Jasmine Milk Tea Recipe, A Classic Boba Drink To Try

Jasmine milk tea boba carries a light floral scent with a creamy and subtly sweet taste.

It is a delicious boba drink flavour that has long been a favourite item on the menu of boba connoisseurs. This was one of the first floral-based drinks to circulate as an alternative flavour to the classic beverage. 

Learn how to make jasmine milk tea boba using our easy recipe below.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Jasmine Milk Tea Recipe
• Cooking Tips
• Using Jasmine Milk Tea Powder
• Honey Green Milk Tea Recipe
• What To Serve This Drink With?

Ingredients

For our jasmine milk tea recipe, you'll need the following ingredients:

• Jasmine tea leaves
• Hot water 
• Full-fat milk
• Simple syrup
• Cooked tapioca pearls (optional)
• Ice (optional)

Jasmine Tea

You can use loose leaves, bags, or powder for our easy jasmine milk tea recipe. We will be using loose leaves. 

You can use dried flowers to enhance the beverage's visual properties. However, even without real flowers, the drink will taste the same, as jasmine has a very subtle taste in boba. If you're using it in bud form, 6-8 tiny flower buds or around 2 teaspoons per 250 ml cup is okay. Depending on the pot size, you then multiply the number of flower buds you use.

You can also add green loose leaves, lychee, and citrus flavours to enhance the flavour.

Milk

Full-fat dairy milk tends to work best for most boba drinks due to its highly creamy yet neutral flavour that blends well with most tea bases. However, jasmine tea and other green loose leaf-based drinks are a group where plant milks work well together. Because jasmine milk tea is meant to be a lightly-flavoured drink, plant milks that are not as rich as dairy combine well with it. We recommend using oat or almond milk as a vegan option.

Soy milk is acceptable, too, but it will add an additional nutty flavour that may compete with the jasmine's floral taste. We don't recommend coconut milk. It's too rich and has a strong coconut taste that would ruin the base flavour.

Cooking Tips

As you can see, our recipe is straightforward. However, there are some tips for making jasmine milk tea taste even better.

Water Temperature

The ideal temperature is 80-85°C (175-185°F), so you should avoid pouring boiling water over jasmine loose leaves. The best way is to use a cooking thermometer to verify the temperature.

Otherwise, a practical way is to allow the boiled water to cool for about 5 minutes before pouring. Alternatively, you can also pour the boiling water into a separate mug first and then again into the brewing pot or jar.

Another trick to avoid scaling the loose leaves is to pour the hot water into the brewing pot first and then drop the leaves into the hot water. Pouring the hot water directly over the loose leaves may increase the intensity of heat transfer, risking the leaves scalding.

If serving regular jasmine tea, you usually brew it for 2-3 minutes. That short time is enough to extract the fragrance and flavour of the loose leaves. Steep any longer, and it may start to taste a bit sour and bitter. 

However, as we want a slightly stronger base for milk tea, we recommend brewing for 4 minutes. Although the base will be somewhat sour and bitter, it will balance well when added to milk and sugar.

Can’t taste the jasmine?

Rich-tasting loose leaves are the key to making delicious Jasmine milk tea flavour. Our milk tea recipe should have a light and clean jasmine tea flavour. The brewing method may be to blame if the taste is bitter or sour.

In this case, try reducing the temperature of the water, brewing it for up to 15 minutes or buying a better quality type.

Adding creamer

A non-dairy creamer can also be used in our bubble tea drink. Depending on your area, this may be more common than condensed milk, which increases the sweetness of the beverage snack.

However, we don't recommend condensed milk because it might be too rich (sweet and creamy) for jasmine tea. The base is light, so using a strong sweetener and creamer like condensed milk would overpower the base.

Adding boba

To make this beverage more aesthetically pleasing and filling, you can serve this drink in a clear glass to see the tapioca pearls. 

Other than regular black sugar tapioca pearls, you can also customise the colour and taste by making handmade boba pearls. Our favourite is to add some honey boba as a topping. They go perfectly with jasmine’s subtle floral taste.

If you don't want to use additional sweeteners like simple syrup in your boba drink, adding sweetened pearls can replace this.

How to decorate

To decorate your drink, you can garnish it with fresh flower petals on top of the drink. If you have a milk frother, add some milk to the top of the drink for a pretty look. Alternatively, you can add a layer of salted cream cheese foam.

Using Jasmine Milk Tea Powder

To save you some time, you can use jasmine milk tea powder instead of loose leaves or bags. This is an excellent option for obtaining a boba store-quality drink without the price and time needed.

There are many options available, but our favourite is Buddha Bubbles Boba. Their powder is not overly sweet, doesn't taste artificial, and, most of all, is cheap.

However, this does mean you won't be able to customise the sweetness or thickness of your drink as much as you would if you made it from scratch.

Honey Green Milk Tea Recipe

For more advanced boba connoisseurs, try our jasmine green milk tea recipe. You won't regret it.

It is one of the most ordered flavours from Chatime, a popular bubble tea chain. Due to its delicate aroma and creamy profile, this wonderful drink soon began to garner fans.

• 2 teaspoons jasmine tea leaves
• 1 cup hot water (at 80°C or 175°F)
• 3 tbsps full-fat milk
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2-3 tbsps cooked tapioca pearls (optional)
• Ice (optional)

Preparation method:

1. First, to start the honey green milk tea recipe, you must soak the tea bag in hot water for at least 5 minutes.
2. Then, you must discard the tea bag and let the mixture cool down for some time.
3. After that, you have to add the mixture and honey in a shaker or blender. Pour the tea and mix well. If the mixture is still hot, you can add ice. Shake it and strain out the ice. Now, you can enjoy the delicious jasmine milk tea boba flavour ready to drink. 

What To Serve This Drink With?

Bubble tea is typically enjoyed alone as a snack between meals or after lunch. It is also ideal for delicious desserts in Asian cuisine. So don't be surprised that a cup of jasmine is available when ordering Dim Sum or Vietnamese pho noodle soup.

However, fried foods like Korean corn dogs can go well with this drink.

There are many recipes, but the classic 4 ingredients recipe is one of the best ways to make the perfect cup of jasmine milk tea boba. Our recipe does not contain many ingredients, so you can easily prepare and retain the delicate floral aromas by following our milk tea recipe at home.