You can easily make sweet and tasty matcha boba tea at home! This tea is perfectly creamy, perfectly sweetened, and packed with chewy boba balls. Boba or bubble tea is a treat I used to only get at my local boba shop until I learned how to make this epic matcha boba at home. And you can too!
Jump to:
🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
🧾 Ingredients in this recipe
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
👩🍳 How to Make This Recipe
First, you'll need to make the simple syrup (a combination of sugar and water). I use brown sugar, but you can also use turbinado sugar, and the flavor is fantastic either way. Use in the same ratio for both, 1:1 sugar:water.
Add the turbinado sugar and ½ a cup of water to a saucepan. Turn to medium heat and stir until the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and set the simple syrup aside to cool.
Cook the tapioca pearls
Pro Tip
You can keep boba in the simple syrup for up to 12 hours, so it’s easy to serve later in the day. Boba does not keep well overnight.
Drink and enjoy! And be sure to get the right straws for drinking boba. These extra-wide glass straws work perfectly. The wide is not wide enough for the large pearls.
Pro Tip
If making this recipe with matcha powder, wait until just before you're ready to serve the boba tea before preparing the matcha, so that the matcha leaves do not settle while you wait.
🧋How to Make Boba with Any Tea
If you want to try something other than matcha, this recipe works with any tea flavor. I've tried Thai tea boba, brown sugar milk boba, and many others!
To make this with another tea, follow the steps up until the step to prepare the matcha. Instead, steep the tea of your choosing in 1 cup of hot water (per serving) until brewed to your preference. Let the tea come down to room temperature before serving so it doesn't completely melt the ice and dilute the tea.
To serve your finished bubble tea, add ⅓ cup of tapioca pearls to each glass. Top with 1 cup of your chosen tea, then 1 cup of non-dairy milk or creamer.
📋 Recipe FAQs
Boba are the little chewy balls at the bottom of boba tea. These balls are made from tapioca starch dough that is then boiled in hot water, which makes them slightly enlarged and chewy.
Boba tea goes by many different names: milk tea, tapioca tea, pearl milk tea, boba, and bubble tea. The drink is of Taiwanese origin and is traditionally made with a base of tea, milk, and sugar with chewy boba at the bottom.
Matcha boba has three key components: matcha powder, tapioca pearls, and milk or creamer.
Homemade boba can be considered more healthy as you control the sweetener, so you can make it with less added sugar than in shops.
By far the most common teas to use are black tea (like earl grey, chai, and breakfast tea), green teas (matcha, jasmine), and oolong teas. If you're new to boba tea, try a black tea to get you started or this matcha boba recipe.
Matcha Boba Tea
Ingredients
Simple Syrup
- ½ cup brown sugar or turbinado sugar, or cane sugar
- ½ cup water
Boba
- ⅔ cups tapioca pearls
- 3 cups water
Tea
- 2 cups non-dairy milk or creamer like oat milk creamer
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon culinary grade matcha powder
- 1.5 cups ice cubes
Instructions
- Simple syrup: Add the turbinado and ½ cup water to a sauce pan. Turn to medium heat and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Tea: Steep your tea and let it come to room temperature. If making matcha, wait until just before serving so the matcha leaves do not settle. Then, whisk or blend 1 tablespoon of matcha with the 2 cups of room temperature, or cold water.
- Boba: Bring 3 cups of water to boil over high heat. Add the tapioca pearls and stir until they start floating to the surface. Turn the heat to medium and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 12 minutes.
- Drain the boba and add to a bowl with the simple syrup. Let cool. You can keep the boba in the simple syrup for up to 12 hours.
- Assemble: Add ⅓ cup of tapioca pearls to each glass. Top with 1 cup of tea, then 1 cup of non-dairy milk or creamer. Enjoy!
Monica
I'm so happy I now know how to make boba at home, and with my favorite flavor matcha! This recipe was super easy to follow and I'm definitely teaching my husband so he can make them for us too 🙂
Candice
This makes me so happy to hear, Monica... thank you for taking the time to share!
Lw
Should I keep boba in the fridge or at room temp
Candice
Room temperature, but it doesn't last long. Use it the day you make it.
Pramiti
I was very confused about the difference between normal tea and ‘milk tea’.. this recipe helped explain a lot! Can’t wait to try it out once I have everything I need 🙂 Thank you!
Candice
I'm so happy I was able to help, Pramiti. Can't wait to hear what you think when you give it a try!
Julie
Looks great! Love the glass you are using. Where did you get them from?
Candice
Hi Julie! Here are the links to the straws and the glasses.
Catarina Benavides
Where are the glasses and straws you used from? They’re so pretty!
Candice
Thanks, Catarina! Here are the links to the straws and the glasses.
Allyson
I love this recipe! Do you know how to make it do it tastes like the coconut/mango/other fruit ones that you can get at the cafe? I can’t find a recipe for it 😋
Candice
Hi there, Allyson... for the coconut milk tea, just mix together 1/4 cup coconut cream with 1/2 cup of milk or milk. Pour over the cooked boba, sweeten with the syrup, and add ice.
For the fruity ones, you can use any smoothie recipe you like, and make it with fresh or thawed fruit instead of frozen.
I hope this helps!
Haley D Williams
I wish I had one of these today! I have been wanting to try this! I cannot wait to get what I need!
Candice
Can't wait to see and hear how it goes!
Karin
Yeah