Taro Milk Tea with Boba
Taro Milk Bubble Tea Recipe
How to Make Taro Milk Tea with Boba Tapioca Pearls & Taro Powder
Now you can make your favorite purple boba tea at home with this easy taro bubble tea recipe! A satisfyingly sweet taro boba tea made with taro powder and green tea, served over chewy tapioca pearls. A vibrant, refreshing, and vegan-friendly summer treat made with only 5 ingredients. Learn how to make taro milk tea with boba in just 30 minutes!

You may have seen purple bubble tea at your favorite boba shop. That eye-catching lavender color comes from taro, a starchy root vegetable similar to sweet potato. Unfortunately, whole taro can be hard to find, and it needs to be cooked and pureed to make taro boba. Instead, I made this taro milk tea recipe with taro powder for an equally tasty and much more convenient drink!
I’ll show you how to make taro bubble tea at home in 3 easy steps. Just prep the taro milk tea, boil your tapioca pearls, and serve in a cup with a boba straw for sipping. You can make this with or without green tea, using dairy or nondairy milk. Taro’s naturally sweet, almost vanilla flavor makes this taro tea boba so scrumptious—with or without added sweetener!
What is taro milk tea?
Taro milk tea is another name for taro boba: a sweet, pastel purple bubble tea made with taro root. While some recipes use pureed taro root, others (like this one) use taro powder. In either form, taro gives the drink a naturally gorgeous color and a creamy, mellow vanilla flavor. You can absolutely enjoy a tasty taro milk tea on its own or iced, but it’s best served over chewy boba tapioca pearls!
What is taro?
Taro is a starchy root vegetable that resembles sweet potatoes when cooked—with a mildly sweet, nutty flavor. Although taro boba tea is vibrant lavender, raw taro isn’t actually purple. Taro has a brownish-gray skin and white flesh, which turns light purple when the root is processed. To make taro milk tea, taro root must be cooked and pureed into a paste. Or, you can find dried and ground taro powder.
What does taro milk tea taste like?
Similar to the flavor of cooked taro, taro milk tea tastes sweet and nutty—much like cooked sweet potatoes. Add a dash of sugar or sweetener, and the flavor really shines! You may choose to steep some actual tea into your milk tea, like green tea or jasmine tea, which can add a comforting floral, fragrant flavor. With chewy tapioca pearls in every sip, this taro boba tea is an irresistible refreshment!
What is taro bubble tea made of?
Taro bubble tea is just a simple milk tea served over boba tapioca pearls. In its simplest form, taro milk tea is made of taro root or powder, milk, and a sweetener. Often there’s no “tea” in it at all! But, many other boba milk teas are made from black or green tea steeped in milk. So, to make this a true milk tea, I steeped green tea in my milk, or you could try jasmine tea. It’s totally optional, but quite tasty!
Taro Boba Tea Ingredients
- Milk of Choice. You can use any dairy or nondairy milk in this recipe—whatever suits you. I made a vegan taro milk tea with almond milk, and it turned out delicious!
- Water. If making a true milk tea by steeping a green tea bag, I recommend boiling your milk with some water for best results. Or, if you’re skipping the green tea, feel free to use all milk and omit the water.
- Green Tea. I love how fragrant green tea pairs with the sweetness of taro, but you can also use jasmine tea, or whatever tea you like! Again, the tea is optional—you can absolutely make your milk tea with just milk, taro, and sweetener.
- Taro Powder. This is THE essential ingredient for a homemade taro boba tea recipe! Rather than cooking and pureeing whole taro root, I recommend buying a high-quality taro powder. It’s just as sweet, flavorful, and vibrant as pureed taro, but the powder is so much more convenient for homemade bubble tea.
- Sweetener. Although taro does have a natural sweetness, a bit of sugar enhances the taro flavor and makes this drink extra comforting—like a true boba shop boba tea! You can use granulated sugar or your choice of sweetener. Or, skip the sweetener altogether if you like the taro flavor on its own.
- Boba Tapioca Pearls. A package of premade black tapioca pearls makes it so easy to whip up DIY boba drinks at home! For the classic black pearls with a sweeter flavor, look for black sugar boba rather than clear boba.
- Boba Cup & Straw. Of course, taro bubble tea is best served in a real boba cup. Rather than disposable cups and straws, consider investing in a set of glass boba cups with reusable boba straws.
What is taro powder?
Instead of whole taro, you can also make taro bubble tea with taro powder, which is just dried and ground taro root. Although homemade taro paste will create a thicker and creamier milk tea, taro powder has a more fragrant flavor and makes the process much more convenient! Different brands may contain different ingredients and additives, but I used an organic taro powder with just 1 ingredient.
How to Make Taro Milk Tea with Boba
- First, make milk tea in a saucepan. Bring milk and water to a boil, remove from heat, and steep green tea bag for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a glass container and chill before blending. Or, skip this step and just use plain, cold milk instead.
- Next, prepare taro milk tea in a blender. Blend chilled milk tea, taro powder, and sweetener until smooth.
- Then, cook boba tapioca pearls according to package directions. (Mine need to boil for 3-5 minutes.)
- Finally, assemble taro bubble tea in a boba cup. Add cooked boba pearls, pour taro milk tea on top, and serve with a boba straw!
Does taro boba have caffeine?
Taro boba tea does not have caffeine when made with plain taro milk, because taro root itself doesn’t contain any caffeine. But, a true taro milk tea that’s made with green tea or jasmine tea does have caffeine. An average cup of green tea contains around 28mg caffeine, and jasmine teas can contain anywhere from 15-60mg caffeine per cup (depending on the tea blend.)
See how to make taro milk tea with boba in my Boba Milk Tea 4 Ways video!
Other boba milk tea & summer drink recipes to try:
- Brown Sugar Boba Tea
- Matcha Milk Tea with Boba
- Strawberry Boba Tea
- How to Make Bubble Tea 5 Ways
- Homemade Lemonade with Simple Syrup
- Iced Peach Green Tea Lemonade
Taro Milk Tea with Boba
Ingredients
Taro Milk Tea
- 1 cup milk of choice
- ½ cup water
- 1 bag green tea, (optional)
- 2-3 Tbsp taro powder
- 1-2 Tbsp sugar, to taste, (or sweetener of choice)
Taro Bubble Tea
- 1½ cups taro milk tea, (above)
- ¼ cup boba tapioca pearls
- 1 boba tea cup + straw
- ice for serving, if desired
Instructions
Taro Milk Tea
- Add milk of choice and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add green tea bag, and steep 10-15 minutes.
- Remove tea bag and transfer milk tea to a glass container. Chill in the fridge 10-20 minutes before blending.
- Option: If you don’t want “milk tea,” you can skip the tea bag and this boiling process and just use plain milk of choice instead.
- Add chilled milk tea (or 1½ cups milk), taro powder, and sweetener to a blender and blend until smooth.
Taro Boba Tea
- Boil boba tapioca pearls for 3-5 minutes, according to package directions. (See my process below).
- To assemble drink, add ¼ cup cooked boba pearls into boba tea cup. Pour taro milk tea over boba, adding ice if desired.
- Serve with a boba straw and enjoy!
- Yields 1 taro boba tea drink.
Boba Tapioca Pearls
- Fill a deep pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add black tapioca pearls and stir lightly. (Cook ¼ cup boba for a single serving, or as many servings as you plan to enjoy within the next few hours.)
- When tapioca pearls float to surface, turn down heat to medium. Cover pot and cook 3-5 minutes, until desired consistency is reached.
- Use a slotted spoon to scoop and transfer boba to a bowl of cold water until ready to serve. (This will prevent them from sticking together.)