Brown Sugar Milk Tea Recipe (Hot or Iced Boba Tea Recipe)

Immerse yourself in the rich, velvety allure of homemade brown sugar milk tea, a sensation that dances between tradition and trendy. With each sip, experience the magic of chewy boba pearls swimming in a sea of caramel-like sweetness. Perfectly brewed with actual tea. Enjoy a glass of brown sugar boba tea in 20 minutes flat!

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Taste: Brown sugar adds a rich caramel-like sweetness to the actual tea, creating a drink that tastes like sweet caramel and is silky in texture.
• Refreshing: Served over ice, this bubble tea recipe is perfect for cooling off on a hot day.
• Simple: It’s really much easier than you think to make brown sugar milk tea. My simple instructions will walk you through this easy recipe!

About Brown Sugar Boba

The brown sugar milk tea was first created in Taiwan, which is the place we have to thank for inventing boba tea. Boba tea shops are so popular over there, you’ll find them on every corner.

While the trend is just now becoming super popular in the U.S., you can still find plenty of shops here. Brown sugar milk tea is also called tiger milk tea and mud flip milk tea. Call it whatever you like, but this delicious drink is full of sweet flavors that you can feel good about drinking. If you’re interested in learning more about milk tea, my Black Milk Tea Recipe has more information.

What does it taste like?

Brown sugar boba milk tea tastes like sweet caramel. It’s so silky and creamy in texture that this tiger sugar drink is one of the most frequently ordered. It’s very approachable, so if you’ve never had bubble tea before, this may be the flavor to go with, especially if you like sweet flavors. 

Nutrition

Black tea is packed with healthful antioxidants. One study found that consuming up to four cups of black tea (around 450–600 mg of caffeine) can help protect against depression.

Ingredients + Notes

Satisfy your sweet tooth without feeling guilty about it. You can make brown sugar milk tea at home with just a few simple ingredients. Once you make it yourself, you’ll never go back to the boba shops. No lines, no waiting, no artificial ingredients, and best of all, it’s much more affordable this way!

• Tapioca Pearls: For an authentic experience, use brown sugar boba pearls. If making your own pearls, you’ll need tapioca flour, a small pot for the cooking process, and some cold water to achieve the right consistency. The pearls should be cooked until they achieve the sticky tapioca residue associated with typical boba. For this tasty recipe, I used store-bought regular boba.
• Brown Sugar: I’ll show you how to turn brown sugar into a dark brown sugar syrup to glaze your cup with tiger stripes for a picture-perfect bubble tea drink. 
• Black Tea: For this easy recipe, I’ve used loose black tea. I find it’s better in quality and much more budget-friendly. I don’t recommend using any tea in plastic satchels or bags because the chemicals and microplastics from them leak into the tea. You’ll get the best taste by simply using the leaves. 

A full list of ingredients with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

Recipe Variations

Need to make a change or shake things up? These recipe variations for my brown sugar milk tea will help you out!

• Milk: As mentioned, I use oat milk as my go-to milk, but any plant-based milk you prefer will work here. Coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk, etc., would all make a tasty boba drink.
• Pre-made tapioca pearls: I recommend pre-made tapioca pearls, which you can get from your local Asian grocers because they’re so simple to prepare. But you can always make your own from fresh tapioca starch. It’s a bit more complicated, though you can roll them in the palms of your hands until a sticky brown dough forms.

How To Make Brown Sugar Milk Tea Recipe

Don’t worry if you’ve never made bubble tea before. This easy recipe for brown sugar milk tea is simple enough for beginners. You’re going to want to make this boba tea full of little spherical balls all the time!

1. Cook The Boba: Add two cups of water into a saucepan and bring it to a rolling boil. Then, add the quick-cook boba and boil until all the pearls float to the top (about 4-5 minutes). Strain the boba, reserving 1/4 cup of liquid.

2. Make the Brown Sugar Boba Syrup: Return ¼ cup liquid to the saucepan along with the cooked boba and brown sugar. Next, cook on medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes. (Let it simmer and boil, stirring every minute or so.) It will start to thicken, and a lot of sugary bubbles will start to form. Then, remove it from the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes. Finally, using a rubber spatula, pour the brown sugar syrup boba into your serving glass. Set in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.

3. Make The Tea: Heat water in a teapot to 212°F/100°C. Add the loose-leaf black tea to a tea infuser and place it in a thin glass. Pour hot water over the tea and let it steep for about 7-10 minutes. Remove the tea.

4. Assemble the Brown Sugar Boba Tea: Remove the brown sugar boba mixture from the fridge. Then, using a spoon, scrape the brown sugar syrup up the sides of the glass like tiger stripes. Next, add ice on top of the boba and pour the oat milk over the ice, followed by the tea. Finally, stir and enjoy with a reusable boba straw.

Storage Tips

While it is indeed tempting to drink all the brown sugar milk tea, it’s surprisingly filling. You don’t need to let it go to waste, though, if you can’t finish it all in one sitting. You should remove any boba pearls first before putting them into the fridge. Tapioca pearls get hard when they’re in the fridge like that, and they will no longer be chewy and delightful. You can then keep the rest of the brown sugar tea mixture in an airtight container to enjoy later. 

• Fridge: Remember, take out the tapioca pearls, and you can keep the rest of your brown sugar boba tea. I wouldn’t wait too long to enjoy it, though…the max is about 2 days. Once you master making bubble tea at home, you’ll see it’s easy enough to make any time you want it, and you won’t wind up with too much left over. Check out How Long Does Milk Tea Last In The Fridge for a more in-depth guide.
• Freeze: There are lots of things you can freeze to enjoy later. Boba tea is not one of those things. Because of the creamy milk, the texture will change. And boba pearls do not freeze well, either. 
• Meal Prep: Are you preparing brown sugar milk tea for the family to enjoy later or for friends who are coming over? You can definitely make the milk tea portion of this recipe ahead of time so you can spend your time enjoying their company. Don’t prepare it more than 24 hours in advance, though. Steeping the tea is an easy way to meal prep boba tea. You can get the tapioca pearls ready just before you’re about to serve them for the best texture. 

If you tried this Brown Sugar Milk Tea Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!

Recipe

Reference

Asil, E., Yılmaz, M. V., & Yardimci, H. (2021). Effects of black tea consumption and caffeine intake on depression risk in black tea consumers. African health sciences, 21(2), 858–865. https://doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v21i2.47