You won’t find any of the powdered stuff here! This strawberry milk tea is made from fresh, real strawberries (or frozen) made into a pourable sauce that makes a delicious, juicy milk tea.

The strawberry sauce tastes best with a floral and refreshing jasmine green tea that, with milk, is sweet and creamy. It’s one of my favorite milk tea flavors because it’s basically adult strawberry milk!

Here’s how to make a delicious strawberry milk tea at home that is healthy and fresh!

What is Strawberry Milk Tea Made of?

If you go to a boba (bubble tea) store and order a strawberry milk tea, chances are it’s made from powder or strawberry syrup. Very rarely is strawberry milk tea made with real strawberries and tea since it’s more labor-intensive and expensive.

However, strawberry milk tea made from fresh or real strawberries tastes better, in my opinion! This recipe uses frozen strawberries to make homemade strawberry syrup and jasmine green tea to make a sweet and refreshing milk tea.

This drink also has dairy, but you can use whatever milk you’d like. I use half and half for this recipe since a little more cream and fat makes the drink creamier and tastier.

Best Tea for Strawberry Milk Tea

Jasmine green tea is the best tea for strawberry milk tea. It’s light, refreshing, and works really well with fruits. The jasmine aroma also complements the strawberry and adds a nice floral flavor.

The first taste of strawberry milk tea is juicy strawberry, followed by a delightful jasmine tea aroma.

For a more cozy taste, use Assam black tea! I’ve made strawberry tea sangrias before using black tea, and they are so delicious. The strawberry flavor isn’t as pronounced as black tea, and it serves as a supporting flavor rather than the star of the show.

I’ve never tried oolong tea with strawberries, but I can’t imagine it’d taste bad!

Does Strawberry Milk Tea Have Caffeine?

The strawberry milk tea can have caffeine depending on the type of tea you use. If you buy one from the store and they use powder, it might not have caffeine since it’s just the strawberry milk “tea” powder and water or milk.

But if it’s advertised as a milk tea, it’s best to ask beforehand. This recipe does have caffeine from the jasmine green tea, which is the least caffeinated tea compared to black and oolong.

You can make it decaf using herbal teas like hibiscus, chamomile, rooibos, raspberry leaf, butterfly pea tea, etc. However, if you use stronger herbal teas like ginger or peppermint, the milk tea might taste weird if the flavor doesn’t work well with strawberry tea.

How to Make Strawberry Syrup

Making homemade strawberry syrup is fun and easy, and it is also my preferred method of making fruit milk teas. It’s a little healthier, and you can adjust the amount of sugar in it. Premade strawberry syrups are always so sweet and taste of sugar rather than strawberry first.

All you need is fresh or frozen strawberries, sugar, and water.

With fresh strawberries: Blend them with sugar and water until smooth. Strain it afterward for smooth syrup, or keep the chunks in for extra flavor.

With frozen strawberries: Add your strawberries, sugar, and water into a small pot and boil on medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the strawberry juices come out. You might have to mash them to get the juices. Simmer until it thickens.

You can also use freeze-dried strawberry powder! Just mix it with a little sugar and hot water until mixed well. Then, add it to any liquid for a concentrated strawberry flavor!

How to Make Strawberry Milk Tea

Here’s what you’ll need to make strawberry milk tea at home:

• Fresh or frozen strawberries
• Sugar
• Water
• Milk
• Ice
• Jasmine green tea leaves

Strawberry Milk Tea Recipe

First, brew your jasmine green tea leaves in a teapot for 3 – 5 minutes or until the leaves steep completely. Taste your tea to see if it needs more or less time brewing. Your tea should be stronger and slightly bitter since we are diluting it with milk and strawberry syrup.

Make your strawberry syrup by adding your strawberries to a small pot with sugar and water, then boiling on medium heat until it thickens. Mash the strawberries when they are softer to extract all the juices.

You can also use fresh strawberries or strawberry powder and blend it with sugar and water. No cooking is required.

Add ice, tea, and strawberry syrup into a separate cup. Top with some milk, mix, and enjoy!

How to Make a Strawberry Milk Tea Boba?

Want to make a bubble tea version? It’s super easy! Just cook some tapioca pearls beforehand and let them steep in sugar or honey water for 10 – 15 minutes before adding them to your drink.

You can use my recipe for soft tapioca pearls here.

If you’re strapped for time, you can get instant boba packets from the closest Asian grocery store near you. Usually, you microwave the boba for 2 minutes and have soft, chewy pearls.

Just make sure you have a wide straw to drink the pearls!

What Are Other Milk Tea Flavors?

There are so many possibilities when it comes to milk tea flavors. Aside from strawberries, you can make blueberry, mango, peach, honeydew milk tea, and the list goes on. These are the most popular fruit milk tea flavors I’ve seen, and they are super yummy when made from scratch.

Besides fruit flavors, you can also have more sweet flavors like brown sugar, vanilla, chocolate, condensed milk, etc. Or classic tea flavors like roasted oolong, grape oolong, matcha, Earl Grey, and more.

Choosing a flavor is hard because there are so many, but it makes it fun to try!

Tips:

Here are some tips for making a fresh strawberry milk tea at home!

• Food always tastes best fresh! Making the strawberry syrup or boba fresh will give you a better-tasting drink.
• If your strawberry syrup isn’t pink enough, add pink food coloring or beet juice for a pop of color.
• Use strawberry jam instead of making strawberry syrup if you’re in a pinch. Just adjust the jam amount to your preferred sweetness levels so that it’s not too sweet. You can also try finding unsweetened jam or preserves.