How To Make Tiger Milk Tea: Easy Recipe!

In the world of bubble tea, there’s a deliciously creamy and sweet drink called Tiger Milk Tea that takes the classic beverage up several notches. It’s become increasingly popular and is probably the most delicious bubble tea you can make at home. So how to make tiger milk tea?

To make Tiger Milk tea, brew black tea leaves in the milk and prepare tapioca pearls by boiling them in hot water. Next, take a big cup or jar, line it with brown sugar syrup, add tapioca pearls, and pour cooled-down tea. Finally, stir the drink and enjoy your Tiger Milk Tea.

Every bubble tea is unique in its own way, but Tiger Milk Tea is the cream of the crop. It’s simple, sweet, and creamy all at once. Tiger Milk Tea should be your go-to if you’re looking for a delicious bubble tea to enjoy at home. So let’s see what you need to make Tiger Milk Tea and how to make it.

What is Tiger Milk Tea?

Young girl is holding and showing a cup of brown sugar flavored tapioca pearl bubble milk tea

Tiger Milk Tea is a creamy, sweet bubble tea made with black tea leaves, chewy tapioca pearls, brown sugar syrup, and milk. It gets its name from the signature stripes created by drizzling brown sugar syrup when it’s swirled through the creamy milk. It’s also called Dirty Milk Tea because of the same reason.

Another version of it is ’mudflip’ tea, which is served upside-down to give a layered effect to the drink.

Interestingly, this bubble tea flavor isn’t too old. It originated in 2017 in Taiwan and is a relatively new addition to the bubble tea family. But it has quickly become one of the most popular drinks around.

How Do You Make Tiger Milk Tea?

Making milk tea at home is surprisingly easy and a great way to customize your perfect cup. All you’ll need is tea leaves/bags, tapioca pearls, brown sugar syrup, and milk.

To make the drink:

  1. First, line the cup with brown sugar syrup and drizzle it on the inside walls.
  1. Then flip the cup and let the extra syrup drip while making characteristic strips.
  1. Next, fill the cup with boba pearls, as much as you would (We love ours extra bobbly!).
  1. Add a cup of cold tea brewed in the milk of your choice. And your tiger milk tea will be ready.

Black tea is the most popular choice for this drink, but you can also experiment with different teas like matcha or jasmine. It’s also usually brewed fresh in milk, but if you want, you can also use premade tea.

Regarding boba or tapioca pearl, it’s highly recommended that you make your own using tapioca starch. This way, you can infuse them with brown sugar and get the best flavor out of this drink.

What You’ll Need?

We’re going to help you make Tiger Milk Tea from scratch so gather these ingredients:

For the drink:

  • Black tea, either loose leaves or tea bags
  • Milk of your choice (dairy or non-dairy)
  • Brown sugar syrup/ Molasses

For tapioca pearls:

  • Tapioca starch
  • Brown sugar
  • Water

You’ll also need two pans (for brewing the tea and cooking the pearls), a sieve, a bowl, a straight dish, a knife, and measuring spoons.

Brewing Your Tea

Since the drink is milk base, it’s better to brew the tea in the milk to keep the consistency creamy. You can decide how strong you want your tea, but we recommend a strong cup for the best flavor.

You’ll need 1-2 teabags of black tea or a teaspoon of loose leaves for one drink.

  1. Pour 1 cup of milk into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. (If you’re using non-dairy milk, keep it at low heat to avoid burning).
  1. Add tea (bags or leaves) to the boiling milk and let it steep for 4-5 minutes at low-medium heat.
  1. Once the tea has reached the desired strength, turn off the heat and filter out the tea leaves with a sieve.
  1. Pour the tea into a shaker or jar, add ice cubes and shake the mixture for 2 minutes. This will give you a chilled tea base ready for the Tiger Milk Tea.

You can also use a premade tea brew, but ensure you get a sugar-free option. Premade teas are often laden with sweeteners, making it difficult to control their sweetness. Also, avoid water concentrates and instead opt for brewed tea with milk (like basic chai). So you can maintain consistency and flavor.

How to Make Tapioca Pearls from Scratch?

Black tapioca pearls for bubble tea

The recipe for making tapioca pearls is pretty straightforward, but you’ll need a bit of practice to get your pearls right. Let’s break down the steps:

Step 1: Make Tapioca Paste

Add 1/4 cup of water to a pan and bring it to a boil. Then add 50g of tapioca starch and a tablespoon of brown sugar. Stir the mixture on medium heat until you get a thick paste-like dough.

Step 2: Knead the Paste

Remove the mixture from the heat and transfer it to a bowl. Add another 50g of tapioca powder and mix well. Once it’s cool enough, knead the paste until you get a smooth dough. You can add more tapioca powder if needed.

Step 3: Make the Pearls

Use your palms to roll out long cylindrical tubes of dough, around 2 to 3 cm thick. Cut the tubes into small pieces (roughly 2cm thick) and roll them out to form small balls.

Use a ruler or measuring tape for more consistent results. Dust the balls with more tapioca powder and set aside on a flat dish.

At this point, you can take aside the extra balls you don’t need now and freeze them in a ziplock bag for future use.

Step 4: Cook the Pearls

Bring a pan of water to a boil and add the pearls. Boil the balls for 8-10 minutes or until they float at the top. While doing this, take another pot, add 30ml of water and 40g of brown sugar, and heat the mixture until it becomes a thick syrup.

Once the tapioca balls are done, strain them out of the water and add them to the syrup. Simmer it for 2-4 minutes, remove it from the heat and let it cool. Finally, your tapioca pearls will be ready for the drink.

Of course, you can skip the simmering part, but doing it gives the pearls a flavor and a glossy finish, so it’s worth the effort.

If you’re using store-bought tapioca pearls, jump to follow the fourth step directly or follow the instructions on the package.

Finding Your Milk-to-Tea Ratio

Tiger Milk Tea is a creamy and sweet drink, which means the other ingredient can quickly overpower the tea part. But, on the other hand, if the tea is too strong, it’ll conflict with the other flavors, and your caffeine levels will increase significantly. So you have to find a balance between the two.

Ideally, you need the consistency of 2% milk for the Tiger Milk, so the tea leaves are directly brewed into the milk—2 tea bags or a teaspoon of tea leaves per cup. It’ll give you a creamy and smooth texture and create a layer of froth on the top.

But with different types of milk, you have to adjust the tea leaves accordingly. For example, with full-fat milk, you can brew the tea in water at an intense concentration and then add it to the milk. You’ll still get the creamy texture and flavor without extra caffeine.

Non-Dairy Milk

The same is the case with non-dairy milk, but here you have to be careful because these kinds of milk are less stable at high temperatures and can easily curdle.

So, either brew the tea in advance and then add it to the milk or brew them simultaneously but keep the temperature low.

Unsweetened oat milk is excellent for Tiger Milk Tea. Since it’s thick milk, you can brew two tea bags in half a cup of water and then add it to the oat milk. Like that, you can adjust the milk-to-tea ratio for whatever type of milk you’re using and get your desired balance without fuss.

What is the Best Sweetener for Tiger Milk Tea?

The best sweetener for Tiger Milk Tea would be brown sugar, as it’s the star of the drink. It adds a deep and complex flavor to the drink and makes it silky smooth. 

Since the recipe demands brown sugar syrup, you may not have to add anything else but if you need a little extra sweetness, go for honey or agave nectar.

If you want an alternative to classic Tiger Milk Tea, you can also opt for maple syrup. It’s a less processed sweetener with a nutty taste that goes well with tea and tapioca pearls. But make sure you adjust the qualities because it can overpower the drink quickly.

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