Love and Olive Oil

Thai Almond Milk Bubble Tea

Thai Almond Milk Bubble Tea

I may be slightly obsessed with bubble tea these days. Which is funny, because I’m not a tea drinker. But I guess if you mix tea with cream and sugar and squishy sweet bubbles, it doesn’t much taste like tea anymore, does it? Those additions make all the difference.

My new quest is to figure out what other things I can do with boba aside from in tea. Like, dessert things. Do you dare me?

Thai Almond Milk Bubble Tea

This particular variation mixes traditional Thai tea with homemade almond milk and almond flavored syrup. It’s no secret I love anything and everything almond, so it follows that this is pretty darn awesome. It reminds me of a boba tea I had in San Francisco a few years ago and which served as the inspiration for this recipe: the hint of almond the perfect counterpart to the bitterness of the tea.

Thai Almond Milk Bubble Tea

The bright orange color comes from the traditional Thai tea mix, a blend of teas and flavorings and (yes) artificial colors. If you’ve ever had Thai tea in a restaurant, this is what they use. You are welcome to use straight black or green tea in place of the tea mix, but I guarantee you it won’t be quite the same. Something about that tiger orange color makes the tea taste better, in my opinion.

Thai Almond Milk Bubble Tea

To prepare this recipe you’ll need black tapioca pearls (boba), raw or turbinado sugar, almond syrup, almond milk (homemade if possible) and thai tea mix or black tea (which will taste similar but will not give you the same vibrant orange color). In lieu of almond syrup you can use a bit of almond extract, and instead of turbinado sugar you can use a mix of granulated and brown sugars to give the syrup that same caramel flavor.

Thai Almond Milk Bubble Tea

I used a slightly different method for preparing the boba, as opposed to what’s written on the package, and the texture of the pearls is much more pleasant. Smoother through and through with no unpleasantly chewy center. It takes a few minutes longer (give yourself 20 minutes or so to let it sufficiently soak), but well worth the extra effort.

Thai Almond Milk Bubble Tea

It’s mesmerizing, I tell you. Like some sort of nebulous cloud of sweetness.

Thai Almond Milk Bubble Tea

Did you make this recipe?

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup black tapioca pearls
  • 1/2 cup raw or turbinado sugar (can also use a mix of granulated and brown sugar)
  • 1/4 cup almond syrup
  • 1/2 cup thai tea mix or 3-4 black tea bags
  • 1/2 cup almond milk (homemade if possible)

Directions:

  1. Bring a pot with at least 5 cups of water to a boil. Add boba and boil for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes more.
  2. While boba is cooking, combine 1/2 cup water and sugar in a small saucepan. Boil for 1 to 2 minutes or until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and transfer to a heat-proof bowl. Stir in almond syrup.
  3. Strain boba with a slotted spoon into sugar syrup. Let sit for at least 10 to 15 minutes.
  4. To brew tea, add tea mix to 2 cups boiling water. Let steep for 5 minutes, then strain through a fine mesh seive to remove solids. If you prefer your thai tea chilled, refrigerate tea until thoroughly chilled.
  5. To prepare bubble tea, spoon half of boba into bottom of glass, along with a tablespoon or two of syrup. Pour in 8 ounces of brewed tea, then top with 1/4 cup of almond milk. Taste, and stir in additional sugar syrup as desired. Can be served warm or chilled.

*Almond syrup (the kind you put in flavored coffees, for example) can be purchased at most grocery stores or online. If you can’t find it, you can simply add about 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract (or to taste) to your sugar syrup.

All images and text © / Love & Olive Oil

Did you make this recipe?

Let us know what you think!
Leave a Comment below or share a photo and tag me on Instagram with the hashtag #loveandoliveoil.

There may be affiliate links in this post. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Leave a Reply to Starla B Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

26 Comments

  1. All you have to do is put sweetned Thai
    Tea into vanilla ice cream    You can add conditioned milk . Be creative. Add more of anything you want to get the taste ur after.

  2. I love that you even make almond milk yourself! Boba tea has so many possibilities, it’s so wonderful to see people experimenting different combinations! Have you made boba from scratch before? It’s really quite simple, just tapioca powder, sugar and water! The only thing is it takes a long time to round them into little ball=)

  3. This looks amazing, I have a cold press juicer that I can use to make my own almond milk.

  4. Yes! I eagerly await more recipes with tapioca pearls. I’ve been trying to come up with something myself. Maybe next time I see you, we can brainstorm!

  5. Oh my gosh I am SO happy I came across this post. I was in Vietnam 7 years ago and had Thai Iced Tea at a cafe and have never been able to replicate it since! I am TOTALLY ordering the mix and trying this asap. YAY and YUM!!! :)

  6. I love bubble tea!  I have been wanting to try an make my own, now I have a great looking recipe!  Thanks!

  7. I bought a package of boba pearls a few months ago and I’ve been too scared to try to make them! This recipe is inspiring me to finally pull them out! I LOVE that last gif – so beautiful. 

  8. I love boba tea, but I rarely have it because it can be hard to find (especially if you need a dairy-free version).  I never though about making it at home! This looks dangerous … :) 

  9. That look ssoooo good! I have always wanted to try this.

  10. Wow! This looks delicious! Yum!

  11. Thank you so much for this recipe, this looks fantastic! Can’t wait to try it. :)

  12. So pretty! Bubble tea is one of my favorite treats. There is a super cute bubble tea shop about a mile away, that I love to walk to in the summer. This recipe is the perfect way to get my bubble tea fix in without having to walk a mile in the snow

  13. Yes, boba definitely does not taste much like tea at all. It’s almost in the dessert category for me. I haven’t had one in years since they became popular, but there are some amazing places to get them here in Los Angeles. We even have boba food trucks!

  14. I love thai tea! Just a note to other readers who might shy away from the stuff with food coloring–I’ve had great success making thai tea with a mix of black tea (usually Assam) and vanilla roobios.

  15. I love everything about this!  I use the same thai tea mix – so so good!  I mix mine with coconut milk and agave but I am swooning over the added boba and almond in yours!

  16. I love Thai tea AND bubble tea, so combining them is a dream! And those pour shots have me drooling. 

  17. I’ve never made bubble tea myself before – will have to give this a try! : ) 

  18. I love pearl teas. We used to make them at least once a week when I was in high school (which I just realized was a lot more years ago than I thought :P), but I haven’t tried combining Thai tea and almond syrup. They’re two of my favorite milk tea flavors, and now I’m totally craving the combo of the two!

  19. Ahh this is so perfect-just what I need. I’m a total boba addict.

  20. So excited to try this! And thanks so much for purchasing the links for purchase. Ordering the supplies now!

    • I’m glad you found them helpful! It’s a new feature I just added and will hopefully make tracking down harder-to-find ingredients a little bit easier. :) Enjoy your bubble tea!

  21. I am obsessed with Bubble Tea to – every time we go to town I have to get one!! I need to experiment with putting boba in other stuff too!

  22. I too love bubble tea! This looks amazing and I must make it asap! 

  23. This looks so delicious – and just plain cool! Can’t wait to try this almond version. Yum!

  24. I love bubble tea too but have never made my own! This almond milk version is lovely!

Did you make this recipe? Leave a Review »