This post is all about how to make jasmine milk tea with honey boba – one of my all-time favorite tea drinks!
It’s hard to believe that a couple of years ago, I didn’t even like bubble tea. Something about actually chewing on my tea took me a while to get used to. My daughter loves it, but I was still thinking, just what is boba anyway?
Now, I love jasmine bubble tea, and this recipe for jasmine milk tea with honey boba is my favorite way to enjoy my go-to boba tea drink. This type of bubble tea uses green milk tea base topped off with easy to make boba pearls. This delicious drink is sweet and refreshing.
This post may contain affiliate links. My full disclosure policy is sort of boring, but you can find ithere.
What is Jasmine Green Tea?
Jasmine green tea was created hundreds of years ago, during the Chinese Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644).
It’s a scented tea, which means it’s a mixture of green tea, scented with blossoms from actual flowers, like chrysanthemum, orchid, and jasmine blossoms, which give this green tea base a floral taste and aroma.
Jasmine green tea is probably the most popular of the scented teas.
Jasmine is a flowering vine with white star-shaped flowers that grows well in most temperate areas of the world.
Adding jasmine to green tea creates a flavored tea that has a perfumed aroma and delicate taste.
Jasmine tea can be made from black and white teas as well as green teas.
Jasmine Tea Aroma
Tea drinkers describe jasmine tea as having these characteristics:
- Fragrant
- Delicate flavour
- Subtle
- Floral
- Sweet
- Perfumed
Jasmine Tea Caffeine
The caffeine content of jasmine tea depends on the type of tea used.
- Jasmine Green Tea Caffeine: 25 mg per 8-ounce cup
- Jasmine Black Tea Caffeine: 47 mg per 8-ounce cup
- Jasmine White Tea Caffeine: 30 mg per 8-ounce cup
- Jasmine Oolong Tea Caffeine: 30 mg per 8-ounce cup
The caffeine in jasmine tea is much lower than the 95 mg of caffeine found in an 8-ounce cup of coffee.
Jasmine Green Tea Benefits
Because jasmine green tea is made from a base of green tea, it has high concentrations of antioxidants and also has anti-inflammatory properties. The health benefits of green tea have been widely studied and include the following:
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- Cancer
- Boosts immune system
- Stress relief
- Improves Skin
Forms of Jasmine Tea
You can brew jasmine tea from tea bags, loose leaf tea or rolled pearls.
No matter how you make it, this jasmine tea base is the foundation of one of the most popular milk tea beverages: delicious jasmine milk tea with boba.
Tea Bags
Good in a pinch, but are often made up of broken leaves and stems. If you can, try to find jasmine tea bags or sachets which have more room for the tea leaves.
Loose Leaf Tea
Loose leaf tea is my go-to. You can get the better flavor with loose leaf tea than tea bags and all you need is a teapot and strainer or infuser.
Jasmine Pearl Tea
This type of tea is made from scented green tea leaves and buds that are hand-rolled into small pearls. This type of tea is also the most expensive version of jasmine tea.
How To Make Jasmine Tea
Since Jasmine Tea is made from green tea, use the same basic preparation technique:
- Choose your type of tea. If using loose-leaf, use one to two teaspoons for every 8-ounces of water.
- Heat your spring water or filtered water to between 160 and 180 degrees F.
- Steep for 2-4 minutes.
MORE TO SIP ON: Easy Bubble Milk Tea Recipe
How To Make Honey Boba
Making your own boba tea is really easy once you’ve figured out how to get the tapioca pearls just right.
The tapioca pearls that make that delicious chewy boba don’t really have much flavor on their own, so they need to be sweetened to get that true tea shop taste.
- For one serving, add about 1/4 cup to a small pot of boiling water and cover. They cook quickly (2.5 to three minutes).
- After cooking your tapioca pearls, drain them, rinse them in cold water and soak them for at least 10 minutes in a mixture of honey and hot water.
This mixture of honey syrup will be absorbed by the tapioca balls and make them super tasty and sweet.
A great variation on this recipe is to use a brown sugar syrup, agave syrup or even simple syrup if you’re short on time.
Here’s a link to the kind of boba pearls I use in my bubble teas:
Choose Your Milk
Different “milks” produce different flavors and textures. I usually use half-and-half, but you could use any type of milk you prefer:
- Dairy milk (whole milk, 1%, 2%, skim)
- Half-and-half
- Cream
- Condensed milk
- Lactose-free milk
- Soy milk
- Coconut Milk
- Nut milks like almond and cashew
- Non-Dairy Creamer
- Oat Milk
- Any plant-based milk you prefer
Choose Sweetener of Your Choice
If the syrup from the boba isn’t enough for you you can add as much sugar or other sweetener as you like.
- Honey
- Brown Sugar Syrup
- Simple Syrup
- Agave Syrup
- Maple Syrup
How To Make Jasmine Milk Tea with Honey Boba
- Brew jasmine tea and cool.
- Prepare honey boba and add these chewy tapioca pearls to a large glass.
- Add ice cubes and pour in the cooled tea
- Top with your milk of choice.
- Sweeten if necessary
- Enjoy that delicious glass of jasmine bubble tea!
Jasmine Milk Tea Recipe with Honey Boba
Yield: 1 serving
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Additional Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
This delicious boba tea adds the delicate and sweet aroma of Jasmine, the health benefits of green tea and the chewy goodness of honey boba pearls. Serve over ice with a reusable boba straw.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons loose Jasmine Green Tea or 1 Jasmine Green Tea Bag
- 1 cup water heated until almost boiling (180 degrees F)
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 2 Tablespoons hot water
- 1/4 cup uncooked WuFuYuan black tapioca pearls
- 3 tablespoons half-and-half (or dairy of your choice)
- Extra honey or simple syrup if you like a sweet tea
Instructions
Make the Tea
- Add loose tea to a teapot with a strainer, or add tea bag to a mug.
- Heat water until almost boiling, pour over tea and steep for 2-4 minutes.
- Strain loose tea or remove tea bags after steeping. Set aside to cool.
Make the Honey Syrup for the Tapioca Pearls
- Combine 2 Tablespoons hot water with 2 Tablespoons honey. Stir until dissolved. Set aside.
Make Honey Boba
- Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add tapioca pearls, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- Drain, plunge into cold water for a few seconds and drain again.
- Add to the prepared honey syrup and let sit for 10 minutes to absorb the flavor.
Assemble Your Boba Tea
- Find a cup that holds at least 16 ounces.
- In the bottom of the cup, add the honey boba pearls.
- Add ice and pour in the cooled tea.
- Top with the half-and-half.
- Stir and enjoy!
Notes
To speed things up, make the tea ahead and refrigerate. The tapioca pearls don't really keep well, so you'll need to cook them right before you make your bubble tea.
Save the environment and get yourself a set of reusable bubble tea straws that you'll use again and again.
Recommended Products
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1Serving Size: 12 ounces
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 290
Nutrition information assumes using tapioca pearls sweetened in honey syrup, but no additional sweetener
Once I started making this at home, I bought a set of washable, reusable boba straws. That way it feels even more like the bubble tea recipe in my favorite Asian restaurant. Here’s a link to the straws I have. The set comes with a tiny cleaning brush as a bonus.
Can’t get enough boba? Here’s more to love!
- Strawberry Milk Boba Tea
- Chocolate Milk Bubble Tea
- Tiger Milk Tea
- Jasmine Milk Tea with Honey Boba
- Taro Bubble Tea
- Popping Boba Recipe
- Bubble Tea 101
- A Tea Lover’s Guide to Bubble Tea
- Delicious Boba Tea Flavors to Try
If you love tea as much as I do, pin this to your favorite tea-loving Pinterest board and pass it on for others to enjoy! Pinkies up!
