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Calling all milk tea and boba lovers out there! This taro bubble milk tea recipe promises a better creamy, flavorful, and fresh milk tea than milk tea shops. With only a few simple ingredients, you can make the three main parts of this recipe: milk tea base, taro paste, and tapioca pearls. Trust me – you will never go back to spending in milk tea shops again once you learn this foolproof recipe.
All About Taro Bubble Milk Tea (芋頭珍珠奶)
Bubble milk tea is a beloved Taiwanese treat around the world. It is typically made with milk, tea, sugar, water, and chewy pearls. Nowadays, you can find numerous unique variations of milk tea, from winter melon milk tea to caramel milk tea.
In this recipe, we are going to make a sweet, earthy, and creamy Taro Bubble Milk Tea (芋頭珍珠奶) made from only the freshest ingredients. This drink is also called taro boba milk tea, taro milk tea, and taro bubble tea. You can make taro milk tea for tea-based milk or taro bubble tea if it includes tapioca pearls.
The special ingredient in this recipe is my taro paste made from scratch. The milk base I use contains black tea and sugar. Lastly, I add in some tapioca pearls for a chewy texture variety.
Make this recipe your own by customizing it with your favorite ingredients. Since this recipe includes tapioca pearls, you will have to serve this drink with a straw wide enough to fit the pearls. Enjoy this drink either hot or iced, perfect for any season and time of the day!
The Main Ingredient: What Is Taro?
Taro is similar to a regular potato. It is a root vegetable from the Araceae plant family known as Colocasia esculenta. Its skin is brown to gray, while its flesh is white with tiny purple dots.
When eaten, it has a starchy, nutty, and sweet taste. You will love incorporating taro in your recipes for its excellent source of fiber and vitamins C, B6, and E. It has several health benefits, from aiding in digestion to improving blood sugar control and supporting heart health.
This root vegetable is commonly used in various Asian recipes, including taro bun, taro sago dessert soup, taro balls, taro cake, and taro paste. You can also find taro in desserts like mooncakes, mochi, and ice cream. One thing to keep in mind is that taro is high in oxalate crystals.
Oxalate crystals are toxic, especially when eaten raw or touched with bare hands. So, I suggest cooking the taro thoroughly and wearing kitchen-safe gloves when handling it. Learn more about taro by reading Taro Vs Sweet Potato Vs Yam Vs Yuca.
The Three Main Parts Of Taro Bubble Milk Tea
If you are interested in customizing this drink, read my tips and suggestions below. In this section, I share the best ingredient alternatives and recipe techniques to execute the steps properly. Below are some suggestions when preparing the milk tea base, taro paste, and tapioca pearls.
Milk Tea Base
- Milk: Most boba tea shops offer dairy milk for the milk tea base. However, if you prefer plant-based milk, I highly recommend coconut milk for a nutty and creamy base. You can also use oat, soy, cashew, or almond milk. For a creamier texture, use whole or full-fat instead of the regular type of milk.
- Black tea: Generally, black tea contains about 50mg of caffeine per cup. If you want lesser caffeine content, go for jasmine tea, which has about 25mg of caffeine per cup. Aside from loose-leaf tea, you can also use tea bags as well. However, make sure you do not brew it for too long to avoid a bitter-tasting milk tea.
- Sugar: Adjust the sugar level just the way you like it. The sugar helps balance out the tea flavors by adding a bit of sweetness. You can use any type of sweetener, including cane sugar, white sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, or coconut sugar.
- Boiling water: You will need hot boiling water to brew the black tea. The hot water will also dissolve the sugars to mix seamlessly with the milk tea base. This is added to the pot of sugar and black tea, along with the milk. If you want to add a hint of vanilla, add a few drops of vanilla extract.
Taro Paste
- Taro: You can opt for fresh, frozen, or canned taro. Taro is usually available in Asian markets or in the international section of grocery stores. If taro is unavailable, you can swap it with sweet potatoes, such as yellow or purple sweet potatoes.
- Purple potato: I use purple sweet potato to achieve its refreshing purple color. Taro alone will not make a deep purple color, so you need the help of purple potatoes. If purple sweet potato is not available, you can use other types of sweet potato but this will not give you the deep purple color of the milk tea. This is the most natural way to color the milk tea without artificial food coloring.
- Milk: Milk helps create a silky consistency and adds a rich taste to the paste. Any type of milk will do and you can use the same milk as the milk tea base.
- White sugar: Additional white sugar is optional if you want to increase the sweetness. Among the options are cane sugar, white sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, or coconut sugar.
- Taro paste vs powder: You may have seen ready-made taro powder and probably think it makes it more convenient for this recipe. However, I do recommend pureed taro or taro paste to give you a creamier and thicker milk tea. Plus, it is a lot healthier and natural. If you go for taro powder, the milk tea consistency is much more watery and the color is less vibrant. Moreover, taro powder may not be 100% taro since it is usually mixed with sugar, artificial food coloring, milk, etc. Nevertheless, taro powder is still a good alternative if you want to prepare this beverage faster and easier.
Tapioca Pearls
- Where to buy: Tapioca is available in Asian stores, specialty stores, or in the international section of groceries. You can also purchase these in online supermarkets and online stores like Amazon. It is typically labeled as tapioca, tapioca “sago”, boba, and quick-cook tapioca pearls. Depending on the brand and type, the texture may vary but with minimal difference.
- Tapioca alternatives: Tapioca is already the cheap alternative to sago. If you can find sago, the real sago, that is usually more expensive than tapioca. Nevertheless, tapioca and sago are often used interchangeably in desserts and soups. Learn more about their differences with my guide Sago Vs. Tapioca Pearls. The next closest chewy alternatives are boba, taro balls, sweet potato balls, lychee, grass jelly, and coffee jelly. As a last resort and if you have extra time, you can always make your own tapioca pearls with only 3 ingredients by following my recipe How To Make Homemade Tapioca Pearls.
- How to cook tapioca: Tapioca pearls are cooked in a pot of boiling water for about 15 minutes or until they float to the surface. There are three essential techniques when cooking tapioca:
- Stir the pearls occasionally while cooking to prevent sticking to the bottom and clumping.
- When done, turn off the heat and let it sit for another 15 minutes to allow it to cook even further until translucent.
- Rinse the cooked tapioca with cold water to remove excess starch and prevent clumping.
- How to use tapioca pearls: Got some extra tapioca pearls left? Use it to make these desserts and drinks!
Prepare The Ingredients And Kitchen Tools
To make the recipe more manageable, you will need a steamer to steam the taro and purple potatoes. If you don’t have a steamer, you can still steam without a steamer in 5 ways: pan with steamer rack, microwave, pan with sieve, rice cooker, and instant pot. As a finishing touch, choose your desired milk tea container.
Make it the real thing by using a boba glass jar and a wide straw that can fit the tapioca pearls. With these ingredients and kitchenware, you will never have to rely on milk tea shops again for a refreshing milky drink. Here’s what you need to get started:
Kitchen Tools
- Cooking pot
- Strainer
- Glass jar (or any container for the milk tea base)
- Steamer
- Mixing bowl
- Stirrer or silicone spatula
- Tall glass or boba mason jar
- Straw (according to the size of the tapioca pearls)
Ingredients
For Milk Tea:
- 100g white sugar
- 10g black tea
- 300g boiling water
- 500g milk
For Taro Paste:
- 240g taro
- 80g purple potato
- 50g white sugar
- 80g milk
For Tapioca Pearls:
- Tapioca pearls (adjust the amount according to your liking)
Let’s Make Taro Bubble Milk Tea Step-By-Step!
Prepare the taro milk tea, make the taro paste, cook the tapioca pearls, and assemble your milk tea! Follow my detailed steps below or watch my tutorial video on Instagram or TikTok. Share your creations by tagging me @kitchenmisadventures.
1. Prepare Taro Milk Tea:
- In a pot, heat sugar with black tea.
- Continually stir until the sugar starts to melt.
- Add 300g of boiling water and 500g of milk. Mix well.
- Strain the tea and transfer the milk tea base into a container.
2. Prepare Taro Paste:
- Steam taro and purple potato for 30 minutes.
- Mash the steamed taro and purple potato with white sugar and milk until you have a smooth paste.
3. Cook the Tapioca Pearls:
- Boil the tapioca pearls until they float to the surface.
- Then, remove and rinse them with cold water.
- Set aside.
4. Assemble the Taro Milk Tea:
- Start by adding a layer of taro paste to the bottom of the cup or boba glass jar.
- Decorate the milk tea glass with a layer of smeared taro paste.
- Add the tapioca pearls and pour in the milk tea.
Enjoy this taro bubble milk tea with a delightful snack, such as Hong Kong Style Pineapple Buns (Bolo Bao), Hong Kong French Toast, or Mung Bean Cake (No-Bake).
Homemade Taro Bubble Milk Tea Recipe
Equipment
- Glass jar (or any container for the milk tea base)
- Steamer
- Stirrer or silicone spatula
- Tall glass or boba mason jar
- Straw (according to the size of the tapioca pearls)
Ingredients
For Milk Tea:
- 100 g sugar
- 10 g black tea
- 300 g boiling water
- 500 g milk
For Taro Paste:
- 240 g taro
- 80 g purple potato
- 50 g white sugar
- 80 g milk
For Tapioca Pearls:
- Tapioca pearls adjust the amount according to your liking
Instructions
Prepare Taro Milk Tea:
- In a pot, heat sugar with black tea.
- Continually stir until the sugar starts to melt.
- Add 300g of boiling water and 500g of milk. Mix well.
- Strain the tea and transfer the milk tea base into a container.
Prepare Taro Paste:
- Steam taro and purple potato for 30 minutes.
- Mash the steamed taro and purple potato with white sugar and milk until you have a smooth paste.
Cook the Tapioca Pearls:
- Boil the tapioca pearls until they float to the surface.
- Then, remove and rinse them with cold water.
- Set aside.
Assemble the Taro Milk Tea:
- Start by adding a layer of taro paste to the bottom of the cup or boba glass jar.
- Decorate the milk tea glass with a layer of smeared taro paste.
- Add the tapioca pearls and pour in the milk tea.
