Boba Box Master Recipe
Here is the master recipe for the Camellia Rd Boba Box using the conceptual framework for how we prepare boba tea at Camellia Rd. Making this recipe is simplified with the ingredients from a Boba Box, but it’s not mandatory.
Category
Boba Tea
Servings
5
Prep Time
2 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
We believe that our boba tea recipes should highlight the tea flavor, and this recipe does just that. It’s a great starting point for making small batches of boba tea at home while being open to adjustments for personal preference. It’s a sizable amount of work for a boba drink, but it scales up really well.
We approach this recipe by separately preparing the tea and honey boba, and then building individual drinks at the very end. This allows one to customize drinks based on personal preferences.
Author:Ricky Lau
Ingredients
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Boba Box
(optional; ingredients listed with a (*) are included in each Boba Box purchase)
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Pot, for cooking boba and at least 4 qt in size
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Fine mesh strainer, for tea leaves
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Large strainer or metal colander, for cooked boba
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Heat-safe containers, for tea brewing and cooling at least 6.5 cups in size
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Spoons, for mixing things
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Cups and boba straws, for serving
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5 individual cups for serving, about 1 pint large (16 fl oz | 480 mL)
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Thermometer (optional)
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6.5 cups of water (52 fl oz | 1500 mL)
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40 grams of premium loose leaf tea (about 7-13 Tbsp, depending on tea)*
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½ cup of rich simple syrup sweetener (4 fl oz | 120 mL)*
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3 quarts of water (95 fl oz | 2800 mL)
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300 grams of dry, uncooked boba (about 1 cup)*
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⅔ cup honey boba syrup (5.5 fl oz | 160 mL)*
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2.5 cups ice (600 mL, but amount is to preference. If you would like a hot boba milk tea, skip this)
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5 to 6 cups of sweetened tea, from above recipe
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1.5 cups of honey boba, from above recipe
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1.5 cups of your choice of milk (12.5 fl oz | 360 mL)
Equipment
For the tea
For the honey boba topping
For preparing drinks
Directions
For the tea
Boil 6.5 cups of water for tea. After water comes to a boil, let cool for about 5 minutes so that it comes down to a temperature below boiling before brewing. Please see the footnote [1] for more details about brewing temperatures and specific temperature ranges using a thermometer.
Stir in 40 grams of loose leaf tea. Steep for 7 minutes, stirring about once every minute. [2]
Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the tea into a sealable, heat safe container.
Set tea aside to air cool for about 15 minutes.
Add simple syrup to sweeten the tea to your preference. We recommend ½ cup of simple syrup for a full bodied sweetness to complement the amount of tea you'll be making. [3]
Then chill in the refrigerator until cold, about 2 hours, or preferably overnight. If you are making a hot milk tea instead of an iced drink, skip this step. [4]
For the boba topping
Boil at least 3 quarts of water to cook boba in a large pot. To prevent boiling over, use more water and a larger pot.
When the water is boiling, pour in 300 grams of dry boba into boiling water. If using boba from our Boba Box, please discard desiccant packet before pouring in boba.
Simmer at low to medium heat with lid on for 45 minutes.
Stir boba regularly, about every 5-8 minutes.
After 45 minutes, strain out boba with large strainer or metal colander and discard the boiling water. Do not rinse boba.
Transfer boba immediately to a serving bowl and add ⅔ cups of honey boba syrup to the bowl. Stir well.
Soak boba in honey boba syrup for at least 10 minutes. Taste boba to check that sweetness is all the way through. If not yet sweet in the center, stir boba and let the boba continue to soak.
Individual drinks
Prepare each drink individually. For the best presentation, use tall clear glasses cups.
Add honey boba to the bottom of each glass.
Scoop about ½ cup of ice into the glass (again, this is to preference; if preparing hot milk tea then skip this step).
Pour in sweetened tea over the ice, about 8 fl oz or 1 cup.
Pour in milk over the ice, about 2.5 fl oz or 5 tablespoons.
Serve with a boba straw.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Recipe Note
*ingredients listed with an asterisk are included in each Boba Box purchase.
[1] Ideal brewing temperature based on type of tea being brewed:
Black & Puer: 195 - 210°F (90 - 99°C)
Oolong: 185 - 205°F (85 - 96°C)
Green: 175 - 185°F (79 - 85°C)
[2] 7 minutes is a long steep, and may lead to tea that is too astringent (bitter) for some tastes. We find this is a good number for most types of tea, because it allows more flavor to come through after adding sugar and milk to our drinks.
If you're worried about astringency, try lowering the steep time to 5 or 6 minutes. If you want an even stronger flavor, we recommend you add more tea (try 45 or 50 grams) instead of steeping for a longer time period.
[3] This is close to a full sweet or 100% sweetness drink you'd get at our storefront, Tea Bar. If you're unsure of how much to use, always start with less sugar; it's always easier to add sweetness than to try to make something less sweet.
[4] Cooling the tea down before adding ice and milk is critical to preserving the flavor of the drink. Adding hot tea to ice cools it down rapidly, but will water down the final product.
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