Boba tea is a sensational beverage that is trending on social media feeds. It is the perfect tea with a range of flavors to fit anyone’s taste buds.
It is commonly a creamy tea drink with sweet dark Boba/tapioca pearls at the bottom of each cup. There are endless flavors of Boba tea drink nowadays. But have you ever wonder how to make Boba at home? you may not prefer the varieties available ear you, or maybe, you just want to avoid using the plastic that these boba teas are packaged in. whatever your reason, you should definitely try to make boba tea at home!
If you want to make some for yourself, we are going to give you some of the best Boba tea toolkit you’ll need in making the delicious drink.
If you are into teas, also check out the Ultimate Guide to Tea Bombs and Best Tea Infusers for Tea Aficionados
The most common Boba tea toolkit should include :
- Tapioca pearls
- Brown sugar and/or Honey
- Black or brown tea
- Milk
- Ice
You will definitely enjoy this luscious drink on the warmest days of the year. Boba tea is just unique as it is. That being said, you are probably excited to try making it for yourself!
How to Make Boba Tea at Home – Tools & Equipment
Tapioca Pearl – Black Sugar Flavor
These chewy round pearls are the signature base of these drinks. And this is exactly what you need to get started. Having these flavorful and tasty tapioca pearls is a must when it comes to making Boba tea. You can easily make them even without experience making boba tea. Gladly, you can purchase the easy-to-cook tapioca pearls on Amazon already because the process of making them from scratch is very time-consuming. And guess what? The product from Amazon isn’t that bad at all. They are unbelievably delicious! The process was like cooking pasta, the only difference is it tastes sweet after being cooled in ice water and sugar solution. Your pearls will be ready in no more than 15 minutes. It has a 7-10 minute cooking time and a 2-5 minute stewing time. Yes, it’s that instant!
Reusable Boba Tumbler
Ditch the single use plastics and have the insulated boba tumbler and steel straw. Save the environment by using reusable tumblers that will save you from disposable plastics. You can use it as a refill cup or use it when you’re at home to enjoy your delicious homemade boba! Boba tumblers has unique wide resealable lid with big straw. This is to eliminate the frustration of difficulty trying to get the boba pearls through the tiny straws.
It is designed with customized lid and extra wide straw and it is just perfect for all beverages such as smoothie cups, homemade boba, bubble tea, milkshakes, etc. It is also easy to clean, portable and sleek, doesn’t matter if you are drinking iced or boiling tea. Throw away less bubble tea cup with this high quality and eco-friendly reusable boba tumblers. Completely BPA free and 100% satisfaction guaranteed.
Related Link: Best Instant Boba Tea
Bubble Tea Flavor Powder Mix
To achieve a delicious boba tea at home, flavoring is the key! Whether it’s the traditional milk, brown sugar, or honey, you’ve got to think of something that stands out. Nowadays, it comes with nearly countless flavors. Gladly, excellent flavoring are available on Amazon. Flavoring like Taro powder, thai powder, matcha powder, vanilla powder, okinawa powder, and many more. They are also available in a syrup version too!
Boba at Home – DIY Boba Tea Kit
This is a fun DIY boba kit for all beginners boba lovers. It is one of the best things you’ll ever get, easy to make, it got an easy instruction card and has a follow along video option if you want. You can also make a tasty tea out of this kit, and has the best boba flavors in it. You’ll definitely enjoy all the pleasure making your own boba tea at the comfort of your home. This DIY boba kit can make up to 6 cups of classic boba milk tea.
- This kit includes:
- 1 x 7.5 oz Boba pearls
- 1 x 8 gram Black, Oolong or Jasmine Green loose tea leaves
- 4 x Boba straws
- 4 x Plastic cups
- 1 x Tea diffuser
- 1 x Instruction card
- 2 x stickers
- 1 x 3 oz Non-dairy creamer
- Product cost: $24.99 per kit
- Where to buy: bobaathome.com
Rare Tea DIY Shop – Milk Tea Set
This is a Berkeley, CA-based tea shop and due to Covid-19 they closed the shop for walk-in buying. However, the boba tea sensation doesn’t stop there, they created these milk tea kits and you can do it at home, similarly the same quality you can have when you buy at the shop. It is everything you need to make the standard Boba milk tea at home. And guess what? it can make around up to 15 drinks – Classic black tea, classic pearl milk tea, and okinawa pearl milk tea.
- This kit includes:
- Black tea 160g
- Okinawa Milk tea powder 0.5kg
- Non-dairy creamer 400g
- Tapioca pearls (Large boba) 0.5kg x 2
- Cane sugar 12oz
- Instruction & Recipe Online access code
- Price cost: $35.00 per kit
- Where to buy: rareteadiy.com
Go Boba Green – DIY Classic Bubble Milk Tea Kit
You will get obsessed with this boba tea kit. This product is high quality and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. The company’s goal also is to eliminate the plastic consumption when you buy boba tea on local shops. This is also a perfect gift for boba lovers everywhere. Make, relax, sip in and enjoy your tea. Hot or cold, 0% to 50% sugar – it is totally up to you!
This kit includes:
- Boba Pearls 400g
- Blask loose leaf tea 14g
- Jasmine Green loose leaf tea 14g
- 2 Reusable Boba Straws
- Recipe and information booklet
- Product cost: $35.00 per kit
- Where to buy: gobobagreen.com
Lovacha Company – DIY Boba Kit
This is a perfect kit for enjoying beverages at home or even as a bonding activity between friends or your family. It is also eco-friendly, the goal is to help the environment to reduce single-use plastics. They come with either bamboo straws or reusable ones!
And guess what? There are numerous flavors that you can buy. there is black tea, Golden Oolong tea and matcha tea, whichever one you prefer. Planning about sending a DIY Boba kit to friends or family? You sure can! You can add personalized note card too for only $2. This kit can make up to 12 16oz cups! This kit includes:
- Classic Taiwanese Black tea leaves
- Boba Pearls made in SF Bay Area
- California Cane sugar
- 6 Compostable bamboo straws
- 2 Filter for tea
- Instruction and tips & tricks
- (Dairy is not included)
- Product cost: $30.00 per kit
- Where to buy: lovechacompany.com
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of Tea should I use?
Teas with a strong flavor are the best fit for making boba tea. This is because the tea flavor will be highly diluted due to the addition of milk and ice cubes. If you dont want a tea that tastes like milk, you want to use strong flavors.
Green or Black tea work amazingly well! In green varieties, jasmine green tea is tremendously popular and in black varieties, earl grey wins the race! It’s all about preference really, but some teas do work better than others. If you like unique flavors you should also try oolong tea.
What kind of Tapioca Pearls work best?
Mostly any Tapioca pearls that you find in Asian supermarkets or on Amazon should work well. However, I have been using this variety of pearls and they have only added to my boba tea experience!
These pearls are quick to cook, taking only about 5 minutes. A word of caution though, don’t overcook or precook them. If precooked and left outside, they will harden. This will ruin your tea’s texture. Always cook only the amount that you need. If somehow you cooked more than required, leave them soaked in water instead of leaving them out. The warm water will prevent them for hardening.
In short, never strain your pearls! Always strain the ones you need and leave the rest in the saucepan!
What type of milk is suitable?
Personally, whole milk wins the race for me. Its neither too creamy nor watery. Whole milk gives the beverage just the right amount of consistency. Using heavy cream may be a good option too. Heavy cream gives an even creamier and delicious finish to the beverage. However, it caused me heartburn and I decided to stick to whole milk. Mixing the two gives a very good ratio too!
Vegan options like soy milk, almond milk and coconut milk work amazingly well too. It really just depends on your taste buds and which milk best suits them. Coconut milk left a funny aftertaste which I wasn’t fond of. But apart from that, it worked well too!
What sweeteners are the best for boba tea?
Any sweetener works! Again, it depends on your taste buds and what you prefer to use in day to day life. Honey, white sugar, brown sugar and artificial sweeteners are all good options. However, if you use honey or granulated sugar, you should mix it in when the tea is still hot. Otherwise, it may clump down at the bottom, ruining your whole experience.
A good practice is to either use honey or to make simple syrup if you prefer to add granulated sugar. Simple syrup is made simply by boiling sugar in water over a medium flame until it turns into a semi-thick consistency. Adding liquid sweeteners will save you the hassle of relentless mixing with a spoon to dissolve sugar. Moreover, simple syrup allows you to serve it with boba tea so everyone can add the sweetener to taste.
Is it okay to make bubble tea ahead of time?
It is completely okay to steep the tea a few days ahead. You can simply refrigerate and store it. You can store simple syrup or honey for a long time too.
The only thing that is problematic when being stored are the pearls. The pearls are quick to harden and won’t be usable even an hour later. If you want them to survive a few hours you can keep them in their warm water. We would suggest boiling them right before making tea. It takes 5 minutes after all!
Conclusion
Grab them now and make this boba tea at home, and start sipping on your own cup of boba tea! Bubble tea has been the tastiest trend around, anywhere in the world enjoys it. Social media feeds can prove it – from your Facebook wall to your Instagram story. For sure, you are excited about making your own boba tea at home. What’s the best boba flavor you ever tried? Let us know!
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