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4.58 from 26 votes

Brown Sugar Bubble Tea (Brown Sugar Boba Milk Tea)

Make this incredibly popular bubble tea at home!
Prep Time6 minutes
Cook Time19 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Taiwanese
Servings: 1 serving (16 ounces)
Author: Jee Choe

Ingredients

Iced Milk Tea

  • ½ cup water
  • 1 tablespoon black tea or 2 tea bags
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 1 cup ice

Tapioca Balls

Instructions

MAKE TEA

  • Boil ½ cup of water. Take off heat.
    Set the water temperature to 195°F if you're using an electric kettle with a temperature setting. Use filtered water when possible.
  • Steep tea in hot water for 5 minutes.

  • Strain and discard tea leaves. Let tea cool.
    Set aside.

COOK TAPIOCA BALLS

  • Boil ¾ cup of water and sugar in a saucepan. Add tapioca balls.
    Combine brown sugar and ¾ cup of water in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. When you see big bubbles (2-4 minutes), add tapioca balls and lower heat to medium-low. Cook for 15 minutes.
    Cool slightly, until tapioca balls aren't too hot to eat. They should still be warm.

ASSEMBLE DRINK

  • Add warm tapioca balls in brown sugar syrup into a cup. 
Add ice, tea, and milk.
    Use a spoon to line brown sugar syrup inside the cup.
    Serve immediately and stir before drinking. Use an extra wide straw to drink.

Notes

  • Use any kind of black tea you like. The black tea for this drink doesn't need to be the highest quality, so feel free to use tea bags.
  • Although you can use any kind of milk, whole milk makes the drink rich and creamy.
  • This recipe makes a 16 ounces (2 cups) drink, so make sure to have a large enough cup.
  • Black tea can be prepared ahead of time and stored in your fridge for up to 4 days.
  • Instead of brewing black tea then cooling it down, use cold brewed tea. Make a batch and use the tea to make brown sugar milk tea with boba all week.
  • Boba can't be made ahead of time since they harden after a few hours.
  • Add tapioca balls into the cup when they're still warm and assemble the drink right away. Warm boba has the best texture.
  • Bubble tea is always served with a wide straw is so that you get a few boba with each sip of the milk tea.

Nutrition

Calories: 246 | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 97mg | Potassium: 284mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 296IU | Calcium: 249mg | Iron: 1mg