Tiger Milk Tea (Brown Sugar Boba)

Tiger milk tea (or brown sugar boba tea) is a popular bubble tea flavor made with brown sugar syrup, black tea, and milk. The drink originated in Taiwan and gets its name from the streaks of syrup on the sides of the glass that look like tiger stripes. Some versions of this recipe involve making the tapioca pearls from scratch, but this recipe uses packaged tapioca pearls, making it a quick and easy recipe!

I love bubble tea but so many of the kinds you can order at tea shops are made with a powdered mix rather than actual tea or real ingredients. Not to mention, I'm a little skeptical about whether the "non-dairy" mixes are actually dairy free.

So when I saw a bag of tapioca pearls (boba) when I stopped at an Asian market to pick up some groceries, I wanted to try making boba tea at home! Turns out it's pretty easy—you just boil the boba for a few minutes, then add them to your drink, which you can customize to your liking.

Besides the fruit flavored bubble teas (usually made with those powdered mixes), black tea with milk is a common flavor. When I heard about tiger milk tea, which is a milk tea made with black tea and brown sugar syrup, I wanted to give it a try. It's a pretty sweet drink, so not an every day tea. But once you try it and get the hang of making bubble tea, you'll want to add boba to your cold brew coffee or daily tea, with or without sweetener.

Tiger milk tea, or brown sugar boba, is a popular bubble tea flavor that originated in Taiwan.

🥤 What You'll Need

• Water
• Tapioca Pearls (boba)
• Brown Sugar
• Vanilla Extract
• Black Tea Bags
• Your Favorite Non-Dairy Milk
• Boba Tea Straws

Boba (Tapioca Pearls)

Some tiger milk tea or brown sugar boba milk tea recipes will instruct you to make your own boba from scratch by hand rolling a dough made from brown sugar and tapioca flour. This sounds delicious, but also incredibly time consuming (says the person who made homemade vegan Lucky Charms marshmallows...it was a different time!), and if I had to make every little tapioca pearl from scratch, I probably wouldn't have made it by now!

So for this recipe, I picked up prepared boba (or black tapioca pearls). I found mine at a local market, but you can pick up this same brand on Amazon if you can't find it locally.

To prepare the boba, you boil the pearls for 5 minutes, or until they rise to the top of the pot, and then add them directly to your drink, or soak them in sugar syrup first for more flavor. I definitely recommend adding them to a sugar syrup first because they are pretty bland on their own, especially if you're used to ordering bubble tea from shops. To make this tiger milk tea, you'll add them to the brown sugar syrup before preparing the drinks.

Pro tip: don't save your prepared boba drinks for later. When I made brown sugar boba, I drank one of the teas and stuck the other one in the fridge for the next morning, and the boba in that drink that spent the night in the fridge were tough and chewy.

E-Fa Black Tapioca Pearls (or boba) can be found online or at Asian markets.

Non-Dairy Milk

You can use any kind of non-dairy milk for this recipe, but I recommend choosing one that's rich and creamy like oat milk or coconut milk since brown sugar boba is borderline dessert. I used a mix of oat and coconut milk.

Boba Straws

Half the fun of drinking bubble tea is using the thick boba or milkshake straws that the boba travel up as you drink. If you're just using the straws at home, I recommend getting reusable straws. I found this 2 pack of metal straws online, which I used for this recipe.

Metal boba straws are great for making boba at home.

As I was searching, I found this DIY boba kit on Amazon that comes with the brand of boba I used, as well as 3 reusable straws and a cleaning brush. Definitely a good option if you can't find these items locally!

🔪 Instructions

Bring the 3 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan and cook the prepared boba in the water according to package instructions.

When the boba rise to the top of the water, remove the boba with a slotted spoon and transfer to a container. Add a spoonful of water so the boba don’t stick together.

The boba will rise to the top of the water when they are cooked.

Measure out 2 cups of the boiling water in a large glass or measuring cup. Add the tea bags to the water and steep for 5 minutes, then remove the tea bags.

You can use your favorite black tea for this recipe.

Discard the rest of the water, then keep out the saucepan for the next step.

Combine the brown sugar and ¼ cup water in the saucepan over low to medium heat.

Dissolve the brown sugar in the water, stirring frequently. Continue cooking until the brown sugar has a syrup consistency, 5-8 minutes.

The brown sugar mixture should be golden and syrupy in texture.

Add the boba to the brown sugar syrup and stir to coat for 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat, add the vanilla, and set aside.

Adding the boba to the brown sugar syrup will add flavor.

Scoop out the boba with a slotted spoon and divide the boba into two glasses.

Drizzle a spoonful of syrup on the insides of both glasses.

Drizzling brown sugar syrup on the sides of the glass gives tiger milk tea its name because the syrup streaks look like tiger stripes.

Stir the rest of the syrup into the steeped tea then pour 1 cup of the tea into each glass

Add ½ cup ice to each glass, then pour ¼-½ cup oat milk over the ice in each glass. Serve immediately.

Add non-dairy milk to taste, then give the drink a stir before consuming to blend the flavors.

💭 Tips

• It's best to let the syrup and tea cool down before preparing the drink. The milk and ice will cool down the drink, but water it down a bit, making the tiger stripes less visible and the drink.
• You can experiment with the amount of sweetness in the drink. As is, it's sweet, but not TOO sweet. If it's still too sweet for you, you can add less syrup, or more tea and ice. If you prefer a sweeter drink, taste test as you add the tea and don't add all of the milk and ice.
• The drink is best served immediately or soon after making it. The texture of the boba will become very chewy, sticky, and unpleasant if stored.
• I used a mixture of oat milk and coconut milk, which made the drink very rich, but you can use any kind you like.
• Use boba straws or milkshake straws with your tiger milk tea! I like these reusable metal ones.

Boba tea is best consumed immediately after preparing.

📖 Recipe

Tiger Milk Tea (Brown Sugar Boba)

Yield: 2 drinks

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Tiger milk tea (or brown sugar boba tea) is a popular bubble tea flavor made with brown sugar syrup, black tea, and milk. The drink originated in Taiwan and gets its name from the streaks of syrup on the sides of the glass that look like tiger stripes. Some versions of this recipe involve making the tapioca pearls from scratch, but this recipe uses packaged tapioca pearls, making it a quick and easy recipe!

Print

Ingredients

• 3 cups water
• ½ cup boba (¼ cup per person)
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup water
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 black tea bags
• ½-1 cup oat milk or other non-dairy milk
• Ice for serving

Instructions

1. Bring the 3 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan and cook the prepared boba in the water according to package instructions. 
2. When the boba rise to the top of the water, remove the boba with a slotted spoon and transfer to a container. Add a spoonful of water so the boba don’t stick together.
3. Measure out 2 cups of the boiling water in a large glass or measuring cup. Add the tea bags to the water and steep for 5 minutes, then remove the tea bags.
4. Discard the rest of the water, then keep out the saucepan for the next step.
5. Combine the brown sugar and ¼ cup water in the saucepan over low to medium heat. 
6. Dissolve the brown sugar in the water, stirring frequently. Continue cooking until the brown sugar has a syrup consistency, 5-8 minutes.
7. Add the boba to the brown sugar syrup and stir to coat for 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat, add the vanilla, and set aside.
8. Scoop out the boba with a slotted spoon and divide the boba into two glasses.
9. Drizzle a spoonful of syrup on the insides of both glasses.
10. Stir the rest of the syrup into the steeped tea then pour 1 cup of the tea into each glass
11. Add ½ cup ice to each glass, then pour ¼-½ cup oat milk over the ice in each glass. Serve immediately.

Notes

• It's best to let the syrup and tea cool down before preparing the drink. The milk and ice will cool down the drink, but water it down a bit, making the tiger stripes less visible and the drink
• You can experiment with the amount of sweetness in the drink. As is, it's sweet, but not TOO sweet. If it's still too sweet for you, you can add less syrup, or more tea and ice. If you prefer a sweeter drink, taste test as you add the tea and don't add all of the milk and ice.
• The drink is best served immediately or soon after making it. The texture of the boba will become very chewy, sticky, and unpleasant if stored.
• I used a mixture of oat milk and coconut milk, which made the drink very rich, but you can use any kind you like.
• Use boba straws or milkshake straws with your tiger milk tea! I like these reusable metal ones.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Tapioca Pearl Bubble Tea Drink DIY Kit | E-FA Brand Black Boba Balls, Quick Cook Ready in 5 Minutes | 3 FortuneHouse Reusable Stainless Steel Boba Straws with Food Grade Silicone Tips, 1 Cleaning Brush, 1 Canvas Bag | Contains 3 straws, 3 tips, 1 brush, E-FA Boba 2.2 lbs (1kg)
• 
  [Angled Tips] 2 Pcs Jumbo Reusable Boba Straws & Smoothie Straws - Rainbow Colors , 0.5" Wide Stainless Steel Straws, Metal Straws for Bubble Tea, Milkshakes, Smoothies |1 Cleanning Brush & 1 Case

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 248Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 87mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 0gSugar: 43gProtein: 5g

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on seitanbeatsyourmeat.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimates.

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