Bubble Milk Tea with Coffee Flavored Boba Pearls
Jump on the boba craze and make yours taste like... coffee! Read on for the full recipe for this delicious bubble milk tea.
What is boba?
Boba is a tea-based drink that originates from Taiwan and can refer to a broad category of chunky drinks. For example, iced tea with tapioca pearls or fresh juice with fruity bits. Boba tea, bubble tea, and pearl milk tea are essentially different names for the same thing, depending where you are. In the U.S., the East Coast would call it bubble tea, while if you are in West you would order boba.
The drink is made of black tea, cold milk, ice, and tapioca pearls. All the ingredients are shaken together and served with a fat straw to make sure your can get to tapioca pearls at the bottom of the cup.
Boba can easily be made at home with just a few ingredients. We made our version with coffee flavored pearls to elevate the taste even further!
Bubble Milk Tea with Coffee Flavored Boba Pearls Recipe
Ingredients:
Tea:
- 2 tsp Waka instant tea
- 10 oz cold water
Coffee flavored boba:
- 1 tsp Waka instant coffee
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
Coffee sugar syrup:
- 1/2 tsp Waka instant coffee
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
Instructions:
Making the tea
- Mix instant tea powder with hot water until fully dissolved. Set aside.
Making the coffee boba
- In a saucepan over medium heat, mix water, sugar and instant coffee granules until fully dissolved.
- Once the mixture is simmering, add half of the tapioca flour and mix to combine.
- Turn off the heat and add the rest of the tapioca flour. Mix well.
- Place warm dough on a floured surface and knead until smooth and combined. Roll into a ball shape.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal quarters and roll all parts into long strips.
- Cut dough into small pieces, and gently roll each piece into a pearl shape. Sprinkle tapioca flour on top to prevent them sticking to each other (set aside and freeze half of the unused boba).
Cook the boba
- Pour half of the boba pearls into a pot with boiling water. Let it cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Or until all cooked and floating on top of the water.
- Remove cooked boba and soak in cold water.
Making the syrup
- In a small saucepan over low heat, add sugar and boba. Mix until the sugar dissolves completely.
- Add instant coffee and stir until dissolved.
- Transfer syrupy boba into a bowl.
Making the bubble milk tea
- Add milk into a plunger and froth the milk until it becomes foamy.
- Add boba pearls into a tall glass.
- Add frothed milk, making sure to add foam and milk until the glass is half full.
- Top with the iced tea and enjoy!