Exact quantities, then the method.
Bubble tea started in Taiwan with exactly this: strong black tea, milk, sugar and a spoonful of chewy tapioca pearls sitting in the bottom of the glass. Ceylon black is a good solid base for it, brisk enough to come through the milk and the ice. The pearls are the only real faff, and even they just need simmering and a rinse; everything after that is shake and pour.
Source: teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for the Classic Bubble Milk Tea recipe. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/recipes/iced-tea/classic-bubble-milk-tea/
Cook a batch of pearls, build the drink cold over ice, and sip it through a fat straw so you get tea and pearls in one go.
You'll need
- 2 tea bags of Dilmah Premium Ceylon Black (for concentrate)
- 100ml freshly drawn water at 100C, just off the boil
- 200ml cold whole milk
- 2 teaspoons of light brown sugar
- 80g cooked black tapioca pearls (from a small packet, cooked per pack instructions)
- Enough cubed ice (about 250g)
- 1 wide bubble tea straw
Equipment
- 1 tall 450ml glass, chilled in the freezer for ten minutes
- 1 cocktail shaker (or lidded jar)
- 1 small saucer for covering the steep
Method
- Cook the tapioca pearls to the packet instructions, usually about 20 minutes simmering, then rinse and set aside.
- Pop a tall glass in the freezer to chill. Cover and steep 2 tea bags for the bubble tea in 100ml of just boiled water, 4 minutes.
- Lift out the bags and stir the brown sugar into the warm tea until it dissolves.
- Stand the cup in cold water for a few minutes to cool the concentrate right down.
- Spoon the pearls into the bottom of the chilled glass and pack ice on top.
- Shake the cooled tea and the cold milk together hard for about 10 seconds.
- Pour over the ice and serve at once, with a wide straw.
- Pearls turn hard if they sit, so cook them the same day and use within a few hours.
The tea it is made with, and what to make next.
Want the background, not just the brew?
Black Tea: Types, Origins and Brewing →
Brewed with: Dilmah Premium Ceylon Black, 25 Tea Bags 50g
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