Brown Sugar Boba Milk Tea

⏱ 30 min · Serves 2

Chewy tapioca pearls swimming in glossy dark caramel syrup, striping the sides of the glass before cold milk and strong black tea pour over. Sweeter and better than the shop version, and ready in half an hour.

Per serving: 392 kcal · 7.2g protein · 78.0g carbs · 7.5g fat

Ingredients

• 100g quick-cook dried tapioca pearls (black boba)
• 1 litre water, for boiling the pearls
• 90g dark brown sugar (muscovado works well)
• 3 tbsp water, for the syrup
• 2 black tea bags (Assam or English breakfast)
• 250ml boiling water
• 400ml whole milk, well chilled
• Plenty of ice cubes

Method

1. Bring 1 litre of water to a rolling boil. Tip in the tapioca pearls, stir once so they don't stick, and boil for 5 minutes (or as your packet directs), then cover, turn off the heat and let them sit 5 minutes more until chewy right through.
2. Meanwhile, steep the tea bags in 250ml boiling water for 5 minutes, then remove the bags and leave the tea to cool. Don't squeeze the bags or it will turn bitter.
3. Drain the pearls and rinse briefly under cold water to remove excess starch.
4. In a small pan, melt the brown sugar with 3 tbsp water over medium heat, stirring until dissolved. Simmer 2 minutes to a loose syrup.
5. Add the drained pearls to the syrup and stir over low heat for 2 minutes until glossy and coated. Remove from the heat and let stand 5 minutes to soak up flavour.
6. Spoon the syrupy pearls into two tall glasses, tilting and rolling so the syrup streaks the sides.
7. Fill the glasses with ice, pour in the cooled tea, then top with cold milk. Stir with a fat straw and drink while the pearls are still soft.