How to Make Bubble Tea at Home: Easy Step-by-Step Guide

How to Make Bubble Tea at Home

Boba tea, bubble tea, is hot all over the world! Taiwanese Tea that is sweet and chewy tapioca pearls (boba) in a refreshing and flavorful beverage. It doesn’t matter if you like classic milk tea, fruity flavor or both; it’s simple, affordable and customizable to make at home. We’ll cover all the steps from preparing bubble tea at home, and then give you variations depending on your taste, as well as some pro tips that will make your drink perfect.

First, we’ll start by learning the basics about getting those cornerstone ingredients, and walking you through the step by step process of creating your own bubble tea at home.

What is Bubble Tea?

Bubble tea is a drink of with chewy tapioca pearls on top. In Taiwan in the 1980s, it became popular and spread across the globe because its textures were so special and customizable. The tapioca pearls or boba that help give this a fun, chewy component are the “bubbles.” Milk, tea and toppings combined together is too hard to be resisted.

There are two main types of bubble tea:

Milk-based bubble tea: This is made usually with black milk or milk alternatives, and sweetened pearls.
Fruit-based bubble tea: Syrups, purees or fruit juices, without milk, usually lighter and more refreshing.

Popular Flavors of Bubble Tea:

Classic Milk Tea: A mix of black tea and milk, to be very rich and creamy.
Taro Milk Tea: Taro root powder Provides it with unique nutty, vanilla flavor.
Matcha Milk Tea: Fine green tea leaves ground for earthy flavor.
Strawberry or Mango Bubble Tea: Frooty varieties with fruit syrups or fresh fruit puree.

Essential Ingredients for Making Bubble Tea

To successfully make that delicious bubble tea at home, you’ll need a few basic ingredients. The good news is, many of these items are readily available in Asian markets, or are easily found online.

Key Ingredients:

Tapioca Pearls (Boba): The bubbles are the chewy balls at the bottom of they bubble tea. These are but black, white or multi colored pearls made from cassava starch.
Tea: There are also bubble teas using the bases of green tea, jasmine or oolong . If you like loose, leaf tea, use that; otherwise, go ahead and use tea bags.
Milk or Dairy-Free Alternatives: For a creamy milk tea try using whole milk, condensed milk, half and half, or dairy free like almond milk, coconut milk or oat milk.
Sweetener: Simple syrup, sugar, honey or fruit syrups are many of the ways bubble teas are sweetened. It is sweetened naturally, so it is easy to adjust the sweetness level as you like.
Ice: When making bubble tea recipes, most of which call for crushed or cubed ice to make a nice chilled drink, the ice can be crushed or cubed.
Optional Flavors: You can customize your bubble tea flavor with fruit syrups, powders (such as matcha or taro) and extracts.

Where to Buy Ingredients:

Asian supermarkets or even online Amazon retailers would sell you tapioca pearls and other bubble tea ingredients.
There are tea leaves or tea bags at any grocery store or specialty tea shop.
Most supermarkets stock milk and sweetener.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Make Bubble Tea at Home

Now that we have all our ingredients we can go ahead and make from scratch. Now it is time for a step by step on how to make an awesome homemade bubble tea!.

Step 1: Cook the Tapioca Pearls

Making is a matter of cooking the tapioca pearls. Here’s how to do it:

Boil water: You’ll need a large pot, and bring 6-8 cups of water to a boil. So the pearls don’t stick together, you’ll want to have quite a bit of water.
Add the tapioca pearls: Add 1 cup of tapioca pearls and once the water comes to a rolling boil. Do not stir them too much because they may clump.
Cook the pearls: You leave the pearls to cook for 15 – 20 minutes, whatever brand, type of pearl you have. This way it will ensure the cooking is even. The ones in the water should come up, make their way to become soft and chewy.
Drain and rinse: Take the pearls out of the cooking pot as soon as they are done, drain them, and rinse with cold water to stop beyond cooked.
Sweeten the pearls: When cooked, toss the pearls with a little sugar, honey or brown sugar syrup. It is gonna add some flavour to the pearls as well as prevent the pearls from hardening.

Pro Tip:

If you can’t find quick cooking tapioca pearls, they reduce the cooking time to about 5 minutes. Look for specific instruction on the packaging of the products.

Step 2: Brew the Tea

Brewing the tea base for the bubble tea is while the tapioca pearls cook.

Boil water: Put 2 – 3 cups of water in a kettle or chopping bowl and boil.
Steep the tea: Now put 2-3 black tea bags or loose leaf tea in the hot water. 5–7 minutes steeping time depending on how strong you like your tea.
Sweeten the tea: Sweeten your tea, while the tea is still warm. You can use sugar, simple syrup, honey or any sweetener you desire.

Tip for Green Tea or Matcha:

Steep green tea bags or mix matcha powder with warm water if you’d prefer to base your matcha green tea on green tea. Black tea is less flavorful then green tea.

Step 3: Assemble the Bubble Tea

With the pearls and tea now ready, it’s time to build everything out.

Add the tapioca pearls: Put ¼ cup of the cooked tapioca pearls into the bottom of your glass.
Add ice: It’s great for serving a fresh drink, fill the glass halfway with ice cubes or crushed ice.
Pour the tea: Scrape out the sweetened tea from the glass and pour it in, about three quarters full.
Add milk: Choose milk (or dairy free alternative) of about ¼ cup. Mix everything well together.
Serve with a wide straw: You’d want to use a straw designed to accommodate the beads.

Optional: Flavor Variations

He is super customizable, and you can make various flavors by refrigerating , adding any syrup, powder or fresh fruits till the flavors get mixed together. Here are some popular flavor variations:

Taro Bubble Tea: Starchie flavour — a sweet, starchy mix of taro powder and milk.
Matcha Bubble Tea: Mix matcha powder with milk and your desired amount of sweetener.
Fruit Bubble Tea: For a fruity twist add fruit syrups or purees, such as mango, lychee or strawberry. If you want a lighter, more fruity tea omit the milk.

Customizing Your Bubble Tea

The great (easy) part about making bubble tea at home is that you can make it the way you like it. Here are several ways to customize your drink:

Adjusting the Sweetness

Everyone has different taste preference when it comes to their bubble tea, some people like their bubble tea sweet, some people like their less sugary. The sweetness can be controlled by changing the amount of sugar, honey, or syrup. For a healthier option, use natural sweeteners such as agave syrup or stevia.

Types of Milk

Milk adds a creamy texture to but if you’re lactose intolerant or prefer a dairy-free option, there are plenty of alternatives:

Almond milk
Oat milk
Coconut milk
Soy milk

Experimenting with Flavors

You can also play with different tea base and flavors. For example, you can use some oolong tea, earl grey or herbal teas. Flavorings such as vanilla extract, rosewater, almond extract, can also be added to give an interesting taste.

Pro Tips for Perfect Bubble Tea

Use Fresh Tapioca Pearls: The best way to eat tapioca pearls is freshly cooked. They can harden, and if left too long. To get the best results, consume them within 4 hours of cooking.
Adjust Cooking Time: The time will depend on how you made your tapioca pearls. Quick cooking varieties cook in 5 minutes, larger pearls may take a bit longer. If you followed the package instructions, the best results will be achieved.
Chill Your Tea: Chilling the tea first will ensure your stays cold and refreshing. That way, the ice won’t water down the flavor.
Use a Wide Straw: Sucking up the chewy tapioca pearls with the actual drink is part of the experience at so to more fully enjoy the experience, use a wide straw.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Can I make bubble tea without tapioca pearls? Yes, you can substitute tapioca pearls