Taro Milk Tea - Carmy - Easy Healthy-ish Recipes

Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

Sweet, rich, and creamy, this Taro Milk Tea is so easy to make at home. This taro bubble tea features a simple brown sugar syrup and tapioca but you can enjoy the taro milk without it! Easily make this taro boba with taro powder or real taro.

I am obsessed with taro. I literally have a Rubbermaid container in the freezer with cubed taro ready to go whenever the craving hits. It’s one of my favourite things to put in hot pot and my love transfers over to taro bubble tea.

A glass of taro bubble tea with tapioca and a straw.

Taro bubble tea is so easy to make at home and is way cheaper than buying it at cafes. This post will show you how to make taro boba at home with both taro powder and real taro.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Freshly diced taro and taro powder, side by side.
  • tapioca pearls — I use these specific ones for extra sweetness for this hojicha boba. You can use any topioca pearls you like. There are even taro pearls if you want extra taro flavour.
  • muscovado sugar — or dark brown sugar. Muscovado sugar is a little less refined than regular brown sugar so it has more pronounced caramel and toffee notes to it.
  • taro powder — this recipe uses taro powder that has creamer mixed in so you do not have to purchase and add that separately. Alternatively, you’ll need real taro, peeled and cubes along with a drizzle of condensed milk.
  • milk — feel free to use 50/50 milk and water or 100% milk. I like how creamy it tastes with 100% milk but H prefers it with 50% water.
  • green tea — I used genmaicha tea but jasmine tea is great as well.

You’ll also need a blender for this recipe. Some packages instruct that you shake the powder with hot water together but I find that sometimes the powder doesn’t dissolve fully. I prefer a blender to make sure the taro powder fully mixes into the taro boba.

How to Make Taro Milk Tea

  • Tapioca and brown sugar syrup in a pot.
  • Steeped green tea.

Brown Sugar Boba Pearl Syrup

  • Prepare your tapioca pearls according to the package.
  • In a pot, combine the muscovado sugar with 40 ml of water and bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer and add in the prepared tapioca pearls. Simmer until the brown sugar syrup has thickened. Simmering the cooked tapioca pearls in the syrup just adds more flavour to them.
  • Remove from heat once it has thickened.

Taro Bubble Tea

  • Steep the green tea and set aside.
  • Taro powder and milk added to a blender.
  • Blended taro milk.
  • In a blender, combine the lychee powder and milk (or 50/50 milk and cold filtered water). Blend until fully combined.
  • In a cup, add in half of the brown sugar syrup with the pearls.
  • Add in the ice cubes, if using.
  • Glass with tapioca with brown sugar syrup.
  • Glass with tapioca with brown sugar syrup and ice.
  • Add the blended taro powder and milk to the cup.
  • Top off with green tea.
  • Mix until everything has combined.
  • Taro milk added to the glass of tapioca.
  • Green tea added to taro milk and tapioca.
  • Taro milk tea being stirred.

How to Cook Taro to Make Bubble Tea

  • Peel and cube 150 to 200 grams of taro.
  • Boil the cubed taro root for 20 minutes on medium heat or until fork tender.
  • Add the cooked taro, a drizzle of condense milk, and the milk to a blender and blend until smooth.
  • Combine with the green tea and tapioca (if using).
A glass of taro boba with tapioca and a straw.

Recipe Tips and Notes

  • Please feel free to adjust the amount of tapioca pearls and brown sugar syrup to your liking. I prefer my taro milk tea to be on the sweeter side and I love chewing on QQ pearls so I’m all for it! I usually add extra to mine and H adds less to his.
  • Feel free to double or even triple this recipe.
  • Be sure to get some boba straws as your pearls won’t fit through regular straws!
Can you make your own boba pearls?

If you want, you can definitely make your own pearls. For a while, I made my own but it was so time consuming rolling every single tapioca pearl by hand that I just purchase the shelf stable ones instead. This is the one I buy.

Can I make this ahead of time?

The boba balls are best consumed immediately so I would not recommend making this in advance. When left out for too long (a couple of hours), the tapioca balls will harden.

Can I skip ice?

You can definitely skip ice to your taro bubble tea if you’re worried it’ll dilute the drink! 

What is the difference between “Boba Tea” and “Bubble Tea?”

They’re the same thing. Boba, boba tea, bubble tea, milk tea, tapioca tea, pearl milk tea. It’s mostly a regional verbiage.

More Boba Tea Recipes to Try

  • Matcha Boba
  • Hojicha Boba
  • Thai Bubble Tea
  • Brown Sugar Milk Tea
A glass of taro bubble tea with tapioca and a straw.

Taro Milk Tea

Sweet, rich, and creamy, this Taro Milk Tea is so easy to make at home. This taro bubble tea features a simple brown sugar syrup and tapioca but you can enjoy the taro milk without it! Easily make this taro boba with taro powder or real taro. 5 from 35 votes Print Recipe Rate this Recipe Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes Servings: 2 servings

Ingredients

Brown Sugar Boba Pearl Syrup

  • ½ cup tapioca pearls
  • ¼ cup muscovado sugar, or dark brown sugar
  • 50 ml cold water

Taro Boba

  • ½ cup green tea
  • 2 to 3 tbsp taro powder
  • cup milk

Equipment

  • Blender

Instructions

Brown Sugar Boba Pearl Syrup

  • Prepare your tapioca pearls according to the package.
  • In a pot, combine the muscovado sugar with 40 ml of water and bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer and add in the prepared tapioca pearls. Simmer until the brown sugar syrup has thickened. Simmering the cooked tapioca pearls in the syrup just adds more flavour to them.
  • Remove from heat once it has thickened.

Taro Boba

  • Steep the green tea and set aside.
  • In a blender, combine the taro powder and milk (or 50/50 milk and cold filtered water). Blend until fully combined.
  • In a cup, add in half of the brown sugar syrup with the pearls. Add in the ice cubes.
  • Add the blended taro powder and milk to the cup. Top off with green tea.
  • Mix until everything has combined.

Notes

If using REAL taro:
  • Peel and cube 150 to 200 grams of taro.
  • Boil the cubed taro root for 20 minutes on medium heat or until fork tender.
  • Add the cooked taro, a drizzle of condensed milk, and the milk to a blender and blend until smooth.
  • Combine with the green tea and tapioca (if using).
  Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I’m always so happy to hear about it! I’d love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I’d really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥

Nutrition Per Serving

Calories: 418kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 114mg | Potassium: 417mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 296IU | Calcium: 237mg | Iron: 1mg Author: Carmy Course: DrinksCuisine: Asian Nutrition Disclaimer

Other places to connect with me@carmyshungry on InstagramFacebookShop my Amazon favesEmail: [email protected]

Tag » How To Make Taro Milk Tea