Iced Latte with Boba

Author: Jee Choe

Deliciously sweet and layered latte with boba!

5 from 2 votes

Prep Time 3

Cook Time 10

Total Time 13

Course Drinks

Yield serving (16 ounces)

Boil water and sugar in a saucepan. Add tapioca balls.
Combine brown sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. When you see big bubbles (2-4 minutes), add tapioca balls. Cook for another 8 minutes on medium-high heat. Cool slightly, until tapioca balls aren't too hot to eat. They should still be very warm.

Put warm tapioca balls in brown sugar syrup into a cup. Add ice.
Boba should be very warm but not hot to eat.
Pour in milk.
Make sure to pour the milk directly onto the ice to keep the layers separated.
Top with espresso.
Again, pour espresso directly onto ice instead of into the milk to keep the layers separated.

Use an espresso machine or a Nespresso to make espresso. Any roast, light or dark, can be used.
You can use white granulated sugar, but I like my iced coffee with brown sugar for a richer, caramel-like flavor.
Use any kind of milk you like. I like it with oat milk or whole milk.
Extra warm tapioca balls makes a great boba drink. When they're really warm (but not too hot that you'll burn your mouth), tapioca balls have the perfect consistency.
Don't make tapioca balls too far in advance because they'll start to harden after about 4 hours. It's best if you can cook them, cool them down a little, and serve the drink right away.
Sugar and ice are what helps to form the layers in the drink. The sweetest liquid should be at the bottom, followed by the next sweetest. The top layer should not have any sugar in it.
Boba drinks are served with an extra-wide straw to get some of the boba with the latte on each sip. A standard straw is too narrow.
Chew the tapioca balls as they're not meant to be swallowed whole.
A trick to keeping each layer separated as you make the drink is to pour the liquid on top of the ice.
This recipe makes a 16 ounce (2 cups) drink, so make sure to have a large enough cup.