Almond Milk Tea

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This refreshing almond milk tea is an easy & healthy homemade bubble tea recipe. Save money and time making this copycat drink at home!

If you love bubble tea but don’t love paying to buy it at the boba tea store, then it is much easier to make it at home yourself. 

Plus, stores often use packaged and artificial flavoring that is not as healthy as making it yourself. For example, this strawberry milk tea, this blueberry milk tea and this mango milk tea are all made from real fruit!

You can also make the copycat versions of the classic flavors, such as this taro milk tea or this brown sugar milk tea.

Or, try some different, creative flavors like this oreo milk tea or this chocolate milk tea.

Jump to:

• Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• Equipment
• Step By Step Instructions
• Storage
• Expert Tips
• Recipe FAQs
• 📖 Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• This bubble tea is made with both almond milk and almond extract which gives the tea a delicious, slightly nutty flavor.
• Making this version at home is much less expensive than buying it from the bubble tea store.
• This version is made with almond milk, making it a lot healthier than store bought options that use cream (however, you can easily substitute it for cream if you want a creamier bubble tea).
• The recipe is fully customizable so you can adjust the creaminess and sweetness to your liking.
• This almond bubble tea is both dairy-free and vegan, so it can accommodate all dietary needs!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Almond Milk: Use a high quality brand of almond milk. Since the brown sugar syrup acts as a sweetener, choose an unsweetened almond milk. If you use vanilla almond milk, you will have a slightly sweeter flavor with a hint of vanilla, but it is still delicious. For a creamy milk tea, replace half of the almond milk with heavy cream.
• Tea: You can use whichever type of tea you like. This recipe works with both black tea, such as Assam, English Breakfast, or Earl Grey tea. For a more mild taste, try Oolong tea or a green tea such as Jasmine or Sencha. You can even make a variation of this almond milk tea with matcha.
• Brown Sugar & Water: Brown sugar and water are used to make the brown sugar syrup that coats the boba pearls and sweetens the tea. Any type of brown sugar will work, but a dark brown sugar will add a richer flavor.
• Tapioca Pearls: I prefer quick cooking black tapioca pearls since they save a lot of time making the bubble tea. However, you can use whichever type of tapioca pearls you like, as long as you follow the cooking instructions on the package.

Equipment

Here is the equipment you will need to make the almond boba milk tea:

• A small saucepan to make the brown sugar syrup as well as to cook the boba pearls in.
• A kettle to boil the water to make the tea.
• Bubble tea straws to drink the bubble tea with and a bubble tea travel mug to drink the milk tea in.

Step By Step Instructions

Step 1: Heat the brown sugar and water together on a pan until the brown sugar fully dissolves. Remove the syrup from the stovetop and let it cool for a few minutes.

Step 2: Boil the water and add in the tapioca pearls. Cook the pearls according to the instructions on the packet. Once chewy, strain out the boba pearls and immediately mix them into the brown sugar syrup.

Step 3: Add the boba pearls with their syrup to a glass filled with ice.

Step 4: Add the steeped black tea.

Step 5: Pour in the almond milk and dash of almond extract. Stir to combine.

Storage

For the best results, store each ingredient separately in an airtight container in the fridge and mix them together right before serving. 

The tea and brown sugar syrup will last up to a week in the fridge. 

I don’t recommend storing boba pearls once they are cooked — always make them fresh. Boba pearls will only last a couple hours before they start to harden. 

If you happen to have leftover almond milk tea, remove and discard any leftover boba and ice. Then, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 to 2 days.

Expert Tips

• Add the cooked boba to the syrup right away. The brown sugar syrup prevents the boba from sticking together. As soon as you strain the boba from the syrup, mix them into the syrup, making sure they are fully covered.
• Always make the boba fresh. Cooked boba hardens quickly. “Quick cooking” boba cooks within 5 to 10 minutes, but it hardens faster than other types. Plan to consume your bubble tea within a couple hours of preparation for best results.
• Use a bubble tea straw. Regular straws won’t work for sipping up boba pearls. You can buy reusable boba tea straws made specifically for bubble tea.
• Add in some cream. This almond milk tea is less creamy (but healthier) than store bought bubble tea. If you want an extra creamy version, replace half (or all) of the almond milk with heavy cream.

Recipe FAQs

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📖 Recipe