately until ready to serve.
6. Assemble the tea: Divide the pearls and ice between 2 glasses, then add the brown sugar syrup, tea, and half and half.
7. Stir with a wide-opening straw, then serve.
8. Enjoy!

 

 Comments / Suggestions

I’ve made this about 100 times, it’s AMAZING. One thing is to follow the directions that are provided on the bag of tapioca bubbles you buy (mine said to boil for 2-3 minutes, simmer for 2-3 minutes or more then cool in cold water for 20 seconds) but I would still soak them in the brown sugar syrup (unless you like the boiled water taste..)

 

al2003

i’m taiwanese and here are a few tricks i’ve picked up: 

1. steep the tea as long as possible to ensure it isn’t watery, especially if you’re making big batches 

2. follow the instructions on your boba packaging because different brands make their product differently 

3. use WHOLE MILK for the milk!! it makes a big difference!

Ana Munson

When making the boba (or the bubbles) let them soak in honey and sugar. It makes them taste 10x better than plain boba.

ramune

I tend to make this with milk instead of half and half, which is especially useful if you don’t like cream or you want slightly less calories in your drink. It’s delicious!

https://tasty.co/recipe/taiwanese-bubble-tea