How to make taro milk tea with taro powder, jasmine green tea, milk (dairy or dairy-free), and either store-bought or homemade tapioca pearls in sweet brown sugar syrup. This wonderfully purple taro bubble tea is creamy, sweet, and can be enjoyed warm or cold with several customizations!

I recently shared my preferred method for preparing brown sugar milk tea. So it’s time to start sharing other favorite bubble tea (boba tea, tapioca milk tea, pearl milk tea, etc.) recipes. Starting with this taro milk tea!

What Is Taro Milk Tea?

Taro milk tea is a type of Taiwanese bubble milk tea (with or without tea) flavored with taro root. Taro root is a purple tuber similar to a potato and can be used either as a powder or paste. The resulting drink is called 香芋奶茶 (Xiāng yù nǎichá) in Chinese. It is sweet and delicately flavored (similar to sweet potato but with hints of vanilla and nutty flavor), with a beautiful purple color.

For this taro milk tea recipe, I’m combining taro powder with delicate jasmine tea, milk, and chewy tapioca balls in a sticky, sweet brown sugar syrup. The combination is wonderfully dessert-like yet also cool and refreshing.

All you need is 5 ingredients and as little as 20 minutes to prepare this taro boba milk tea. Even better, there are several ways to adapt and add to the recipe, too. I.e., swap out the milk for cream, ensure it’s dairy-free, reduce the amount of sugar, add extra flavors, etc.

The Ingredients

• Jasmine green tea: I use loose leaf tea, though a tea bag would also work.
• Taro powder: You can purchase it or make it yourself using this ube powder method. (See the FAQs below for the differnt between taro and ube.)

Keep in mind that many store-bought options are sweetened. So you may need to adjust how much additional syrup you add. Also, look out for whether the powder contains any animal product as several contain a creamer product.

• Water: To make the jasmine tea and prepare the brown sugar syrup.
• Milk: Use dairy – any fat level, such as 2%, whole milk, half and half, or even light cream. Or non-dairy milk – i.e., oat milk, coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk, etc.

For a super creamy and sweet taro bubble milk tea, use condensed milk or dairy-free coconut condensed milk combined with milk.

• Brown Sugar: Use dark brown sugar. Or, use dark muscovado sugar for a deeper molasses flavor (and color). For a subtler flavor, use regular granulated sugar.
• Tapioca balls: Use homemade boba or store-bought tapioca balls. I recommend buying quick-cook versions, as regular ones take 5-6x longer to prepare. You can buy tapioca balls in Asian grocery stores or online.
• Ice cubes: Optional, for an iced version.

You’ll also need reusable boba tea straws or long spoons to scoop up the boba balls.

Optional Add-ins and Variations

• Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract will enhance the subtle vanilla notes in taro bubble tea.
• Taro boba: It’s possible to buy or make taro boba pearls.
• Other tea: You could use regular green tea OR black tea (Chinese breakfast tea or English breakfast tea) instead.
• Without tea: This drink also works without any tea. Instead, just use more milk.
• Without milk: Omit the milk for a more robust tea flavor.
• Coconut jelly OR grass jelly: Could be added as a topping alongside or instead of the tapioca pearls.
• Taro chunks: To add texture and more taro taste, you could add cooked taro chunks to the taro boba milk tea.

How to Make Taro Milk Tea?

Step 1: Cook the Tapioca Balls

If you’re using homemade tapioca balls, prepare and cook these now, according to my recipe. If you’re using store-bought boba, follow their package instructions to cook them.

Once cooked, drain the boba immediately. Then either rinse them under cold water, transfer to a bowl of cold water, or transfer them straight to the brown sugar syrup (to stop them from sticking together).

Step 2: Prepare the Brown Sugar Syrup

Meanwhile, as the boba cook, prepare the brown sugar syrup (refer to this simple syrup post for more tips and info). Add equal parts of water and brown sugar to a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, occasionally stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.

Simmer for 3-5 minutes to slightly reduce and thicken the mixture (it will further thicken as it cools). Then remove it from the heat and add the cooked boba balls, stirring well.

To infuse the boba with more flavor, allow them to soak in the syrup for 40-60 minutes.

Step 3: Steep the Jasmine Tea

If you want to enjoy this as iced tea, you may want to steep the tea before any of the above steps. That way, it has time to cool.

Bring water to 176ºF/80ºC on the stovetop or using a temperature-controlled kettle. Don’t boil the water, or else the tea is likely to become bitter.

Then, steep the tea leaves (or tea bag) in the hot water for 5 minutes. Then remove the tea leaves.

This will be easier if you use a tea infuser or create your own tea parcel wrapped in cheesecloth.

Add the taro powder and mix well. Then set it aside to cool.

Step 4: Assemble the Taro Milk Tea

Use 2 tall glasses. First, add the boba syrup mixture. Then add ice if you’re using it, the tea, and finally the milk. Enjoy!

I recommend using around 1/3 cup of the boba syrup mixture + 1 cup taro jasmine tea mixture + ¼ cup milk per portion of taro bubble tea.

Storage Instructions

The jasmine tea: Brewed jasmine tea (with or without the milk) will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator, covered.

Tapioca pearls: Homemade boba will last 6 months (uncooked). However, I don’t recommend cooking them more than a few hours in advance.

Brown sugar syrup: You can prepare a large batch of this simple syrup. Store it in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.

The assembled taro bubble tea: Should be consumed immediately for the best flavor and texture. The boba won’t stay fresh for longer than a few hours (up to 4).

FAQs

Recipe Tips and Notes

• Cook the boba fresh: They will become hard and unpleasant as they chill. They should be consumed within 4 hours maximum.
• Adjust the sweetness: Reduce or increase the brown sugar syrup you add to the taro boba milk tea at home.
• Adjust the creaminess: Both in the type of milk or cream you use and the amount you add.
• If you use fresh taro root: It’s best to use gloves when dealing with the raw ingredient due to skin-irritant saponins.
• Use bubble tea straws: Otherwise, you’ll need to serve it with a spoon.
• For a stronger purple color: Add a little purple sweet potato powder or a natural purple food coloring.
• Warm tapioca balls are best! Serving them while they’re still warm is when they’ll be at their softest with a pleasant chew. The more they cool down, the harder they become.

More Fun Drinks

• How to Make Mango Boba
• Easy Strawberry Milk Recipe
• Vietnamese Avocado Shake
• Easy Masala Chai
• Matcha Green Tea Latte
• How To Make Bubble Tea

If you try this easy taro milk tea recipe, I’d love to hear your thoughts/questions below. Also, I’d appreciate a recipe card rating below, and tag me in your recipe recreations on Instagram @Alphafoodie!