Strawberry Milk Boba Tea Recipe
Strawberry milk boba tea combines the sweet flavors of strawberries with creamy milk and tea, and is enhanced with chewy, irresistible tapioca pearls.
Equipment
- Tall cup
- Saucepan
- Mixing spoon
- Sieve or blender
- Boba straw (optional)
Ingredients
Strawberry Sauce (makes 4-5 servings)
- 1 lb strawberries, fresh or frozen
- 1/3 cup cane sugar (see recipe notes for substitution)
- 1 tbsp water
Tea (makes 4 servings)
- 2 teabags (can use black or green tea)
- 1 cup water
Add-Ins
- 1/4 - 1/3 cup boba pearls, aka tapioca pearls
- 1 tsp brown sugar (can also just use 1-2 tsp of the strawberry sauce)
- 1 cup milk (can use dairy or plant-based milk alternatives)
- 1/2 cup ice (optional)
Instructions
Prepare Strawberry Sauce:
- Put strawberries, sugar, and 1 tbsp of water into a saucepan and place on medium to medium-high heat for the first few minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture starts to bubble, lower the heat and gently simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until thickened.
- Let the mixture cool down and decide if you want a sauce or a syrup. For a sauce, blend it until smooth. I prefer to use a handheld immersion blender for this. For a syrup, strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove the strawberry seeds and pulp. Store in the fridge until chilled.
Prepare Tea:
- While the strawberry sauce is chilling, bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Turn off heat and add 2 tea bags to the water, and then steep for 15 minutes. Remove the tea bags and let it come to room temperature, then place in the fridge to chill.
Cook Boba Tapioca Pearls:
- For homemade pearls, check out my post on how to easily make tapioca pearls from scratch. For store-bought pearls, follow the package instructions to boil 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the pearls, per serving. Once cooked, drain the water from the saucepan and add a teaspoon of brown sugar (per serving) to the pan with the pearls, then mix together. Alternatively you can add 1-2 tsp of the strawberry sauce to the pearls.
Assemble Strawberry Milk Boba Tea:
- Add the boba pearls to your glass, ice (if using), 1/3 cup of strawberry sauce, 1/4 cup of black tea, and 1 cup of milk of choice. Mix all together and enjoy!
Notes
- You will have extra servings of the strawberry sauce and the tea. Store the extras in the fridge for future milk teas.
- You can substitute the sugar in this recipe for a natural sugar-free alternative like Monk Fruit Sweetener. Make sure to use less, as it's sweeter than cane sugar. I'd start with 1 tablespoon for the strawberry sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon for the boba pearls. If needed, add more to taste.
- Alternatively, you can substitute the sugar for maple syrup. Add 1 tablespoon - or more to taste - for both the strawberry sauce and the boba pearls.
- Make sure to either add sugar, maple syrup, or strawberry sauce to the warm boba pearls once they're cooked. They need this coating, otherwise the consistency will change and they may become sticky and hard.
- Optional but fun: purchase fat straws made for boba/bubble tea so the boba can fit through. Otherwise, you can use a spoon.