Craving milk tea? You can easily make your favorite boba drink at home using the Instant Pot! It’s ready in minutes and requires only six ingredients!
Instant Pot is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets, and I’m super excited to grow the number of pressure cooker recipes on the blog. And what better way to showcase the wonders of this small appliance than fun bubble milk tea?
If you frequent boba shops, you know how tapioca drinks can get pretty costly. But why spend $5 and up for a small cup when you can easily make your own at home?
The milk tea is ready in minutes, and all you need are five simple ingredients. Six if you want it on ice.
What you’ll need
- Tapioca Pearls– also called boba- are chewy, translucent balls made with cassava starch.
- Tea– while classic Taiwanese bubble milk tea traditionally uses black tea, you can switch up the flavor with other varieties like earl grey, oolong, green tea, or jasmine.
- Water– the recipe below uses a ratio of 1 tea bag per 1 cup of water. Adjust the amount according to desired strength.
- Sugar– feel free to swap with your preferred sweeteners, such as brown sugar or honey.
- Milk– adds a creamy taste. You can substitute almond, oat, or cashew milk for a vegan alternative.
Making the tea
Make the tea stronger, as adding milk will dilute the flavor. However, do not over “pressure cook,” as this will extract too much tannin, resulting in a bitter and astringent taste.
For more tea flavor, you can increase the amount of tea bags per cup of water or use a more full-bodied black tea such as Assam, Yunnan, Ceylon, or English Breakfast.
How to serve
- The tea drink can be enjoyed plain or with a dash of milk for creaminess. Serve chilled or over ice for best results.
- For a fun experience, sip the drink with a large straw!