Thai milk tea boba is strong spiced Thai tea, sweetened with condensed milk and topped with evaporated milk, served over tapioca pearls. The famous orange colour comes from Thai tea mix; plain black tea tastes similar but looks brown.
Prep: 10 min · Cook: 25 min · Total: 35 min · Makes: 2 drinks
Ingredients
- 70g dried quick-cook tapioca pearls
- 4 tbsp Thai tea mix (or 3 Assam teabags + 1 star anise + 1 cardamom pod)
- 500ml boiling water
- 4 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
- 4 tbsp evaporated milk
- Ice
Method
- Steep the Thai tea in the boiling water for 5 minutes, strain and stir in the condensed milk while hot.
- Cool the tea completely.
- Boil 1 litre of water, add the pearls, stir until they float, then simmer 5 minutes covered and rest 5 minutes off the heat. Drain and stir into 2 tbsp brown sugar syrup.
- Fill glasses with pearls and ice, pour over the tea, then float the evaporated milk on top.
Troubleshooting
- Bitter: steeped too long; keep to 5 minutes.
- Pale: use Thai tea mix for the orange colour.
- Not creamy enough: add more evaporated milk or a splash of coconut milk.
Variations
- Vegan: coconut condensed milk and oat milk.
- Thai green tea version with the same method.
- Less sweet: 2 tbsp condensed milk.
Storage
Drink within 4 hours of cooking the pearls; they harden in the fridge. The tea base keeps 3–4 days chilled. See how to store boba.
Making it for a café or event? See bubble tea supplies or our one-day training course.
People also ask
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- Strong tea, milk or fruit, brown sugar syrup, tapioca pearls and a wide straw — a kit covers the rest. Read the full answer
- What are the bubbles in bubble tea made of?
- Tapioca pearls: cassava starch, water and brown sugar. The name itself comes from the foam on a shaken tea. Read the full answer
Making boba at home or for a business?
We supply the pearls, syrups and cups behind the recipes — and run training for anyone turning this into a shop.
