Strawberry Bubble Tea (Strawberry Boba Milk Tea)

5 from 4 votes

Delicious and perfectly sweet strawberry milk tea with boba is easy to make at home. Get step-by-step instructions and expert tips.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: Taiwanese

Servings: serving (16 ounces)

Author: Jee Choe

Boil ⅔ cup of water.
If using an electric kettle with a temperature setting, set the water to 175°F. Use filtered water if possible.
Steep tea bags in hot water for 3 minutes.
Discard tea sachets and let tea cool.

Boil 2 cups of water and add tapioca balls.
Boil water in a saucepan on the stovetop then add tapioca balls. Cook on medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Tapioca balls should be soft all the way through.
(Follow directions on your tapioca ball packaging if you're using a different brand than the one I’m using.)
Drain tapioca balls.

Put tapioca balls into a cup and add strawberry syrup. Add ice, green tea, and milk.
Use an extra wide straw to drink. Serve immediately and stir before drinking.

If you're using homemade strawberry syrup, make this first. It can be prepared ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator. The syrup will keep for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
The green tea can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Loose tea, tea sachets, or tea bags can be used but I prefer using green tea in tea bags for making this drink since it’s easy, mess-free, and I don’t need the highest quality tea. Any kind of green tea can be used.
Instead of steeping tea in hot water then cooling it down, make cold brewed green tea. Put tea bags and cold water (same amount in the recipe) in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours then remove tea bags.
Whole milk is used to make the drink creamy, but any kind of milk can be used. Half & half will make the drink extra creamy.
My secret to making the best bubble tea is to make the tapioca balls, then assemble and serve the drink while the boba are still warm. The warm tapioca balls have the perfectly soft, chewy texture. Just be sure to not use hot tapioca balls since you don't want to burn your mouth.
Boba can't be made ahead of time since they'll start to harden after 4 hours. Ideally, boba should be made, cooled down a bit, then served right away in a drink.
Bubble tea is served with a wide straw so that you'll get some tapioca balls each time you take a sip of the drink.