What is Boba?
Boba are small balls most commonly made from tapioca starch. They are known for their chewy consistency and lightly sweet flavor and are placed into a variety of drinks. Over the past few years, these delicious little balls have become staples at cafes and shops serving milk teas, fruit juices, and smoothies.
Boba, You Can Make it at Home
I’m guessing not many people consider making homemade boba, but if you are a boba connoisseur like me, definitely give it a try. Truthfully, making the tapioca pearls is quite an adventure. From making the dough to rolling out hundreds of small boba balls, to cooking it twice to ensure the perfect chewy consistency, known as QQ (chewy, bouncy consistency) in many Asian countries, it’s a bit of a tedious process.
However, it really is worth it. The sweet pearls have a wonderful texture, as well as, a sweet caramelized flavor from the brown sugar syrup. When added to the earl grey milk tea, the drink is entirely elevated. If you are willing to dedicate a bit of time to the process, making homemade boba is most definitely worth your time.
Earl Grey Milk Tea
When making milk tea, you can use any tea you would like. Personally, my favorite is early grey. Black teas have more of a nutty and rich flavor, which complements the creamy half and half. Also, earl grey tea has a citrusy and aromatic flavor due to the addition of bergamot. This gives the milk tea greater complexity of flavor.
Earl Grey Milk Tea with Homemade Boba
Difficulty: Hard4
servings1
hour35
minutesSweet and creamy earl grey milk tea with homemade boba (tapioca pearls).
Ingredients
- For Earl Grey Milk Tea
1 teaspoon loose-leaf earl grey tea
6 tablespoons sugar
5 cups boiling water
2 cups half and half
- Homemade Boba Pearls
3/4 cup tapioca flour
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons water
- Brown Sugar Syrup
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons water
Directions
- Making the boba
- Over medium heat, combine brown sugar and water. Stir until all sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the tapioca starch into the water and brown sugar, and stir quickly, making sure there are no lumps.
- Place the mixture back on the heat, and stir constantly until the mixture has thickened significantly. Remove from heat.
- Add the remaining tapioca starch, and combine until a shaggy ball of dough is formed. Then, on a surface lightly covered with more starch, knead the dough until smooth. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add more tapioca starch.
- Once the dough is smooth, cut it into 4 sections. Roll each piece into a thin rod (about 1 centimeter in thickness).
- Prepare a tray heavily floured with tapioca starch. Cut your rods into 1/2 inch pieces and roll them into balls. Store your boba on the tray. Allow boba to sit uncovered for about 30 minutes in order to dry out slightly.
- Cooking the boba
- In a large pot bring water to a boil. Place your boba in the boiling water and stir for about 30 seconds, making sure that they do not stick to each other. Boil for approximately 20 minutes.
- While the boba is cooking, make the brown sugar syrup. In a large saucepan combine the sugar and water, and bring to a light simmer over medium-low heat.
- Once the boba is ready, immediately place them into the sugar syrup, and allow the boba to cook in the syrup. The syrup will thicken and coat the tapioca pearls. Place boba in a bowl and set aside. Keep at room temperature.
- Making the milk tea
- In a large heat-proof bowl or pot, combine boiling water, early grey tea, and sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, and the tea has been infused with the water.
- Place the tea into the fridge and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Assembling the boba milk tea
- In a glass, place desired amount of boba at the bottom. Add in ice, and pour in the chilled earl grey tea, making sure to leave space for the half and half. Pour in about 1/4 cup of half and half. Stir the drink together.
- Enjoy!
If you enjoyed this recipe, check out my recipe for Cantaloupe Soup with Crispy Prosciutto and Crème Fraîche.