Matcha Bubble Tea (Matcha Milk Tea With Boba) - Oh, How Civilized

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Matcha Bubble Tea (Matcha Milk Tea with Boba)

By Jee Choe

Updated Feb 09, 2023

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Get my tips and tricks to make this delicious and refreshing matcha bubble tea (boba tea) at home without a matcha whisk!

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Recipe Highlights
Ingredient Notes
How to Make Matcha Bubble Tea
Expert Tips
Storage Tips
Questions You May Have
Related
Matcha Bubble Tea (Matcha Milk Tea with Boba) Recipe

Recipe Highlights

6-ingredient matcha bubble tea recipe that’s easy to make at home.
This drink is essentially a matcha latte with tapioca balls.
The secret to making the best bubble tea is using warm tapioca balls.
Matcha for this drink is made without a whisk! All you need is a cocktail shaker or any airtight container.
Made layered so it’s super pretty. The trick layering is sugar and ice.
Bubble tea is an iced drink that was created in Taiwan in the 80s. It’s made with tea, milk, sugar, and tapioca balls. (The tapioca balls, also known as boba, is why the drink is called bubble tea.)

RELATED: Strawberry Matcha Latte Bubble Tea

Ingredient Notes

Matcha: The brighter green the matcha, the better the quality.
Filtered water: Use good quality water for a better tasting drink.
Tapioca pearls/balls: The package says it’s ready in 5 minutes but that’s a complete lie.
Dark brown sugar: You can use any kind of sugar but I like using brown sugar.
Oat milk: Any kind of milk can be used but I like it with oat milk.
Ice: Helps to separate the milk and the matcha to get those pretty layers.

My Matcha Pick

Photo Credit: amazon.com

Great matcha for the quality and price. It's my go-to matcha for making matcha drinks. SHOP NOW

How to Make Matcha Bubble Tea

1. Make brown sugar simple syrup

Stir together dark brown sugar and hot water until sugar dissolves. Set aside.

2. Make tapioca balls

This part takes the longest but it’s pretty straightforward and not hard to make.

Boil water and add tapioca balls. They’ll start to float to the surface in a couple of minutes — at this point, cover and cook. Stir every once in a while. Strain tapioca balls.

If you’re using a different brand of tapioca balls from what I’m using, follow the directions on the packaging.

Combine brown sugar simple syrup and tapioca balls. The brown sugar simple syrup will sweeten the bubble tea and the tapioca balls.

Set aside to cool slightly. The tapioca balls are ready when they’re nice and warm but not hot.

RELATED: Taro Bubble Tea

3. Make matcha

Combine cold filtered water and matcha in a cocktail shaker. Shake, shake, shake.

Tea Sommelier’s Tip: Shaking cold water and matcha is the easiest and best way to make iced matcha. No need for any matcha bowls, bamboo whisks, or hot water. It creates perfect, clump-free matcha each and every time.

4. Assemble drink

This recipe makes two servings, so just split all the components in half to make each drink.

First, the boba (tapioca balls) in the dark brown simple syrup goes in. Add ice.

Pour in the oat milk.

If you don’t have or like oat milk, you can replace it with any kind of milk you like.

And the final layer, the cold matcha. Pour the matcha slowly over the ice. This will create a lovely layer between the matcha and the milk.

Pop in an extra wide straw and make sure to swirl to mix all the layers together before drinking.

RELATED: Best Matcha Brands for Lattes

Expert Tips

Find the brightest green matcha without going over $30.
To make iced matcha, you can use any airtight container. A cocktail shaker or a water bottle with a wide mouth works great.
If you don’t have dark brown sugar, you can make the sugar syrup using any kind of sweetener like honey, maple syrup, or cane sugar. I just prefer the taste of dark brown sugar for this drink.
Tapioca balls have the best soft, chewy texture when they’re warm. Don’t cool down the tapioca balls completely to keep the perfect texture.

Storage Tips

All the components except for the tapioca balls can be made ahead of time (4 days max) and stored in the refrigerator.
Tapioca balls need to be made and eaten within 4 hours otherwise it’ll start to harden.

Questions You May Have

What’s the secret to getting the matcha separated from the milk so that it looks layered?

Sugar and ice is the secret. Whatever has the most sugar content will sink to the bottom. Ice helps to keep the layers in place.

Is there caffeine in this drink?

There is! There’s caffeine in matcha so there’s caffeine in this drink.

What’s the best matcha to use for this recipe?

For matcha in recipes, I like to spend around $20-$30. Color indicates the matcha quality so if it’s under $15, that means the green won’t be as vibrant — you may end up with a drink that looks more brown than green.

How long are tapioca balls good for?

Tapioca balls must be made the same day, within a couple of hours of making and drinking the bubble tea. They only last up to 4 hours — after that they’ll just harden and won’t be good to eat.

Matcha bubble tea in a glass with a straw.

Delicious Bubble Tea Recipes
Brown Sugar Bubble Tea
Strawberry Milk Tea
Jasmine Bubble Tea
Matcha Cold Foam
Thai Iced Tea with Boba
Starbucks Iced Matcha Latte Copycat
Matcha Smoothie

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