Bubble Tea Recipes: 3 Recipes That Are So Easy You’d Never Buy From A BBT Shop Again

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Easy-to-follow bubble tea recipes

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As someone who’s guilty of spending ludicrous amounts of money on bubble tea, I’ve always wanted to find cost-effective ways of feeding my boba addiction. And thankfully, our Eatbook producers have replicated bubble tea that’s actually comparable to Singapore’s established brands including KOI and LiHo. The best part is these bubble tea recipes are extremely pocket-friendly!

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1. Brown Sugar Pearls

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Every BBT shop is jumping onto the brown sugar pearl hype train now. Take it up a notch by experimenting with different types of brown sugar such as cane, muscovado and turbinado. This recipe solely outlines the steps to make the pearls.

Yield: 3 glasses
Cooking time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

Tapioca pearls:
100g tapioca pearls (can be found at Phoon Huat stores)
700ml water

Brown sugar syrup:
200g brown sugar
150g water

Directions:

1. Boil the tapioca pearls with water for 40 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent the pearls from sticking.
2. Soak the cooked pearls in an ice bath for at least five minutes.
3. To cook the syrup, combine water and sugar in a saucepan on low heat.
4. Add the cooked pearls into the syrup and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent the pearls from sticking. The pearls are ready to be served when they’re thick and syrupy.

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2. Normal Pearls

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These are the basic pearls that have stood the test of time. They have a subtle sweetness that allows the drink’s flavour to shine through while still adding great texture to every sip. Great for those who don’t fancy the sweet brown sugar taste. 

Yield: 4 glasses
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

¼ cup dried tapioca pearls
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 cup water

Directions:

1. Bring ½ cup of water to a boil.
2. Pour tapioca pearls and ½ cup brown sugar into a pot and cook for 15 minutes. Stir periodically.
3. Remove the tapioca pearls from heat and strain out the water.
4. Pour ½ cup fresh water, ¼ cup brown sugar and ¼ cup granulated sugar into the pot, and simmer on low heat till thickened.
5. Serve immediately.

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3. Yakult Green Tea (Iced)

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Lovers of Yakult will love this. The pleasant tartness of the yoghurt drink just cuts through its sweetness, leaving you craving for more. It’s one of the easiest drinks to make as Yakult is a household item. Packed with probiotics, it’s also great for your immunity.

Yield: 1 glass
Cooking time: 3 minutes

Ingredients:

65ml Yakult or preferred probiotic drink (chilled)
150ml sugar-free green tea (chilled)
2 teaspoons sugar syrup
Ice (as desired)

Directions:

1. Add ice into a cup.
2. Pour Yakult, green tea and sugar syrup into the cup.
3. Shake well before consumption.

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4. Oolong Milk Tea with Pearls (Iced)

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This is a great one to make at home because you can control how strong you want the taste of oolong to be. The roasted nuttiness of oolong makes for a refreshing drink, and pairing it with fresh milk increases the decadence.

Yield: 1 glass
Cooking time: 3 minutes

Ingredients:

90ml sugar-free brewed oolong tea (chilled)
60ml fresh milk (chilled)
2 teaspoons sugar syrup
Cooked tapioca pearls (as desired)
Ice (as desired)

Directions:

1. Mix oolong tea, fresh milk and sugar syrup. Shake well.
2. Add tapioca pearls, ice and the oolong milk tea into a cup.
3. Shake well before consumption.

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5. Brown Sugar Pearl Fresh Milk (Cold)

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After successfully making this at home, you may start to question the $6 to $7 price tag at bubble tea shops. It’s super easy to recreate this drink. All you really need is to buy the pearls which you can get in a 2kg pack from Phoon Huat at $9.

Get the step-by-step recipe here:

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Save money with these bubble tea recipes

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The cost to produce each cup is so minimal – almost half the price per cup. Just imagine how much you will save over the years!

So if you’re feeling peckish at home and want a quick boba fix, try out this list of easy bubble tea recipes. If you’re on #TeamCoffee,  we even have a few recipes for Starbucks drinks!

Photos taken by Ho Jing Yi.