Instant Bubble Tea Sweetened Condensed

# The Ingredients You'll Need:

01 - 1/2 cup instant tapioca pearls

02 - 2 black tea bags or 2 tsp loose leaf black tea

03 - 1 1/2 cups hot water

04 - 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

05 - 1 cup cold dairy or plant-based milk

06 - 1 cup ice cubes

01 - Boil tapioca pearls according to package instructions, typically 3-5 minutes until soft and chewy. Drain and set aside.

02 - Steep tea bags in 1 1/2 cups hot water for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove bags and allow tea to cool slightly.

03 - In a pitcher or large bowl, mix brewed tea with sweetened condensed milk and cold milk until smooth and creamy.

04 - Divide cooked tapioca pearls evenly between two large glasses.

05 - Add ice cubes to each glass, then pour the milk tea mixture over the pearls and ice.

06 - Stir well and serve immediately with large straws.

01 -

It's faster than ordering delivery and costs a fraction of what you'd spend at a café.
The sweetened condensed milk creates a silky richness that tastes indulgent but requires zero skill.
You control exactly how sweet and creamy it is, which beats any chain's standard ratio.

02 -

Instant tapioca pearls are non-negotiable for this method because regular dried pearls demand thirty minutes of soaking and won't cook properly in boiling water alone.
Don't skip the ice—it's what makes this feel like bubble tea instead of hot milky tea with pearls sitting at the bottom.

03 -

Brew your tea a minute longer than you think you need to because it cools down quickly once you add cold milk, and weak tea disappears entirely in that mixture.
If you want dairy-free, coconut condensed milk and any plant milk work just as well, though the flavor shifts slightly toward coconut which is honestly not a bad problem to have.