The Better Thai Tea With Boba

I have been meaning to make my own Thai iced tea with boba for the longest time. In fact, I bought the ingredients about 6 months ago. I just never got around to it until this week when the temperatures in New York skyrocketed, and I was in desperate need of something cool and refreshing.

After making it for the first time this past weekend, I can officially say that I waited far too long. I can also make a serious promise to myself that I will not spend any more money buying bubble tea when I can make it at home with little effort.

Ingredients for tea

12 tablespoons of tea leaves

4 cups boiling water

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions for tea

1. Using a french press, strainer or any other desired method steep tea for 5 minutes
2. Remove leaves from tea, then sweeten and refrigerate

Ingredients for boba

1 cup tapioca pearls

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

Directions for boba

1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil.
2. Add tapioca pearls to water and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Remove pot from heat and allow tapioca pearls to sit in water for 15 minutes.
4. Place a saucepan over medium-high heat and add water, sugars, and honey. Allow to cook until sugars are dissolved. Remove syrup mixture from heat.
5. Strain tapioca pearls from water and place into the hot syrup mixture. Allow to sit until they are room temperature.

Ingredients for sweetened milk mixture

4 tablespoons condensed milk

1/4 cup milk

Directions for the sweetened milk mixture

1. Mix milk and condense milk thoroughly.

Assembly

1. Place a few cubes of ice in a glass.
2. Add few tablespoons of tapioca pearls that have been strained of the syrup mixture.
3. Pour tea over ice then add a sweetened milk mixture to taste
4. Store the leftover sweetened milk mixture, tea, and tapioca pearls (in syrup)* in the fridge so you can easily make yourself a glass whenever the mood strikes.

*I prefer the tapioca right after it has cooled rather than after it has been stored in the fridge. Refrigeration makes the centers a bit tough. It’s not a big deal–more so just personal preference as to whether you mind making a fresh batch of tapioca pearls every time versus storing cooked ones in the fridge.