Earl Grey Bubble Tea (Earl Grey Boba Milk Tea)

5 from 2 votes

Earl Grey bubble tea is milky and creamy, with hints of citrus coming from bergamot-infused black tea.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American, Chinese, Taiwanese

Servings: serving (16 ounces)

Author: Jee Choe

Steep tea bags or sachets in ¾ cup hot water for 5 minutes.
Set the temperature to 195°F if you're using an electric kettle with a temperature setting. Use filtered water if possible.
Discard tea bags or sachets and stir in brown sugar.
Set aside to cool.

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.

Put warm tapioca balls and brown sugar syrup into a cup.  Add ice, cooled down tea, and milk.
Serve immediately and stir before drinking. Use an extra wide straw to drink.

For the perfect texture, serve tapioca balls when they’re warm. Just make sure they’re not too hot, since they can burn your mouth.
Whole milk produces a creamier drink, but you can also use plant-based milks such as oat or soy.
Prepare tapioca balls right before you make the drink since boba starts to harden as they cool.
Use 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, opt for a less expensive tea. The subtle differences you find with high quality tea will be lost in the drink.
While tapioca pearls shouldn’t be made ahead, you can prep the Earl Grey tea in advance. Steep and keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Add the sugar when you’re ready to make the drink.
For the best bubble tea, serve the tapioca balls while they’re warm, but not hot. Allow boba to cool slightly.
Bubble teas should be served with a wide straw so you drink the tapioca balls at the same time as the tea.
Make sure to chew the tapioca balls instead of swallowing them whole.