How to Make Milk Tea | A Refreshing Guide

4 min readJan 4, 2024

If you’re a fan of bubble tea or milk tea, you know just how satisfying and refreshing this beverage can be, especially during the summer months. With its origins in Taiwan, It has gained popularity worldwide for its unique combination of sweetened tea, milk, and tapioca balls, also known as boba. While you can easily find milk tea at teahouse chains, making it at home allows you to customize the flavor and sweetness to your liking. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of making delicious tea in the comfort of your kitchen.

Choosing the Right Milk Tea:

The first step in making milk tea is selecting the right tea as a base. The key is to choose a tea with a robust flavor that can stand up to the milk and other ingredients. Black tea varieties such as Assam, Ceylon, and Yunnan are ideal choices for a strong and flavorful base. Assam tea is known for its maltiness, while Ceylon tea adds a tannic quality that enhances the overall taste. Yunnan tea, on the other hand, brings a smoky complexity to the blend. You can experiment with different combinations of these teas to find the perfect balance of flavors.

Gathering the Ingredients

To make milk tea, you’ll need a few essential ingredients: tea, tapioca pearls, milk, and a sweetener. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll need:

Milk Tea:

Use either 8 bags of black tea or 3 tablespoons of loose-leaf black tea.
4 cups hot water

Tapioca Pearls:

1 cup dried boba balls
4 cups water
½ cup sweetening syrup

Milk:

Whole milk or your choice of milk (such as nut milk or soy milk)

Sweetener:

Simple syrup or your choice of sweetener (such as honey or granulated sugar)

Cooking the Tapioca Pearls

Tapioca pearls, also known as boba, are an essential component of tea. Cooking them properly is crucial to achieve the desired chewy texture. Here’s how you can cook tapioca pearls to perfection:

To begin, take a medium-sized saucepan and fill it with 4 cups of water. Heat the water until it reaches a rolling boil.
Add 1 cup of dried boba balls to the boiling water and stir to prevent sticking.
Cook the tapioca pearls for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After 30 minutes, remove the saucepan from heat and let the pearls rest for another 30 minutes.
Strain the cooked boba and transfer them to a mixing bowl.
Stir in ½ cup of sweetening syrup, ensuring that the pearls are well-coated.
Let the boba sit for an additional 30 minutes to absorb the sweetness.

Brewing the Milk Tea:

While the tapioca pearls are cooking, you can brew the tea. Here’s how to prepare a delicious tea blend for your milk tea:

Combine 8 bags of black tea or 3 tablespoons of loose-leaf black tea in a mixing bowl.
Mix the tea leaves thoroughly to blend Assam, Ceylon, and Yunnan teas.
Boil 4 cups of water and pour it over the tea leaves.
Allow the tea to steep until it cools completely.

Assembling the Milk Tea

Now that you have cooked tapioca pearls and brewed tea, it’s time to assemble the tea. Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating your perfect cup of milk tea:

Fill a tall glass with ice cubes.
Add your desired toppings, such as prepared grass jelly, coffee jelly, or matcha pudding.
Pour 2 ounces of sweetening syrup over the toppings.
Strain the brewed tea into the glass, filling it about halfway.
Add 2½ ounces of milk, whether whole milk or your preferred dairy-free alternative.
Stir the ingredients until well mixed.
Taste the tea and adjust the sweetness or milkiness to your preference by adding more syrup or milk.

Personal Experience and Tips

While this guide provides a comprehensive overview of how to make milk tea, it’s worth noting that personal preferences can vary. Some people enjoy a stronger tea flavor, while others prefer a sweeter or milkier taste. You can adjust the recipe to suit your preferences by experimenting with different tea blends, sweeteners, and milk choices. Don’t be afraid to get creative and try out new flavors and variations.

In my own experience, I found that using a blend of Assam and Ceylon teas created a rich and balanced flavor. Additionally, I enjoyed the chewy texture of the tapioca pearls cooked for 30 minutes and soaked in sweetening syrup. However, you can adjust the pearls’ cooking time and sweetness level to achieve your desired consistency.

Remember to have fun and enjoy the process of making milk tea. It’s a versatile beverage that allows for endless customization. So, gather your ingredients, follow the steps outlined in this guide, and savor the delightful flavors of homemade tea.

Additional Information:

If you want to make your milk tea dairy-free, you can use nut or soy milk as a substitute for whole milk.
To add a personal touch to your tea, you can prepare your own le syrup using different types of sugar, such as brown sugar or coconut sugar. Infusing the syrup with ingredients like ginger can also enhance the flavor profile.
You can find tapioca pearls and other ingredients for making milk tea at Asian supermarkets or online retailers.

Now that you have all the information and steps needed to make your own mila, it’s time to get creative in the kitchen and enjoy this delightful beverage. Whether you’re a fan of traditional black tea tea or prefer to experiment with different flavors and toppings, the possibilities are endless. So, grab your favorite tea blend, cook those tapioca pearls to perfection, and indulge in a refreshing glass of homemade milk tea. Cheers!