Iced Coconut Black Milk Tea with Tapioca Pearls
A classic bubble-tea-style iced coconut black tea with milk and chewy tapioca pearls — sweet, creamy, and endlessly customizable.
Coconut black tea is one of the most popular bases for bubble tea precisely because it's already creamy and tropical before any milk is added. Brewing it strong, then shaking it cold with milk and sweetener, produces the rich, dessert-like drink that built an entire café category.
The trick to good bubble tea at home is brewing the tea well above normal strength — almost concentrate-level — since it gets diluted by ice, milk, and the syrup from the tapioca pearls. A weak brew disappears under all that sweetness.
Cooked tapioca pearls should be tossed in a little brown sugar syrup while still warm so they stay glossy and slightly chewy rather than dry. They're best used the same day, as they firm up and lose their signature bounce in the refrigerator.
Shake the tea, milk, and sweetener vigorously with ice — this is what gives bubble tea its characteristic light foam on top. Pour over the pearls in a tall glass with a wide bubble-tea straw, and stir well before each sip so you get pearls in every mouthful.
Ingredients
- 2 coconut black tea bags or 2 tbsp loose leaf
- 1/2 cup hot water (95°C), for a strong brew
- 1/2 cup milk or oat milk
- 3 tbsp brown sugar syrup, plus extra for the pearls
- 1/2 cup cooked tapioca pearls (boba)
- Ice cubes
How to make it
- 1Steep the tea in the hot water for 6–7 minutes to make a strong concentrate. Let cool, then refrigerate until cold.
- 2Cook tapioca pearls according to package directions, then toss warm with a splash of brown sugar syrup to coat.
- 3Spoon the glossy tapioca pearls into the bottom of a tall glass.
- 4Fill a cocktail shaker or jar with ice, the cold tea concentrate, milk, and brown sugar syrup. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds.
- 5Pour over the pearls and serve immediately with a wide straw.
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