Anyone make boba tea at home?

[Ann.without.an.e]

I am thinking that this can't be that hard, right?  I can go to the international market and get boba pearls.  Any thoughts, tips, experiences?  

My family is a wee bit obsessed with boba and buying it out is pricey.  

Thanks ❤️ 

[alisoncooks]

1 hour ago, Attolia said:

My family is a wee bit obsessed with boba and buying it out is pricey.  

Thanks ❤️ 

Oldest DD and I are also obsessed! (In fact, we just had a bubble tea fix today - me with the classic and she got brown sugar. We both like the black boba). It was about $10 for the two of us!

I have been looking at homemade options because of the price. I currently have this in my cart: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072R1G8BH/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A17R5YUG987G1V&psc=1

It is pricey but has many servings. Good reviews but I've not tried it yet. I seem to recall a thread here about making it at home, maybe a month or two ago...? 

Edited July 9, 2019 by alisoncooks

[Bambam]

We bought some boba from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I0DMQ42/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1) and the big straws.

We didn't do official bubble tea. I had a variety of flavored teas and lemonade (because kids, you know?). Some of the moms elected to mix coconut milk or almond milk in their tea. 

It was a fun party thing, but I don't know that we love boba enough to have it regularly. As a treat? absolutely!

[Miss Tick]

I have done it with boba I purchase locally at one of our international markets. It was a mess, it was hard to get them cooked through but not mushy, it was a pain to clean the pot, I didn't have the big straws and spoons just aren't the same, I didn't cook them with sugar so they were as plain as possible, I couldn't figure out a storage method which meant that even if I solved my cooking issues I was going to have to cook each time - and not too much!

I now happily pay the high price for a special treat knowing what I'm not having to deal with! 😉

[domestic_engineer]

I got the Boba and the straws at an Asian market and an International market.  Then I followed This YouTube tutorial. It was easy to make, but my family wasn’t a fan of it. Shrug.  

[Suzanne in ABQ]

We tried it, but the excitement was short lived.  I now have about 92 big straws I won't need.  

[J-rap]

Yes!  We love bubble tea.  We experiment with different teas, but I get these "bubbles" from Amazon.  I also got reusable stainless steel straws.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PLTLG4O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014P7GM14/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

 

[Ausmumof3]

I just bought some to do for a school activity either story of the world or eat your way around the world I can’t remember which.  So I’m not sure if it will work yet but this thread is timely.

[blue plaid]

I have done this but haven’t been overly pleased with the result.  I’ve used the instant milk tea powder and would recommend brewing your own as in the video linked above (use black tea or maybe a blend for the right flavor, not orange pekoe/standard Lipton). I didn’t have trouble getting the right consistency of the boba but the flavor was off.  Maybe I should have used more water? They definitely need to be sweetened. Be aware that the texture degrades quickly.  Consume the same day, preferably immediately.