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Bubble (Boba) Tea

02/25/2018 //  by Carmen//  4 Comments

While I’ve always referred to this drink as “bubble tea,” it’s also known as boba tea, pearl milk tea, boba juice, and bubble milk tea. It was invented in Taiwan in the 80s (hands-down THE best generation of music)… and while bubble tea recipes now contain a variety of ingredients including tea, fruit, milk, syrup, and juice to which tapioca pearls (the bubbles) are added; the oldest known bubble tea was made with hot Taiwanese black tea, condensed milk, syrup, and small tapioca pearls!

I had my first bubble tea experience while visiting Seattle during my pregnancy with JRoc. My brother’s girlfriend at the time was making a HUMONGOUS deal about having me try this mysteriously fun-sounding drink!

I’m just here being insanely cool. Carry on…

The unique beverage contained HUGE tapioca balls (boba/bubble), and served in a plastic cup and sealed with plastic wrap decorated with cute pictures. And you sip the tea and boba with these super-wide straws!

Topping off the yum with extra kawaii… you can’t tell me that’s not fun!

And btw, that’s JRoc back when he was NINE… isn’t he just the coolest little badboy evarrr? Oh, and before I forget, those were Thai Milk bubble teas! MY FAVORITE!

Anyway, most boba teas (I prefer to call them “bubble tea” because it’s cuter) are made with a tea base, mixed with fruit or milk, and lots of chewy tapioca balls! (Also, before I forget… I don’t recommend bubble tea for younger children because I think them giant balls are a choking hazard. Just please be careful!)

Ok, so the point of this post is that you can EASILY make these yummy treats at home! I’ll show you THREE ways to make your bubble tea: 1) Plain, 2) Milk, and 3) Flavored (your choice!) bubble teas!

FIRST, you need BUBBLES! Because without them, it’s just TEA. You can find bags of dried tapioca pearls at your local Asian market… or order from Amazon!

Tapioca Pearl Instructions (follow directions on package):

  1. Boil 10 cups water for every 1 cup tapioca pearls. Add pearls into boiling water and gently stir to keep pearls from sticking to each other.
  2. When pearls float to surface, cover pot and cook on medium heat for 10 mins.
  3. Scoop out pearls, drain the large pot and replace with cold water. Return pearls to pot of cold water and let them sit for 1 minute.

Bubble Tea Ingredients & Instructions (Makes one, 2-cup serving):

Plain bubble tea:

  • LIQUID: 2 cups black tea (or flavored tea of your choice)
  • BUBBLES: 1/2 cup tapioca pearls
  • ice cubes
  1. Prepare 2 cups black tea or flavored iced tea of your choice.
  2. Pour into chilled glass, add tapioca, ice cubes,  and serve with a wide straw!

Milk bubble tea:

  • LIQUID: 1 cup black tea (or flavored tea of your choice)
  • CREAMINESS: 1 cup milk (whole, soy, almond, or coconut)
  • BUBBLES: 1/2 cup tapioca pearls
  • ice cubes
  1. Prepare 1 cup black tea or flavored iced tea of your choice.
  2. Pour tea into chilled glass, add milk of your choice, tapioca, stir in ice cubes,  and serve with a wide straw!

Flavored bubble tea:

  • LIQUID: 1 cup milk (whole, soy, almond, or coconut)
  • FLAVOR: 1 cup fruit of your choice (or 1 cup black coffee or tea)
  • BUBBLES: 1/2 cup tapioca pearls
  • ice cubes
  1. Blend milk, your choice of flavor (fruit, coffee, tea, etc) and ice in a blender.
  2. Pour into chilled glass, add tapioca, stir in ice cubes,  and serve with a wide straw!

BONUS! Using Bubble tea POWDER: 

  • LIQUID: 1.5 cups water
  • CREAMY: 2 tablespoons Coffee-Mate
  • FLAVOR: 1/3 cup bubble tea powder
  • BUBBLES: 1/2 cup tapioca pearls
  • 1/2 cup ice cubes
  1. Blend water, bubble tea powder, Coffee-Mate, and ice in a blender.
  2. Pour into chilled glass, add tapioca, and serve with a wide straw!
02.25.18 – Thai Milk bubble tea! #mmm

BONUS #2! Thai Milk bubble tea:

  • LIQUID: 2 cups Thai iced tea
  • BUBBLES: 1/2 cup tapioca pearls
  • ice cubes
  1. Pour into chilled glass, add tapioca, stir in ice cubes,  and serve with a wide straw!

 

 
Mmmm... Did you make this recipe?
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Carmen

I’m a single mom of a premed, certified life strategist, religion teacher, best selling author, and advocate for victims of narcissistic abuse. If it’s yummy, quick, healthy, easy, yummy, and yummy… believe me, I’m all over it!

Let me know if you’ve tried my recipes by tagging @girlplusfoodlv on Instagram so I can celebrate with you!

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Category: Beverage, Dessert, Favorites, Recipes, Top, World FlavorsTag: taiwanese

Disclosure: GirlPlusFood.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Previous Post: « Homemade Thai Iced Tea Recipe
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Leanne

    03/12/2018 at 11:37 pm

    Hi Carmen,

    Wow, Boba tea FIVE ways!
    I’m an addict and you are my new hero! THANK YOU!!!!!!

    XXOO
    Leanne

    Reply
    • Carmen Sakurai

      04/23/2018 at 10:34 pm

      Hi Leanne!

      Mmmhmmm… and they’re ALL insanely yummy!!! The Thai milk bubble tea has to be at the top of my list tho!!! Enjoy! xo

      Reply
  2. Leanne

    03/12/2018 at 11:37 pm

    Hi Carmen,

    Wow, Boba tea FIVE ways!
    I’m an addict and you are my new hero! THANK YOU!!!!!!

    XXOO
    Leanne

    Reply
    • Carmen Sakurai

      04/23/2018 at 10:34 pm

      Hi Leanne!

      Mmmhmmm… and they’re ALL insanely yummy!!! The Thai milk bubble tea has to be at the top of my list tho!!! Enjoy! xo

      Reply

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Hai! I’m Carmen ♥

I’m Carmen… Certified life strategist and a single mom to an always STARVING premed. So, it’s become my life mission (*cough* weekly goal) to prep quick & yummy eats without wanting to set myself on fire! ♥

Recent Posts

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Breakup Therapy! ❤️‍🩹🍣 While many sca Breakup Therapy! ❤️‍🩹🍣
While many scarf down ice cream to heal a broken heart 💔, this girl turns to AYCE sushi for a serious recovery sesh. And our go-to spot  @jjangalv never disappoints. 🤤🍣
My 20/yo son treated me to… EVERYTHING including… 
🍣 oysters, 
🍣 salmon belly, 
🍣 salmon bombs, and 
🍣 tuna carpaccio… 
ALL were sooo freakin yum and kept my mind totally focused on the deliciousness! 🤤 
And lookie at my future heart surgeon… he knows how to heal broken hearts alredi! 🥰❤️‍🩹
Here’s to a better today than yesterday!
❤️ Carmen
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You Had Me at “Halo Halo” 🍨🇵🇭 Mid S You Had Me at “Halo Halo” 🍨🇵🇭 
Mid September and it’s still freakin 99° in Sin City… so we just had to halo halo @magnoliaicecreamtreats again! Good thing this location is so close to UNLV (I can get my fix every single day! 😂)!
“Halo Halo” means “mix mix” in Tagalog (language in the Philippines) and made of crushed ice❄️ , sweetened beans, coconut strips 🥥, crispy rice, jelly squares, evaporated milk 🥛, corn flakes 🥣, ube jam purple 💜, ice cream 🍨, and leche flan 🍮 (silky smooth caramel custard 🤤🤤🤤).⠀
We had… 
🍧 Mahalo halo (the original kind)
🍧 Mais con yelo (sweet corn & corn flakes!)
🍧 I lava lychee (lychee, boba, & mochi)
👉🏻 Which flavor would you try first??? 
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It’s National Cream-Filled Donut Day! 🍩 Whil It’s National Cream-Filled Donut Day! 🍩  While we’ve never celebrated it - like ever 😂, I figured today would be a great day to start since the last time I had a donut was 👉🏻 before this crazy pandemic 😱  
  
📍@glaze.lv  
🍩 Bavarian cream, apple fritters, peanuts, cocoa pebbles, and kolaches (my favorite!)  
  
Which are your favorites? 🍩🤤😍 
  
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Hai! 🙋🏻‍♀️ it’s been a looong minute Hai! 🙋🏻‍♀️ it’s been a looong minute, I know… but omg this summer was hectic … with my son attending classes at 2 colleges 😂… he finally got ONE week off before starting his FINAL year at UNLV… so we finally had time for some summertime deliciousness at @easylifebobatea 🧋 
 
We got… 
 
💛Mango shaved ice with fresh, juicy mangoes 🥭🍧 
🧡Thai milk tea with honey boba 🧋 
💜Taro milk tea with pudding 🧋 
 
Everything was delicious as usual!!! Def coming back for more!!!  
 
*My first time lapse everrrr!!! 🤩 
 
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👉🏻 Ohhhemmmgeee a bubble tea robot machine!!!  😲🤤❤️ 
       
✔️ Organic berry with milk 🍓   
✔️ Organic oolong tea with milk🧋  
  
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OMG the hot, bubbly, garlic butter made my house s OMG the hot, bubbly, garlic butter made my house smell like everything was just right in this world again... 🧄🧈🕊☮️ 
 
Yesterday was the first day of Lent... so, I tried to do a fancy without red meat for me and my boy... 👩🏻‍🍳👩‍👦 
 
Ended up with EXTRA garlicky butter scallops with baguettes... it’s as “fancy” as I can get at the moment 🙈... but mannn these were oh sooo yummeh! 🤤🥰🍴 
 
Enjoy your Thursday!! 
 
💕 Carmen 
 
 
 
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Mom: Tonkatsu bento box 🍱  
Shared: Sashimi plate 🍣  
Drinks: Calpico! (Mmmm! 🥤) 
 
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First time at @masterkimslv and they did not disappoint! We had 👉🏻 beef bulgogi, NY strip steak, angus short ribs, beef brisket, rib eye, angus kalbi, beef tongue, beef intestine (joshua is the brave one who will try anything once), pork belly, steamed egg, cheese corn, and green tea ice cream (sorry no pic because food coma)...   
  
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Thank you, son!!! 🙏🏻🥰❤️   
   
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