Rose Bubble Tea
Updated Mar 01, 2025
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
A black tea with dried rose buds flavors this sweet, floral milk tea with boba. Get my secret to making the best boba.
Rose Bubble Tea
Rose bubble tea is an iced milk tea with boba (tapioca balls) that’s flavored with roses. The soft and chewy tapioca balls are called boba, and since they look like little bubbles at the bottom of the cup, the drink is called bubble tea.
Note from Jee
I tested this drink a few times until I got a nice balance of rose and black tea.
I first made it with 2 tea bags but the flavor was too strong and fighting the rose notes, so I made it with one tea bag, which I really liked.
I don’t love strong rose flavors in tea so I made sure the rose wasn’t overwhelming but not too weak you can barely taste it.
Recipe Summary
- This rose bubble tea is made with black tea, dried rose buds, milk, dark brown sugar, tapioca balls, and ice.
- English Breakfast tea is the black tea that is the base of this bubble tea, making it a caffeinated drink.
- Store-bought tapioca balls are the easiest way to make bubble tea at home. Cooking the tapioca balls in water for a few minutes plumps them up.
RELATED: Black Sesame Bubble Tea
Ingredient Notes
- English Breakfast tea: I like to make this drink with English Breakfast tea but any unflavored black tea can be used. Tea sachets or loose tea will work, but tea bags are easier to clean up.
- Dried rose buds: Dried rose petals can also be used. Make sure the dried rose is food-safe.
- Tapioca balls: It’s easy to use store bought tapioca balls, which are sold dry, because you just cook them in water.
- Brown sugar: This is used to make a brown sugar syrup, which sweetens the drink. Using brown sugar instead of white will add a hint of caramel flavor to the drink.
- Milk: Whole milk makes the drink creamier but any milk can be used, including plant-based milk like oat milk.
- Water: I recommend using filtered water for a better tasting tea.
- Ice: Use filtered water to make ice if you can.
Photo Credit: amazon.com
For full ingredients and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Steep tea and dried rose buds in hot water. Strain rose buds and tea bag, stir in sugar. Set aside to cool.
Step 2: Cook tapioca balls in brown sugar and water. Boil water and brown sugar together then add tapioca balls.
Step 3: Put tapioca balls and brown sugar syrup into a cup. Add ice.
Step 4: Pour in tea and top with milk. Serve immediately. Stir before drinking and use a wide straw to drink.
Recipe Notes
Use warm tapioca balls.
When tapioca balls are still very warm, but not burning hot, they have the perfect soft and chewy consistency. Adding tapioca balls into a cup while they’re very warm is my secret to making the best bubble tea.
Go for tea bags instead of loose tea.
Loose tea and tea sachets contain better quality tea than tea bags but since this drink is made with sugar and milk, you don’t need to use the more expensive teas. The subtle differences you find with high quality tea will be lost in the drink.
Adjust the sweetness.
If you make the drink and find it too sweet, you can strain out the tapioca balls from the brown sugar simple syrup when assembling the drink. Once it’s ready, you can add in the brown sugar syrup a little at a time until you get the sweetness amount you prefer.
Expert Tips
- The black tea and dried rose buds can be steeped ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator for 4 days. Don’t add the sugar and milk until you’re ready to make the drink.
- Chop the rose buds if you want a stronger rose flavor.
- Tapioca balls will harden as they cool so it’s best to make them right before you want to make the drink.
- To make the drink even tastier and rich, top it with rose cold foam.
- Bubble tea is always served with a wide straw so you can sip the iced tea and also get a few boba at the same time. Tapioca balls should be chewed (not swallowed whole) while drinking the tea.
RELATED: Homemade Bubble Tea with Cold Foam
RELATED
Want to save this recipe to Pinterest for later? Pin it now to your Pinterest board!
Rose Bubble Tea
Ingredients
Iced Rose Milk Tea
- ¾ cup hot water
- 3 tablespoons dried rose buds or rose petals, (food-grade)
- 1 tea bag English breakfast tea, (or 1 ½ teaspoons loose tea)
- ¾ cup ice
- ⅓ cup milk
Tapioca Balls
- ¾ cup water
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ cup tapioca balls
Instructions
- Steep dried rose buds and tea bag in hot water for 5 minutes. Roughly chop dried rose buds before steeping in water to get a stronger rose flavor.Set the temperature to 195°F if you're using an electric kettle with a temperature setting. Use filtered water if possible.
- Strain the rose buds and tea bag. Stir in sugar.Stir until sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool.
- Cook tapioca balls. Boil ¾ cup of water and brown sugar in a saucepan. Add tapioca balls.Combine water and brown sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once you see big bubbles (2-4 minutes), add tapioca balls. Keep boiling for 8 more minutes on medium-high heat. Turn off heat and cool slightly, until tapioca balls are quite warm, but aren't too hot to eat.
- Assemble the drink. Put warm tapioca balls and brown sugar syrup into a cup. Add ice, pour in tea, then top with milk.Serve immediately and stir before drinking. Use an extra wide straw to drink.
Notes
- Tea sachets or loose tea will work, but tea bags are easier to use and clean up.
- White sugar can be used instead of brown sugar.
- Whole milk makes the drink creamier but any milk can be used, including plant-based milk like oat milk and almond milk.
- Loose tea and tea sachets contain better quality tea than tea bags but since this drink is made with sugar and milk, you don’t need to use the more expensive teas. The subtle differences you find with high quality tea will be lost in the drink.
- When tapioca balls are still very warm, but not burning hot, they have the perfect soft and chewy consistency.
- Tapioca balls will harden as they cool so it’s best to make them right before you want to make the drink.
- The black tea and dried rose buds can be steeped ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator for 4 days. Don’t add the sugar or milk until you’re ready to make the drink.
- Bubble tea is always served with a wide straw. This allows you to sip the tea with a few tapioca balls at the same time. Make sure to chew the tapioca balls instead of swallowing them whole.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
