boba milk tea

Boba milk tea is, hands down, one of my absolute favorite edible / drinkable things. Boba is large tapioca pearls, cooked in a bit of sugar and water until sweet and gummy. The pearls are then put in a glass, and chilled tea, whole milk or half-and-half, and ice is added, and you drink it with a big smoothie straw. It's like a cross between tea and iced coffee, with delightful little squidgy bits at the bottom that pop up through your straw. It's kind of a drink, and also kind of a snack.

You've probably guessed that this unusual combination makes for a very polarizing beverage. I can guarantee if you're reading this that you're in one of three camps: love it, hate it, or haven't tried it.

1) If you love it, this is your lucky day! You can make it yourself, which is great news if you live somewhere where you can't get boba tea, like I do. It's also going to save you a big bag of cash since you can get a whole bag of tapioca flour for less than you'd pay for one drink elsewhere. You can also customize it, and you can have it any time without leaving your house. And you know exactly what's in it, since you made it yourself!

2) If you hate it, it's likely a texture thing, and there's nothing I can do about that—not everyone likes squidgy food—but you should still make this for your friends who are fans. They'll be wicked impressed, and you don't have to let them know how simple it actually was.

3) If you've never tried it, consider this a sign that you should! If you can make a snake with playdoh and boil water, you can make this. Seriously. It's that easy.

A couple quick notes:

Tapioca flour may sound like an obscure ingredient, but it shouldn't be too difficult to find. I picked it up at an Asian grocery store for a couple dollars, I've seen it at Whole Foods (Bob's Red Mill brand, I think), and you can also order it on Amazon. It may also be called tapioca starch. If you live near an Asian market, that's probably where you'll find the best deal.

The boba instructions are long, not because this is complicated, but because I've tried to be incredibly clear each step of the way and included plenty of reference pictures.

Boba is best and most chewy when eaten within a couple hours of being prepared. It should keep for a couple days in the refrigerator mixed with some simple syrup, but will gradually harden.

Ready? Here we go.

Boba Milk Tea

1/2 c + 1 tbsp tapioca flour
3 1/2 tbsp boiling water
2 teabags, any flavor (I used green tea)
4 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup brown sugar
Whole or 2% milk

Make the boba:

 Measure the tapioca flour into a small bowl.

Boil several cups of water in a kettle, and measure 3.5 tbsp boiling water into the bowl with the flour. Quickly stir with a spoon, making sure to pick up flour from the edges of the bowl, and continue to mix thoroughly. As soon as the dough is cool enough to handle, pick it up and knead it until it comes together into a slightly sticky dough.* If it's too sticky, add a little more flour.

A little blurry, but you get the idea.

*If you've ordered boba milk tea, it's likely that the pearls in your drink were black. They're usually dyed to contrast visually with the lighter-colored drink. These pearls will be translucent golden-brown, but if you'd like, you can dye the dough with food coloring at this point.

After you've made the dough, pour remaining water from the kettle into a cup or small jar with the teabags. Brew for 10 minutes, remove teabags, and let cool. When cool, chill completely in the fridge.

I like to use mason jars for the tea because they're easy to seal and toss in the fridge.

Roll the dough into a long snake. Cut thin slices, and roll slices into balls, about the size of a pea. They will get a bit bigger when cooked, so be careful not to make them too large or you won't be able to drink them through a straw.

Slice up your dough snake.

This is about the size you're going for.

When you've finished rolling the pearls, mix 4.5 cups water & brown sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to help dissolve the sugar. When it's boiling, scoop about half a cup of the simple syrup into a glass or jar (keep the rest heating on the stove) and set aside to cool while you cook the boba. You'll add a little of the reserved, cooled syrup to the boba, and you can use the rest to sweeten your drink. Keep in the fridge after it's cooled completely.

Boba will sink at first, then rise to the surface.

Drop your boba pearls into the boiling simple syrup still on the stove and reduce heat to medium-high. Stir frequently. Cook boba until done—mine took 17 minutes, but your cooking time may vary depending on the size of your pearls. Cook for 10 minutes, then check at 5 minute intervals for doneness.

When they're done, they should look something like this. See the air bubbles? They'll also be much more transparent than when you started.

When done, the pearls will be sticky and clear with lots of air bubbles. They should taste overdone, since they'll firm up in the fridge.

Pour into a colander and rinse with cold water. Put drained boba in a bowl, add a little of the cooled simple syrup (amount depends on how sweet you prefer your tea—I added about a tablespoon), and stir gently with a spoon to evenly coat boba. Cover with saran wrap and pop in the fridge to chill.

This recipe makes enough boba for 3-4 drinks (2 if, like me, you like lots of boba in your tea).

To assemble the boba milk tea:

You can make the boba milk tea as soon as the brewed tea and boba are thoroughly chilled—this should take about an hour in the fridge.

Scoop as much boba as you'd like into the bottom of a tall glass. Add tea.

Shake milk to make it frothy (in the container, if you have a small milk, or in a jar), then pour in to the glass and stir to mix. Taste, and stir in some of the reserved simple syrup if you'd like it sweeter. Add ice and serve with a wide straw.

Personally, I use about 10 oz tea, 8 oz milk, extra boba, no ice, and no added sweetener.

You may want a sweeter drink, or to use almond milk, or to use mostly tea and just a smidge of milk. It's an easily customizable drink, so experiment with proportions and flavors to perfect your version!

Perfection.