Last night's Build Your Own Boba intergenerational program at Turner Free Library was incredibly popular and many attendees expressed interest in making Boba Tea at home on their own. Below you will find information on how to make the Boba drinks featured at the library from the comfort of your own kitchen.
Three of the drinks were made from powder mixes bought online:
Taro Blended Creme Mix from Angel Speciality Products is currently sold out on Amazon but is available from the Angel Speciality Products for $22.00 on their website here.
GreenMax Green Milk Boba Tea Mix is available for $13.40 on Amazon.
Royal Milk Tea Mix is available for $9.09 on Amazon.
Directions are on the packages for a few different ways of preparing the powders. At the library program the drinks were made using the following directions:
Add 1/2 cup of mix with eight fluid ounces of hot water (Royal Milk Tea comes in individual, pre-measured packets - for the library program we used eight fluid ounces per packet)
Stir until dissolved.
Pour into a 16 ounce cup with Boba pearls on the bottom and ice on top of the pearls.
The Black Boba Pearls were also purchased from Amazon. Turner Free Library used quick-cooking pearls and followed the directions on the package:
Boil 10 cups of water for every 1 cup of Boba pearls.
When the water is boiling, add the pearls.
Wait until all of the pearls are floating to the top, then cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium.
Cook for five to eight minutes.
Turn off the heat, but leave the pot on the burner with the lid on for an additional five to eight minutes.
Remove the Boba from the water (we used a strainer but you can also scoop the pearls out using a slotted spoon)
Cool the Boba in a cold water bath.
Remove the Boba from the cold water bath.
Put Boba in a bowl and stir in sugar or honey.
***Boba is best used right away but can last up to four hours at room temperature or up to 72 hours refrigerated.*** If you prefer to have more control over the amount of sugar, additives, and allergens are in your tea you can brew your own. Turner Free Library used Trader Joe's Mango Black Tea ($2.69 for a box of 20 tea bags) and Trader Joe's Matcha Powder Tea ($6.99 for seven individual packets).
for our two non-dairy options. Both have directions on how to make the tea. For the Mango Black Tea we brewed four tea bags in two cups of hot water and then poured the tea over ice cubes. We also provided a non-dairy coconut creamer, but you can use any type of milk or creamer (or none at all) if you prefer. Add sugar or simple syrup to taste. There's a nice recipe for making your own Boba Tea on the Kitchn website here. They didn't use quick-cooking boba but otherwise it's pretty similar to the recipe used by Turner Free Library staff. If you prefer to purchase your supplies locally you will likely be able to find most of what you need at any mid-to-large size Asian supermarket.