Herbal milk tea
This caffeine free take on bubble tea is lightly sweet, refreshing and fun to drink!
If you love boba tea or bubble tea, we have good news! It’s simple to make at home, with or without the tapioca pearls.
Bubble tea is often made with black tea, but we chose a minty and soothing herbal for a refreshing treat that leaves out the caffeine. It makes a fun after school or happy hour treat.
Try it and let us know what you think!
What you need for 2 glasses of milk tea
For the sweetener
½ cup of dark brown sugar
½ cup of water
For the tea
6 grams of loose herbal tea. We like a blend of camomile and mint, or try “The Field” loose tea from Dona.
2 cups of water
½ to 1 cup of creamy milk. We prefer oat milk. If you want dairy, go for 2% or whole.
If you enjoy tapioca pearls
2-4 oz of quick cooking tapioca pearls (use your favorite brand, or check out WuFuYuan’s “Black sugar” tapioca pearls
Water according to package directions
How to make your tea
Make the tapioca, if using, and set aside
Cook the tapioca pearls according to the package directions. We’re using the quick cooking variety, and that will take about 15 minutes, start to finish.
Once the pearls are all floating and have a chewy texture, drain them and rinse with cool water.
Set aside while you prep the tea.
Prep the brown sugar simple syrup
Add ½ cup dark brown sugar and ½ cup of water to a small saucepan.
Heat, stirring occasionally, until all of the sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Steep your tea
Heat 2 cups of water to boiling in a kettle or small saucepan.
Add 6 grams of loose tea to your TeaSock. This is about 1.5 a normal serving of hot tea. You want your milk tea extra strong!
Add the TeaSock to the saucepan of water or place it in a heatproof glass measuring cup with a pour spout and cover with the hot water.
Steep for 5-10 minutes, depending on the brand and how strong you want it.
Let the tea cool completely, or add ice to cool more quickly.
Assemble your tea
Grab two tall tumblers and add ½ of the tapioca pearls to the bottom of each.
Top the pearls with ¼ of the simple syrup.
Add several cubes of ice.
Pour ½ the tea over the ice.
Add milk to taste and top with the remaining simple syrup.
Add a straw, give it a stir, and enjoy!