Ingredients
| 1 cup | (250 ml) | milk (whole milk or your choice of milk fat percentage) |
| 8 bags | black tea or 3 tbsp (45 g) loose-leaf black tea | |
| 4 cups | (1 L) | hot water |
| ¾ cup | (190 g) | quick-cooking tapioca pearls |
| Simple syrup to serve, or your choice of sweetener |
For the Simple Syrup
| ½ cup | (125 ml) | water |
| ½ cup | (125 g) | sugar |
Directions
Equipment
- Saucepan
- tall 16oz glasses
Instructions:
- Prepare the tea: Steep the tea bags or leaves with 4 cups of freshly boiled water. Let the tea sit in water until it cools completely.
- Prepare the simple syrup (if using): Add the water and sugar to a saucepan and quickly stir everything together. Heat the water on medium-high and cook until the water boils and the sugar completely dissolves. Remove the saucepan from heat and let the simple syrup cool before transferring to a jar.
- Cook the tapioca pearls: Bring about 4 cups of water to boil and add the tapioca pearls. Stir the pearls and wait for them to float to the top. Then, cook them for another 5 minutes. Test a pearl to see if it has reached the desired level of softness. Cook the pearls for another few minutes if they are still stiff. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pearls from the hot water. Quickly rinse the pearls with water. Transfer the pearls into a bowl, and mix the pearls with a few tablespoons of simple syrup (to taste).
- Assemble the drinks: Strain the tea into a pitcher. Divide the cooked tapioca pearls into 4 large glasses. Next, add a few ice cubes to each glass. Pour 1 cup of the tea into each glass. Add ¼ cup of milk and 1 1/2 tbsp of simple syrup into each glass. Stir and taste the milk tea. Add more milk or simple syrup to your taste.
- Serve the bubble tea with large smoothie or boba straws and or a long-handled spoon.