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Now you can make rose milk tea without having to leave the comfort of your home! With subtle notes of floral essence and chewy tapioca balls, this unique drink is a lovely afternoon treat.
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What makes this recipe special
Many, many years ago, there was an overwhelming boom of boba cafes that opened in Southern California. It was a new trend. It's been several years but they are still just as popular now. The best boba spot will not only have chewy, sweet, perfectly cooked tapioca but great drinks to go with it.
I have the usual drinks that I order, such as matcha tea and taro smoothie, but nowadays, my go-to drink is rose milk tea. The beverage has a slight floral hint with a beautiful pink tint and just the right amount of sweetness. After I purchased rosewater syrup last week for another recipe, I knew I had to make the tea at home. Now I can make my own batch at home anytime I want!
Ingredients
- Tapioca pearls: Tapioca pearls are small, chewy spheres made from tapioca starch, which is derived from the cassava root. They are commonly used in bubble tea, a popular Taiwanese drink, and can also be used in desserts and other beverages. You can use small white or black tapioca pearls for this recipe.
- Black tea leaves: Use high-quality black or green tea leaves for the tea, such as Ceylon, Oolong, Ding Dong, or Jasmine tea.
- Rose water syrup: Rose water syrup, is a flavored syrup made by combining rose water, with sugar to create a sweet, aromatic syrup.
- Brown sugar: Used to sweeten the drink. You can substitute it with any other sweetener you prefer.
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Prepare tapioca pearls
Craving some boba but don't want to trek all the way to a boba shop? Now you don't need to with this rose milk tea recipe! The drink is easy to prepare; it only takes a bit of waiting time to cook the tapioca pearls. However, if you want to skip the boba, you can still enjoy the lovely rose milk tea by itself.
I had small tapioca pearls lying around so I decided to add these to my drink. You can use large pearls but they will take longer to soak and cook.
To prepare the tapioca pearls, soak them in water for 30 minutes. You can choose to add 1 tablespoon sugar to the water if you want a sweeter beverage. Make sure not to soak for any longer than 30 minutes or else the tapioca will become mushy.
Step 2: Cook tapioca
Bring a pot of water to a boil, then remove the pot from heat and add the boba, stirring constantly. If after a minute, the tapioca pearls are still not fully tender, cover the pot and let them sit until they become translucent.
After the tapioca is cooked, you can see the difference in texture and color. They now have a chew factor and are translucent. If you are preparing bigger tapioca pearls, they will take much longer to cook. The best way to tell if they are ready is to give them a taste. Soft and chewy? Then they're ready!
As you can see, I used white tapioca pearls but you can follow the same steps for black pearls.
Step 3: Steep the tea
Now that the topping is done, it's time to make the tea. Did you know that rose milk tea is originally made from rose petals - yes, rose petals! They can be difficult to find and it isn't exactly ideal to dry your rose petals. So I chose to use rosewater syrup instead. The flavor is more potent so you only need a small amount per drink.
Since I didn't have rose petals, I used black tea as the base; you can also use green tea instead. Steep black tea leaves in hot water for 10 minutes. Remove the tea leaves and stir in the brown sugar, milk, and rose water syrup, mixing until the sugar dissolves.
If you prefer your milk tea chilled, add ice. Otherwise, add the tapioca pearls and enjoy!
The beverage tasted like the rose milk tea I purchased at boba shops - success! Now I can have my rose milk tea every day!
Frequently asked questions
Instead of tapioca balls, you can enjoy the rose milk tea with custard, taro, mochi, aloe jelly, or any other topping that is typically served at a boba shop.
Store leftover boba balls in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for up to 48 hours. If the tapioca balls are left in the tea for longer than 24 hours, they will harden and lose their chewy texture.
More Asian dessert recipes
Looking for more Asian dessert ideas? Try these:
Recipe
Rose Milk Tea
Ingredients
- ½ cup small tapioca pearls
- 16 oz hot water
- 1 teaspoon black tea leaves
- ½ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon rose water syrup
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Instructions
- Soak tapioca pearls in cold water for 30 minutes. Drain. Boil 4 cups of water in a medium pot. Remove from heat and add tapioca pearls, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Bloom tea leaves in the hot water in a large cup. Let sit for 10 minutes. Add milk, rose water syrup, and sugar, adding more sugar for a sweeter drink. Add ice for chilled rose milk tea or serve warm. Divide tapioca pearls into two cups and pour rose milk tea. Serve.
Mary Frances says
This milk tea looks so refreshing. I've never had milk tea with rosewater in it before but it sounds heavenly!
cma0425 says
It's a unique combination but very addicting once you have it!
LISA SHUMATE says
Where does one purchase tapioca pearls?
cma0425 says
They sell them at Whole Foods or any Asian market should have them
Jenny says
Where do you get the rosewater syrup?
cma0425 says
I found mine at whole foods but if you're in Southern California, they also have them at Ralphs
Matharo says
I made this, and it is so good! Thank you for sharing the recipe! I found these rose milk tea bags at the Asian market which I love, but they are so pricy 🙁 I'm glad I can now make my own, plus, the rose water I found was a super good price 😀
Though is your rose water colored? Mine is clear, and my milk tea just looks like regular, brown milk tea lol
cma0425 says
I used rose syrup which has that pink tint to it, but I'm sure the tea tasted better with the actual tea bags!
Matharo says
I didn't see that you replied until now! But thank you for replying! Now I'm going to hunt for some rose syrup 🙂
•‿• says
This recipe looks great! I am doing something for school and i will use the recipe! Ty
Cherry on My Sundae says
I hope you enjoy it!
Teddy Gotsch says
In the description you sat rosewater syrup, but in the recipe you say plain rosewater. I assume you mean the syrup, how much of the sugar syrup to use?
Cherry on My Sundae says
Sorry for the confusion, yes it's rosewater syrup. It's 1/4 teaspoon per serving or 1/2 teaspoon for 2 servings. I recommend starting at 1/4 teaspoon and adjusting the amount depending on the brand you use. Some syrups have a stronger rose flavor than others.
Lisa says
I never knew how easy it is to make rose milk tea at home! This turned out great, loved the nice rose flavor.
Christine Ma says
Amazing, thank you so much!