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Home / Recipes / Bubble Tea

Strawberry Milk Tea With Boba Pearls and Fresh Strawberries

Last Updated: May 9, 2022 · Author: Therese Chua · Jump to Recipe

Strawberry milk tea or strawberry bubble tea is a wonderful treat for people who enjoy fresh fruit, milk, and optionally, tea. While it is usually offered when strawberries are in season, the use of powder and fruit juice extracts makes it possible to have it off-season.

Jasmine Milk Tea with Strawberry
Jasmine Milk Tea with Strawberry | Image from Instagram

Around the world, boba shops are aplenty in Asia, but the United States and Europe have also been seeing an uptrend.

A popular store in the US even founded National Bubble Tea Day to share their passion for this delectable drink. There has been an increase in boba franchises in the UK, especially in London, with some early entrants such as Chatime and Mooboo seeing continuous growth over the years. 

Not only have the classic and tapioca pearl drinks gained popularity but variations such as the taro pudding and brown sugar boba drinks are trending as well. People who prefer refreshing drinks can opt for drinks with fruits as the main ingredients.

Jump to:
  • What is Strawberry Milk Tea?
  • Are There Other Variations?
  • Strawberry+ Taro? Best of Both Worlds!
  • Vegan and Non-Lactose Options
  • Toppings and Other Add-Ons
  • Powder Drink Mixes and Ready-To-Drink Bottles
  • Is it Healthy?
  • How To Prepare At Home Using Fresh Strawberries
  • Strawberry Milk Tea Recipe with Fresh Strawberries
  • Additional Notes on Ingredients

What is Strawberry Milk Tea?

The main ingredients are as simple as they come – just fresh strawberries, milk, and tea. You can customize the sweetness by adding your preferred sweetener such as sugar or honey. 

In many boba shops, the ‘strawberry milk’ drink offered there may not contain tea. This can sometimes lead to confusion especially when ordering in-store. 

Strawberry Milk Tea
Strawberry Milk Tea | Image from Instagram

However, this also means that you can opt for the one without tea if you are looking to cut caffeine! The regular strawberry milk tea contains caffeine.

If you are looking for a version with tea, make sure you ask the shop staff if the drink contains it. 

Are There Other Variations?

We are glad you asked (or didn’t)! Here are some of the other variations that you can choose from.

For a thicker consistency of strawberry milk tea, Chatime’s version is more of a strawberry smoothie. It has a denser and creamier texture thanks to the use of frozen strawberries or yoghurt.

Some of the ones that we have tried even have strawberry chunks – a delight if you like to munch on fruit!

Matcha Strawberry Latte Chocolate Boba Tea Biju
Matcha Strawberry Latte (left), Chocolate Boba Tea (right)

If you prefer a drink that contains caffeine, more often than not it’s going to be listed under the “Tea Latte” category. Strawberry tea latte has the same ingredients as strawberry milk tea, with the added exception of having tea instead of the creamy dairy as its base. 

Personally, we prefer the latte variants as our systems welcome the extra kick of caffeine!

Strawberry+ Taro? Best of Both Worlds!

Taiwan is the country recognised to have invented and introduced boba drink to the world. There, the strawberry-based drinks are often sold alongside another crowd favourite, the taro milk tea. 

While taro is fancied for its sweet and creamy texture, strawberries offer a refreshing balance of sweet and tangy flavours. 

taro-milk-tea-recipe
Taro Milk with Tapioca Pearls

Additionally, what grabs many people’s attention is the vibrant colours of both these drinks. The rich or cotton candy purple, and the deep red or bubble gum pink colours, which make them instantly photo-worthy.

For anyone who likes to try new innovative boba drink flavours, we trust that you will enjoy these fresh combinations that boba shops have come out with. 

A personal favourite that we would recommend is the ‘taro + strawberry latte’. This beverage has all the delicious components - a base of green tea, strawberry, and taro - which balance well with one another.

Vegan and Non-Lactose Options

You might be thinking – “I am vegan (or lactose intolerant) so I won’t be able to try strawberry milk tea nor all its other variations!” Well, do we have good news for you! 

One good thing about a lot of the newly-opened boba drink shops these days is that they want to be available and enticing for a larger group of people.

In recent years, there is an increasing demand for plant-based products as well as a growing global boba drink market. Due to these two phenomena, we observe many boba shops offering vegan and non-dairy milk options.

These non-dairy alternatives offered at the stores include soy, almond, and coconut milk. You can choose to use any of this type of milk for your strawberry milk tea.

Moreover, these plant-based options also offer patrons low-calorie boba tea options when ordering their customised drink. This is because generally, plant-based milk has a lower calorie count per cup compared to regular full dairy milk.

Toppings and Other Add-Ons

If you’re feeling ‘extra’, we would recommend you to order add-ons for the additional taste profile. The most common add-ons are chewy tapioca pearls made of brown sugar, jelly, and pudding. 

There are also delicious toppings to choose from, such as cream cheese foam, rose petals, and strawberry mousse. All these toppings enhance the deliciousness of the strawberry milk tea in its own unique way!

strawberry rose milk boba
Strawberry Rose Milk Boba

However, if you are currently watching your weight, we remind you to look out for the additional calories that come from these toppings.

Powder Drink Mixes and Ready-To-Drink Bottles

Some boba lovers are lucky to live in areas that have easy access to many boba shops. But if that’s not the case for you, fret not as there are powder drink mixes and ready-to-drink bottles.

The powder drink mixes are very convenient because all you need to do is a scoop, mix, and voila – it’s ready to be enjoyed. There are also caffeine-free strawberry milk tea powders (and other flavours) that are available in the market. 

You can buy the powder drink mixes online to be delivered home. Here is one that we recommend.

Powder for making boba
Strawberry powder for making Boba | Image from Instagram

Strawberry Milk Powder for Boba
Buy Now

The ready-made bottled drinks are even easier – just pop open the cap and you’re good to go!

In terms of flavour, we would say that the biggest difference is that the ready-made bottled ones are really sweet and are not made with fresh fruit. Usually, it’s only made with either concentrated strawberry juice or just an artificial strawberry flavouring. They also have a ton of added sugars! 

There are some brands that use a small amount of concentrated strawberry juice, but the majority of ingredients are water and cane sugar.

Is it Healthy?

Strawberry milk tea made using only simple ingredients is healthier than the ready-made powder packs because it doesn’t have added sugars or flavouring. 

Additionally, fresh strawberries are rich in vitamin C, which is helpful for immune and skin health. They are also a good source of anthocyanin, which has benefits related to heart health.

You might be wondering, “Sure, it sounds healthy but what about the calories?” 

Well, a glass of about 470-500ml has as many as 290-330 calories. A ready-to-drink bottle of 375ml contains about 234 calories, and a powder pack of 100g will set you back about 400 calories!

There are days we can indulge but it might not be advisable to have it every day – everything in moderation.

How To Prepare At Home Using Fresh Strawberries

As you can adjust the balance of ingredients based on your preference, the best ones are actually made at home! Here, we share an easy recipe using fresh-cut strawberries for you to try at home.

Strawberry Milk Tea

Strawberry Milk Tea Recipe with Fresh Strawberries

Our strawberry milk tea recipe is a healthier and cheaper alternative to the boba shop! Using fresh strawberries, milk and tea, make our strawberry bubble tea recipe! 
Author: Therese Chua
4.88 from 31 votes
Print Pin
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Taiwan
Keyword: bubble tea, strawberry, tea
Servings: 1 cup
Calories: 67kcal
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 7 minutes

Ingredients

  • 10-15 pcs strawberry
  • 2-3 bags tea
  • milk amount depends on desired consistency
  • sugar or honey

Equipment

Blender

Instructions

  • Steep the tea bags according to the type of leaves and strength desired. Generally, if you steep them longer, you will have a stronger flavour.
  • Combine the strawberries with milk or yoghurt in a blender and blend well.
  • Add your sweetener of choice and adjust the taste based on your preference.
  • Serve the strawberry milk tea in a glass and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 67kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 3gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 31mgPotassium: 138mgSugar: 8gVitamin A: 133IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 102mg

Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and are only rough estimations.

Tried this recipe?Follow us @honestfoodtalks for more delicious recipes!

If you would like, you can refer to Cooking Survival Guide’s step-by-step video on how they made the strawberry milk tea drink using fresh strawberries. In the video, she added tapioca pearls as an add-on to the homemade beverage.

How To Make REAL Strawberry Boba Milk Tea

Additional Notes on Ingredients

  • Regarding the choice of leaves for your strawberry milk tea, we recommend using either Assam or Green tea. Assam works well if you want a full-bodied and stronger-flavoured taste, and one with stronger caffeine content. If you are looking for a drink with a lighter flavour and lower caffeine content, then we would recommend you to use green tea.
  • You may also use frozen strawberries instead of fresh ones if you prefer a creamier and denser texture. This logic is the same as how you would add more ice in preparing a milkshake to make it creamier.
  • If you are looking for vegan or non-lactose options, you can replace dairy milk with lactose-free or plant-based products such as soy or oat milk.
  • If you would like to make iced strawberry milk tea, you can mash the strawberries into a puree and add it to the steeped tea. Then add milk and ice into the mixture before blending.

Have you tried making strawberry milk tea on your own at home? Share with us your photos on our Instagram!


Looking for new boba recipes to try at home? Check out our easy Oolong milk tea recipe!

« 19 Best Frozen Foods To Cook In An Air Fryer
Jasmine Milk Tea Recipe, A Classic Boba Drink To Try »

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Suon

    January 03, 2022 at 10:44 pm

    5 stars
    This strawberry milk tea turned out amazing!

    Reply
  2. Jill

    June 14, 2021 at 4:03 am

    5 stars
    Saw this as an idea with Tanghulu - when you buy strawberries, make the sweet ones into bubble teanand the sour ones into tanghulu 🍓🤤

    Reply
    • Suraya

      June 29, 2021 at 2:26 am

      5 stars
      wow nice tip! didnt think of it

      Reply
  3. mex

    June 07, 2021 at 6:59 am

    5 stars
    Found this on pinterest - beautiful drink!

    Reply
  4. Betty

    May 24, 2021 at 7:29 am

    5 stars
    Saw my friend making this and it looked so good. Tried it myself and it is so good! - definitely recommend others to try this ❤️

    Reply
    • Str

      June 01, 2021 at 9:24 am

      5 stars
      Its so beautiful! Trick is to pour the creamer slowly tho

      Reply
  5. Uppie

    April 28, 2021 at 11:52 am

    5 stars

    Reply

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