Can’t stop drinking boba milk tea? Neither can I! While our hearts and stomachs might be happy, our wallets might not. Everything from milk tea to coffee is getting more expensive, so a great way to save money is to make your own roasted oolong milk tea at home.

Tapioca pearls, or boba, is simple to make at home and with a bit of practice, you’ll be a pro at making soft, chewy pearls that are delicious in any tea. Plus, you’ll save $7 from buying it at the shops.

Here’s how to make a roasted oolong milk tea with boba at home!

What is Milk Tea?

Milk tea, as the name suggests, is brewed tea and milk. It’s ubiquitous across many cultures worldwide, like cream tea in the U.K., chai in India, nai cha in Taiwan, etc.

You can drink it hot or cold, which tastes great both ways. Generally, milk tea is sweetened and made with black tea and milk with more fat. As a result, you get a rich, decadent, milky tea that is flavorful and delicious.

Milk tea has existed for centuries, with the earliest instances in Tibet when yak’s butter was mixed into tea and popularized in Europe with Asian trade.

However, Taiwan catapulted a new variation of milk tea in the 21st century with its famous bubble tea (or boba tea), sweetened, iced milk tea with soft and chewy tapioca pearls.

Now, boba is famous globally and you’ll find all sorts of teas, flavors, milks, and toppings to create your dream drink.

What is Roasted Oolong?

As the name suggests, roasted oolong tea is oolong that’s roasted after it’s been picked.

All tea comes from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, and how you grow, harvest, and produce the tea leaves gives you different teas and flavors.

Oolong tea is the middle ground between green and black tea, with a distinct floral and roasted taste. Tea farmers get oolong tea by semi-oxidizing the tea leaves, primarily by drying it under the sun.

Once the oolong tea is finished, you roast it with a charcoal fire to make roasted oolong tea. This roasting process actually came about as a way to preserve tea for longer, as moisture invites mold growth.

What Does Roasted Oolong Tea Taste Like?

Imagine an oolong tea but darker, with a prominent toasted and roasted taste. That’s what a roasted oolong tea tastes like! You’ll also pick up some caramel, malty, and wood smoky flavors.

It’s one of my favorite teas, and the roasted aroma and flavor is unbeatable. It’s great with milk, sugar, and, of course, tapioca pearls for a delicious roasted oolong milk tea. It complements brown sugar well and also tastes phenomenal with a sweet cream cold foam.

Can You Roast Oolong Yourself?

Yes, you can roast oolong tea using an oven, toaster oven, or stovetop.

Generally, you’ll want a flat surface where you can spread tea leaves evenly so that they roast evenly. Set your oven to 200 and roast your leaves for 5-10 minutes or until they have a roasted aroma. Increase the temperature every 5 minutes by 50 degrees until roasted desired-ness.

This process of gradual roasting also helps refresh your tea! If you have stale tea, you can give it a nice short roast, which helps return the flavors.

Stir your tea leaves every couple of minutes so that they roast evenly and don’t burn.

Honestly, roasting tea at home is relatively informal, so experiment with different temperatures and times to get different tea flavors. Just don’t burn it!

How Much Caffeine Does Roasted Oolong Tea Have?

Oolong tea has about 30-40 mg of caffeine per 8-ounce cup, more than green tea (~25 mg) and black tea (~60 mg).

I’m not too sure why black tea has more caffeine than green tea since they come from the same plant, but it has to do with the way the tea leaves are processed.

Some speculate that green tea has more L-theanine, a natural compound in tea that helps lessen caffeine effects.

However, roasted teas generally have less caffeine than unroasted teas because the process turns caffeine into gas, which is released into the air from the leaves. So, roasted oolong has less than ~35 mg of caffeine per 8-ounce cup.

However, other factors like brewing time and water temperature also affect the amount of caffeine in the tea.

What is Boba?

Boba, also known as bubble tea, refers to the chewy tapioca pearls that come with milk tea. However, many people use boba to mean the entire drink itself, tea and all.

It’s a popular drink that originated in Taiwan in the 90’s, when restaurant owners started serving cold milk tea with tapioca pearls. Taiwanese immigrants brought the drink over to the United States and it’s exploded in popularity.

You can get boba with any tea, like jasmine, oolong, assam, and more. It’s iced and sweetened by default and you can add milk and your choice of toppings. As a result, you get a sweet and creamy drink that’s so addicting.

What is Brown Sugar Boba?

One of the most popular variations of boba is brown sugar boba, which is boiled tapioca pearls soaked in brown sugar syrup. The tapioca pearls soak up the excess sugar and become brown sugar flavored, which is delicious in plain milk and milk tea.

You’ll often find it named tiger milk tea because the brown sugar boba leaves stripes in the cup or glass. The taste is primarily brown sugar, caramel, and tea!

How Do You Make Boba?

To make boba, you boil tapioca pearls in water for 20 minutes, then let them soak in a sugar syrup to absorb. The soaking helps make the pearls taste good, otherwise they turn out bland.

However, making boba is time-consuming and not everyone wants to cook boba for 35 minutes for one drink. That’s why it’s so easy to go out and buy a boba drink, but they’re about $7 a pop.

You can also buy instant boba packets, which do the trick in a pinch but it’s not as good as the fresh ones.

Is Boba Milk Tea Healthy?

Unfortunately, boba milk tea is loaded with sugar, so it’s not the healthiest drink. Tapioca pearls are also made out of tapioca flour which is straight carbs.

If you don’t add any pearls or sugar to your tea, though, it’s pretty healthy! The downside is that you have a less flavorful and fun drink.

So, it depends on how you build your milk tea. But if you have a boba tea once in while, it won’t harm your health. All in moderation!

Tips

Here are some tips to make a great roasted oolong milk tea with brown sugar boba at home!

• To make boiling boba faster, boil your water in a kettle first, then use it in the pot.
• If you don’t have the milk powder stores use for their drinks, you can always substitute it for coffee creamer or regular milk.
• If you use actual milk, use one that has more fat like whole milk or half and half. It will help make your tea creamy without diluting the flavor.
• You can find roasted oolong tea from some bubble tea stores or your local tea store, especially the Asian tea stores.
• Make sure you have a big straw to drink your boba with!