Classic Milk Tea Recipe: Hot + Iced Black Bubble Tea

Now you can enjoy classic milk tea at home with those chewy tapioca pearls. There’s no reason to wander around town to find bubble milk tea. Classic boba milk tea is a refreshing drink when iced and splendidly enjoyable when hot too. It’s a great thing to satisfy any sweet tooth, and when you make it yourself, you’ll get the best results for a healthy drink! 

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Good for you: Black tea is known for being a heart-healthy choice, and when you make bubble tea with a black tea base, you can be sure you’re getting the good stuff your body needs.

• Delicious: This delicious drink will be your new favorite, especially if you love tea!
• Hot or cold: Hot tea or iced tea, you can make classic bubble tea any way that suits your tastes.
• Simple: Even if it’s your first time making bubble tea, you’ll find this recipe so easy you’ll be making it every day!

What Is Milk Tea? 

Quite simply, milk tea is a popular beverage you’ll find in bubble tea shops in Southeast Asia. In the United States, this delicious drink is starting to gain traction. Likely, you’ve seen boba tea shops popping up all around you.

This milk tea features a base of black tea, though you can use oolong tea, English breakfast, Earl Grey, or other varieties. It is then mixed with milk and features chewy tapioca pearls at the bottom. Some types of milk tea use a base of fruit juices and have jelly chunks or crystal boba at the bottom instead of chewy tapioca balls. 

Milk tea is called boba tea, bubble tea, and pearl milk tea. But by any other name, it’s still just as sweet, refreshing, and delightful. When you make this drink yourself, you’re in for a real treat without artificial ingredients or tons of sugar. 

Where Is Classic Milk Tea From?

This tea-based drink comes to us from Taiwan, where pearl milk tea originated. This classic bubble tea drink is made with black tea, milk, and chewy tapioca balls. You’ll find it on every boba shop menu.

But why spend $5 or more every time you want bubble tea? The main difference between the shops and making it yourself is that you get to control what’s in it, and often, those shops add loads more sugar than you need to create the perfect spectrum of flavors. 

Ingredients + Notes

Now you don’t have to search for boba tea. You can make it whenever the mood strikes right at home with just a few easy ingredients. 

• Tapioca Pearls: Chewy tapioca balls add a subtle sweetness. They are also what makes authentic bubble tea. Pre-made boba makes it simple to get ready for your bubble tea creation. 
• Water
• Black Tea: Using loose black tea leaves, you can steep the tea for the optimum flavor. I recommend avoiding the kind of tea that comes in little satchels or bags. The materials the tea is encased with wind up in your drink, and trust me, that’s not what you want to put into your body. 
• Cane Sugar: I’m not a big sugar person, but cane sugar in such a small amount is less processed. It also lends some antioxidants to your drink.
• Oat Milk: I find that oat milk lends that necessary creamy texture to classic bubble tea while keeping it fully vegan. 
• Ice Cubes

Step-by-step Instructions: How To Make Classic Milk Tea

In just 3 short steps, you’ll know how to make classic milk tea. It really couldn’t be easier, and now you’ll wonder why they charge you so much at the shops. It’s much more affordable and delicious to make at home. 

1. Make The Tapioca Pearls: Add two cups of filtered water to a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add the tapioca pearls to the saucepan and boil for five minutes (until the boba starts floating to the top). (If you don’t have quick-cooking boba, then follow your package instructions.) Pour the tapioca into a metal mesh strainer and rinse with cold water. 

2. Make The Tea: Heat water in a teapot or electric tea kettle to 212°F or 100°C. Add the loose-leaf black tea to a tea infuser and place it in a thin glass. Pour heated water over the tea and let steep for 7-10 minutes. Remove the tea. Pour in the cane sugar and stir thoroughly. 

3. Assemble The Milk Tea: Scoop cooked boba into a serving glass. Then, add ice on top of the boba. Next, pour oat milk on top, followed by freshly brewed black tea. Finally, stir and enjoy with a reusable bubble tea straw.  

Recipe Variations

Classic bubble tea is pretty straightforward, but if you’re missing something, here’s how to vary the recipe without compromising taste!

• Sweeteners: If you don’t have regular cane sugar, brown sugar can work. It will slightly change the taste, making it more caramel-like, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing! If you would prefer a sugar-free option, then this Stevia Simply Sryup is a great option!
• Milk: I love oat milk, but perhaps you don’t or have a different kind of milk on hand instead. You can try a non-dairy creamer, coconut milk, soy milk, almond milk, or any plant-based milk to make traditional milk tea. 
• Tea: If you don’t have black tea, you can use a different type of tea. It will give you different flavors from the original taste, but again, that’s likely how boba shops came up with so many flavors. Think jasmine milk tea, and you’re on the right track!

Storage Tips

Classic milk tea is a drink you’re going to love. It goes down easily and is utterly delicious. But it can be filling too. If you want to store it, you should remove all boba pearls first, as these get hard and unpleasant when you refrigerate them in a boba tea. 

Fridge

To put your traditional black milk tea in the fridge, first, get out all the tapioca pearls. Then you can save the tea for up to 2 days.  Read How Long Does Milk Tea Last In The Fridge for an in-depth guide.

Freeze

Sorry, but boba tea is not a good thing to freeze. The texture will change significantly, and not for the better. I recommend only refrigerating the liquid portion of the drink. 

Meal Prep

You can prepare classic bubble tea ahead of a party by steeping the tea first. This makes it easy to whip up individual servings of black milk tea with chewy tapioca balls at the bottom. By prepping the tea, you can then prepare the pearls when it’s time to serve these drinks, and they’ll have the perfect chewy texture. 

Hot Classic Milk Tea Recipe Instructions

I’m a big fan of the iced black milk tea, but if you’d prefer it hot, here’s the recipe and instructions.

Ingredients

Boba Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• ⅓ cup tapioca balls

Classic Milk Tea Ingredients

• 1/2 cup hot water
• 2 tablespoons loose-leaf black tea
• 1 teaspoon cane sugar
• 1/2 cup oat milk
• 1 ½ cup ice

Instructions

1. Make Tapioca Pearls: Add two cups of water to a small pot and bring to a boil. Then, add the tapioca pearls to the pot and boil for five minutes (until the boba starts floating to the top). (If you don’t have quick-cooking boba, then follow your package instructions.) Pour the tapioca into a metal mesh strainer to remove excess water.

2. Make The Tea: Heat water in a teapot to 212°F/100°C. Add your loose-leaf black tea to a tea infuser and place it in a glass, mug, or small pitcher. Pour boiling water over the tea and let steep for 7-10 minutes. Remove the tea. Scoop in the sugar and stir thoroughly.

3. Prepare Milk: Add oat milk to a microwave-safe pitcher or mug and microwave for one minute. (Until hot.)

4. Assemble The Milk Tea: Scoop cooked boba into a serving glass. Then, pour oat milk on top, followed by freshly brewed black tea. Finally, stir and enjoy with a glass boba tea straw.

What Does Black Milk Tea Taste Like?

Black milk tea is a true classic among all the bubble tea flavors. If you’re new to boba tea, you may want to start with this one because it’s so simple and pure. You just mix black tea with milk and serve it on ice or hot, along with those chewy tapioca pearls. It has a sweet taste without being cloying and a nice creaminess. 

The best part is those boba pearls, adding a contrast of texture to that creamy drink. It’s a flavor you’ll see on every menu of every boba tea shop from Hong Kong to the United States and everywhere in between because it’s the traditional taste everyone loves. 

Is Black Milk Tea Good For You?

Classic milk tea made with black tea is good for you if you make it yourself at home. Using pure black tea, you are getting health benefits for your heart. When you choose plant-based milk to mix it with, you’re also making a healthy choice.

At the boba shops, they tend to put loads of sugar in there. So, if you order your bubble tea from somewhere else, it may not be healthy. At home, you have full control of what you’re putting into it, allowing it to be healthy.

Do keep in mind, though, that tea does have caffeine. While these go down easy, you’ll want to avoid drinking too many of them in a day, or else you’ll be on caffeine overload.

Bubble Tea Equipment

More Milk Tea Recipes

• How To Make Milk Tea
• Oolong Milk Tea Recipe
• Taro Milk Tea
• Matcha Milk Tea
• Brown Sugar Milk Tea
• Coffee Boba Recipe
• Jasmine Milk Tea Recipe

Recipe

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