Homemade Bubble Tea Recipes - Easy Boba Tea Recipes

Nothing beats something homemade, you can’t let me change this idea and these homemade bubble tea recipes are perfect to get you started and create your own boba menu at home!

I know, it’s easier to stop and grab one while you are out or to get it delivered, but in case you want to try your hand at making bubble tea recipes at home, this will be the perfect guide to get you started and even save on money (because yes, they are bloody expensive!).

homemade bubble tea guide - boba tea in glasses, boba pearls in a jar, spoon with boba pearls pn top, yellow towel, on marble background

Table of Contents

What is boba tea? What are boba pearls?

The term boba is used now interchangeably for both the drink and the tapioca pearls used in it. Boba tea is a tea-based drink that originated in Taiwan in the 1980s and is now widely popular all around the world. This drink is made of tapioca pearls or boba pearls, steeped tea – from green tea to black tea and oolong – and milk. Milk teas can range from condensed milk, plant-based milk or powdered milk. A lot of bubble tea recipes can have a lot of different toppings too and plenty of different syrups to go with, which makes the drinks even more appetizing.

Boba pearls or also known as tapioca pearls are made of the starchy part of the cassava root. Originally used as a substitute for sago (spongy tissue of some palms) in South Asian cuisine, including desserts and drinks. Chewy tapioca pearls don’t have a distinctive flavour, that’s why they get soaked in syrups to give them colour and flavour, for example, the most popular is black tapioca pearls are soaked in brown sugar syrup, which gives them their colour (Wikipedia).

Easy homemade bubble tea recipes:

glass of boba smoothie with boba pearls around and in a bowl with a spoon, in the back two empty glasses and a yellow towel, on marble background

BOBA TEA SMOOTHIE

The most delicious and easy boba smoothie recipe, with chewy tapioca pearls and fruity flavours. This smoothie will be perfect for any boba tea lover and perfect to up your intake og greens and fruits without being too boring!

a strawberry milk tea on a marble tray with a glass of boba on pink background, a hand on the glass

STRAWBERRY BUBBLE TEA

It’s refreshing, sweet and well balanced. The chewy tapioca pearls with their brown sugar syrup add another layer to the drink and make it the best fruity drink with added texture. The perfect combo of caffeine and fruits!

close up - glass of chocolate milk tea on a marble tray with a glass of boba, towel on the side, on a marble and brick background

CHOCOLATE BUBBLE TEA

This chocolate milk tea is all you can ask for if you love chocolate flavor and love a scrumptious drink. The chewy texture of the cooked tapioca pearls adds another level of texture to it, making it a refreshing and delicious drink with plenty of ice, the perfect choice for this hot hot summer.

taro latte in a glass with a straw, on a marble coaster, jug, towel and boba pearls in the background, on a marble background

TARO LATTE RECIPE

The taro latte is more than just a pretty drink, even though the colour it’s absolutely adorable. It’s a delightful blend of unique flavours, sweet and nutty, and textures that offers a refreshing twist on the traditional latte.

OREO MILK TEA

If you’re a fan of Oreo cookies – who isn’t, really?! – then you’re in for a treat! This Oreo milk tea combines the classic flavours of milk tea with the irresistible crunch of Oreo cookies. It’s sweet, creamy, and a little bit indulgent – perfect for satisfying your sweet tooth. And if you’re not a fan of Oreo cookies (just like me, shhhh!), then give this a shot anyway, as a newly-convert I can confirm it is the bomb.

How to make bubble tea pearls at home?

You absolutely can make boba pearls at home! Buying them is possible don’t get me wrong, but since I insisted the first time we decided to try boba tea at home, we tried our hand at it even if we could find them at the local Asian market. Anyway, we followed The Flavour Bender recipe and even tried store-bought one for regular measure, and let me tell you, homemade bubble tea from scratch tastes very different!

And knowing you made them, makes your drink even more special in my opinion. It was quite easy once we found this recipe, and also quite fun once you get the hang of it. The first time it will be daunting and seems impossible, but do give it a shot to make your homemade bubble tea even more whimsy!

Though I agree that we don’t all have the time to make them, but if you are in the market for them, all you need is brown sugar, tapioca starch, cocoa powder and water. As simple as that you can make your own tapioca pearls and open your personal boba tea bar! It’s the easiest recipe that we found and let me assure you the first two times we used different recipes and they were a total flop!

Everything is well-explained step by step and easy to follow, so if you are up for homemade boba pearls do follow this recipe even for the Oreo milk tea.

Are boba drinks gluten-free?

Yes, most boba drinks are actually gluten-free. Tapioca pearls, also known as boba balls, tapioca balls or boba pearls, are made out of tapioca starch which comes from the starchy root part of the cassava root. As tapioca itself is naturally gluten-free, most boba drinks are considered gluten-free too. The only thing you will have to check is for any toppings and component that might contain gluten as well as cross-contamination. But making your drinks at home can really help.

Boba vs popping boba, what’s the difference?

Among the many types of boba, you can find even popping boba, also known as fruit balls. But differently from the usual tapioca pearls, these popping boba don’t contain tapioca and they are actually made from a mix of fruit juice and sodium alginate. They then get mixed with calcium chloride and water to create popping boba. So they are made out of a chemical reaction between ingredients and used mostly for smoothies, to add even more flavour (S poon University).