Craving milk tea? Now you can easily make your favorite boba drink at home using the Instant Pot! It’s ready in minutes and requires only six ingredients!
- Tapioca Pearls- also called boba, they’re chewy, translucent balls made with cassava starch
- Tea- while classic Taiwanese bubble milk tea traditionally uses black tea, you can also switch up the flavor with other tea varieties like earl grey, oolong, green tea, or jasmine.
- Water- the recipe below uses a ratio of 1 tea bag per 1 cup of water. Adjust amount according to desired strength.
- Sugar- feel free to swap with your preferred sweeteners such as brown sugar or honey.
- Milk-adds creamy taste. You can substitute almond, oat, or cashew milk for a vegan alternative.
Quick Tip
Do not refrigerate the cooked tapioca pearls as they get harder and lose their chewiness when cold. If you want to chill the tea in the refrigerator, remove the boba and store separately in a simple syrup.
Making the tea
Make the tea stronger as the addition of milk will dilute the flavor. However, do not over “pressure cook” as this will extract too much tannin, resulting in a bitter and astringent taste.
For more tea flavor, you can increase the amount of tea bags per cup of water or use a more full-bodied black tea such as Assam, Yunnan, Ceylon, or English Breakfast.
How to serve
- The tea drink can be enjoyed plain or with a dash of milk for creaminess. Serve chilled or over ice for best results.
- For a fun experience, sip the drink with a large straw!
Ingredients