Iced Coffee Boba
Updated Nov 02, 2024
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Make delicious and refreshing iced coffee with boba at home with my step-by-step directions. It’s so easy to make in just a few minutes!
Coffee + Boba? Yes!
Boba is the name for tapioca balls, which are chewy and soft little round spheres found in bubble tea (also called milk tea) drinks. The tapioca starch used to make boba comes from cassava root.
When people say boba, it can mean the tapioca balls or the drink (bubble tea).
The easiest way to make bubble tea at home is to use store-bought tapioca balls. To add boba to drinks, just cook dried tapioca balls in water for a few minutes to make them soft.
Note from Jee
I love boba and I love coffee, so I brought those 2 together to create this delicious drink.
I went to Korea a few years ago and I had the best boba ever, and I realized the secret was the hot tapioca balls. They were hot, but not burn-your-mouth hot, and they had the perfect soft and chewy consistency. So that’s how I make all my bubble tea drinks now and you should too!
RELATED: 17 Bubble Tea Recipes
Recipe Summary
- Iced coffee boba is a drink made with cooled down brewed coffee and tapioca balls (boba). It’s sweetened with brown sugar and made creamy with half & half. There’s no tea in this drink.
- Store-bought tapioca balls are easily purchased online or in Asian markets and they’re the fastest and easiest way to recreate bubble tea drinks at home in just a few minutes.
- Brewed coffee for this recipe can be made in a drip coffee machine. Cold brew can also be used.
RELATED: Brown Sugar Bubble Tea
Ingredient Notes
- Coffee: Any kind of strong brewed coffee can be used. Use a coffee machine or a Nespresso.
- Tapioca balls: These are sold dry, like pasta, and you just cook them in water for a few minutes to soften.
- Brown sugar: Using white granulated sugar is good too, but I prefer iced coffee with brown sugar because it has a richer, caramel-like taste.
- Half & half: Half & half is half cream and half milk so it’s creamier than regular milk. If you don’t want to use half & half, replace it with any kind of milk you like.
- Water: Using filtered water will make a better tasting drink.
- Ice: Whenever possible, use ice made with filtered water.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Boil water and brown sugar together then add tapioca balls in a saucepan.
Step 2: Put warm tapioca balls and brown sugar syrup into a glass. Add ice.
Step 3: Pour in cooled coffee.
Step 4: Top with half & half. Serve immediately. Stir before drinking and use an extra wide straw.
Recipe Notes
Cooking tapioca balls in brown sugar syrup.
The brown sugar and water creates a brown sugar syrup, that sweetens the drink and the tapioca balls. Adding brown sugar to the coffee doesn’t give the drink enough depth of flavor so it’s best to make it into a brown sugar syrup.
Cold brew coffee or coffee made in a French press can be used.
If you don’t have a drip coffee machine, you can replace the coffee in this recipe with cold brew coffee. You can also use coffee made in a French press or Nespresso that has been cooled down.
Use strong brewed coffee.
Use 3 tablespoons of ground coffee and 1 cup of water to brew ¾ cup of strong coffee. You can use 2 tablespoons of ground coffee and 1 cup of water if you want it to be a little less strong.
How to Drink Boba
All boba drinks are served with an extra-wide straw so you get some of the boba with each sip of the drink. Regular straws are not wide enough and the boba will be stuck at the bottom of the glass. Make sure to chew the tapioca balls instead of swallowing them whole.
Expert Tips
- All the sweetness comes from the brown sugar syrup that the tapioca balls are cooked in so just add less of the brown sugar syrup if you want to cut down on the sugar.
- Tapioca balls can’t be made too much ahead of time since they’ll harden after 4 hours. They’re best when you cook and cool them a little, then serve the drink right away.
- Boba is only good for just a handful of hours after cooking them. They should be prepared just before you want to make the drink.
Related
If you tried this Iced Coffee Boba recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating and let me know how you like it in the comments below.
Iced Coffee Boba
Ingredients
Tapioca Balls
- ¾ cup water
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ cup tapioca balls
Iced Coffee
- ¾ cup strong brewed coffee , (cooled)
- ¾ cup half & half
- ¼ cup ice
Instructions
- Boil water and brown sugar in a saucepan. Add tapioca balls.Combine brown sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. When you see big bubbles (2-4 minutes), add tapioca balls. Cook for another 8 minutes on medium-high heat.¾ cup water, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, ¼ cup tapioca balls
- Put warm tapioca balls in brown sugar syrup into a cup. Add ice, then the cooled down coffee. Top with half & half.Boba should be very warm but not too hot to eat. Coffee should be room temperature or cooler. Do not use hot coffee.Serve immediately and stir before drinking. Use an extra wide straw to drink.¾ cup strong brewed coffee, ¾ cup half & half, ¼ cup ice
Notes
- Use 3 tablespoons of ground coffee and 1 cup of water to brew ¾ cup of strong coffee. You can use 2 tablespoons of ground coffee and 1 cup of water if you want it to be a little less strong.
- Tapioca balls that have cooled down just a bit so that they’re not too hot to eat but still very warm, have the perfect boba consistency where they’re soft and chewy.
- Tapioca balls can’t be made too much ahead of time since they’ll harden after 4 hours. They’re best when you cook and cool them a little, and then serve the drink right away.
- Boba drinks are all served with a wide straw so you get some of the boba with each sip of the drink. Regular straws are not wide enough and the boba will be stuck at the bottom of the glass.
- Chew the tapioca balls instead of swallowing them whole.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
