This jasmine milk tea is based on green tea & any milk of your choice. It’s an easy refreshment and a cheap DIY alternative to store-bought bubble tea. Save money and learn something new by making this boba yourself!
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💌 Why I Love This Recipe
- Easy to find ingredients
- You can use ANY milk and sugar you want
- Uses just 4 ingredients (plus ice cubes and water)
- It’s so easy to customise it
- Contains way less sugar than store-bought boba
- It's the base for my strawberry and mango boba
- No fancy tools or ingredients needed
Plus, to make things easier, I prepared step-by-step photos & video. If you’ve never made boba tea before, I want to make sure you can nail it in your first go.
🥛 Ingredients
This is all you will need to make an invigorating jasmine milk tea.
(PS - apart from boba pearls, all of these are cheap & extremely easy to find)
Ingredient Details
Boba / tapioca balls - Usually available in Asian supermarkets or online on Amazon.
Milk - I went for oat milk. Feel free to use any favourite milk of yours. Keep in mind that creamier & thicker milk works best.
Sugar - For this recipe I used caster sugar, but practically any sugar will work (white, brown, raw, coconut, etc). Liquid sweeteners or syrups work well too.
🥄 Equipment
You will need:
- A pan for cooking boba pearls
- A spoon or scoop to help stir & mix
- A large jar/glass for serving
- Large (boba) straw for serving
⏲️ Steps
TIP - This is a quick visual overview of how to make milk tea. If you prefer to skip this and not read my tips & FAQ, just scroll to the bottom of this page for recipe details.
- Photo 1 - Make jasmine tea in a mug. Set it aside to let it cool.
- Photos 2 & 3 - In a small pan, cook the tapioca pearls. Then remove from heat & cover them with sugar.
- Photo 4 - Add boba pearls & ice cubes to a glass.
- Photo 5 -Pour milk over them.
- Pour 6 - Then add cooled down jasmine tea. Mix well & enjoy!
💡 Expert Tips
- You can serve this drink hot or cold.
- When your boba pearls are cooked, cover them with sugar right away & mix well.
- Boba pearls are best prepared fresh - just before serving.
- Boba pearls come in different flavours - feel free to use whatever flavour you fancy.
- Always adjust to taste - you can add more or less sugar, ice cubes & milk.
- I used jasmine tea bags from my local Asian supermarket. Feel free to use loose leaf tea too.
- You can use jasmine flowers to add some more flavour & visual interest.
- Use reusable boba straws if you can - they’re easy to find online.
- If serving cold, go ahead and use plenty of ice cubes. It makes all the difference.
Did you know? Boba pearls are made from a root vegetable called cassava root! This plant is native to Brazil and has been used for centuries (Source).
🍫 Cooking Boba
If you’ve never tried making boba before it can be a bit intimidating. Believe me, it really isn’t if you follow the right steps in my recipe.
Here’s how you can cook the perfect boba at home:
- It’s best to use quick-cooking boba pearls - they’re ready in just 5 minutes.
- Don't wash the pearls before cooking.
- Make sure the water is boiling before you add the pearls.
- Aim for the consistency of a gummy bear.
- If your boba is hard, it means it’s overcooked.
- If it’s completely soft & mushy, it means it’s undercooked.
Last but not least, remember boba are the best within the first few hours of cooking. So make sure to enjoy them straight away.
❓FAQ
It has a subtly sweet flavour, with a creamy and milky texture. Jasmine gives it a fine green tea flavour that works beautifully with boba pearls & milk.
There are approx. 402 calories per one (large) portion. Keep in mind that this is an automatic calculation and not an exact science.
Pure jasmine tea has absolutely no caffeine. However, a huge majority of jasmine tea is blended with green tea. This means it has less caffeine than black tea or coffee, but it’s definitely not caffeine free.
Use any dairy-free milk (oat, almond, soy, coconut, hemp, etc) to make this recipe vegan.
🧊 Serving
Best served in a large glass or jar over plenty of ice cubes.
If you don’t have a large boba straw, you can simply use a long spoon to scoop out the pearls.
To serve HOT - Leave out the ice cubes. Warm up your milk in a small pan or a microwave (careful not to burn). Mix it with green tea & boba pearls & enjoy.
🥭 Variations
You might not know this, but jasmine milk tea makes the PERFECT base for so many other flavour variations.
- Mango Jasmine Milk tea: same recipe but with the addition of mango juice. So refreshing!
- Strawberry Jasmine Milk tea: with the addition of strawberry milk
- Pineapple Jasmine Milk tea: add pineapple juice.
Remember, this milk tea can be served with or without boba pearls.
📦 Storing
This boba works best when served fresh - the fresher the better!
If you are keeping it for longer, then store the boba pearls separately. Cook them, cover them with sugar & mix well. Then store them in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
If you are storing boba for later, make sure to skip the ice cubes and only add them when serving. Otherwise your milk tea will be diluted.
To store - Place the milk tea (no boba and no ice) in an airtight jar or container. Store it in the fridge for up to 2 days. Add boba & ice cubes when serving.
🍹 More Boba Recipes
Do you enjoy boba tea & refreshing drinks? I invite you to check out my
- Chocolate Milk Tea Boba
- Mango Milk Tea Boba
- Strawberry Milk Tea Boba
- Matcha Protein Shake
- Oreo Frappe
- Iced vanilla chai latte
- Oat milk hot chocolate
Tried out this delicious jasmine tea milk? Do let me know below!
Your comments, ratings & reviews all help bring this recipe & my blog to more new readers.
Recipe
Jasmine Green Milk Tea - Boba
Equipment
- Two glasses
- Pan
- Scoop or spoon
- Large straws optional
Ingredients
- 1 tea bag jasmine tea
- 1 cup boiling hot water
- ½ cup quick-cooking tapioca pearls also known as boba pearls, tapioca balls
- 1,5 tablespoon sugar white sugar, granulated sugar, etc
- ¾ cup milk I used oat milk
Optional
- plenty of ice cubes if serving cold
- sweetener of choice sugar, honey, agave syrup, maple syrup, etc
Instructions
- In a large mug, add a bag of jasmine tea to boiling hot water.
- Steep for 3 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
- Add tapioca pearls to a pan full of boiling hot water.
- Let simmer for about 5-6 minutes. If you want the pearls to be softer, cook them for longer. If you want them chewier, cook them for less long.
- Remove from heat and strain through a sieve. If you don't have a sieve, simply scoop out the balls with a spoon/spatula.
- Immediately cover with sugar. Give it a good stir. Set aside.
- To serve, add tapioca balls to a large glass. Cover with plenty of ice cubes. Then add milk and cooled down tea.
- Stir well and add more sweetener if desired.
Video
Notes
- You can serve this drink hot or cold.
- Don't wash the pearls before cooking.
- Make sure the water is boiling before you add the pearls.
- When your boba pearls are cooked, cover them with sugar right away & mix well.
- Boba pearls are best prepared fresh - just before serving.
- Boba pearls come in different flavours - feel free to use whatever flavour you fancy.
- Always adjust to taste - you can add more or less sugar, ice cubes & milk.
- I used jasmine tea from my local Asian supermarket. You can use tea bags or loose leaf tea.
- You can use jasmine flowers to add some more flavour
- Use reusable boba straws if you can - they’re easy to find online.
- If serving cold, go ahead and use plenty of ice cubes. It makes all the difference.
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