I adore this tiger milk tea recipe – it’s simple, tasty, and super easy to make! If you love tiger milk tea as much as I do, then keep on reading: this recipe will change your life! Get ready to make it every day.
What is tiger milk tea?
Tiger milk tea, also called brown sugar milk tea, is a recent trend in the world of UK boba. It’s become a really popular option in boba shops around the country, and after your first sip, it’s easy to see why! It has a sweet, caramelly taste, as well as a silky, velvety texture that’s pleasing to nearly anyone.
I love how gorgeous it looks, too – the dark colors of cooked brown sugar and the striking white milk balance together really well.
The name comes from the ‘stripes’ that baristas make on the inside of the glass – the dark syrup is poured into stripes, and the white milk works as a backdrop. The combined effect looks a bit like tiger stripes.
Ingredients you need to make tiger milk tea
- 40g brown sugar
- 30ml water
- 600ml milk – dairy or plant-based
- ½ cup tapioca pearls – cooked and cooled according to packet directions
The ingredients you need for the drink portion are really simple, and you’ve likely already got them in your cupboard. You’ll need some brown sugar, some water, and some fresh milk.
The sugar and the water are mixed together to make the caramelized sugar syrup for this drink. All you need to do is add the water and sugar to a pot, and wait for it to slowly become a thick, translucent brown.
You can use any type of milk you’d like for this recipe, though opting for one that’s a brighter white color creates a better aesthetic.
Finally, let’s talk about tapioca pearls. You can make the pearls yourself, and that isn’t too hard, but it’s a lot simpler and easier to buy them from a store. If you do buy them, follow the instructions on the packaging to make sure that they’re cooked and tender before you add them to your drink.
How to make tiger milk tea
The first step to tiger milk tea is the daunting one – I think it’s pretty great to get it out of the way early.
- Add the sugar and water to a pan, leaving them alone on low heat while they combine and slowly become thick syrup.
- Add the cooked boba to the syrup, letting them simmer and absorb the syrup for around five minutes.
- Once the tapioca pearls and sugar syrup are ready, cover the pot and take them off the heat. Then, set them aside to cool down for a few minutes.
- To make the tiger stripes, use a spoon to drizzle around one or two tablespoons of the syrup onto the inner walls of the glass.
- Add the pearls and the remaining syrup to the base of your glass.
- Top with fresh milk, and start sipping!
Who invented tiger milk tea?
The first place to come up with the style of tiger stripes on the glass was Tiger Sugar, in Taiwan. They’re a bubble tea store, and one of their baristas came up with a unique method of pouring syrup. That’s why the store is named ‘tiger sugar’ – the stripes are a key part of their brand.
Tiger milk tea vs brown sugar milk tea
There’s a little bit of variation between the two drinks, but it’s mostly just a visual difference.
Tiger milk tea involves the unique pouring of the syrup that I’ve talked about in this article – the syrup is drizzled to make stripes that slowly dissolve into the milk.
Brown sugar milk tea involves the same ingredients, but it’s assembled a little differently. The sugar syrup and boba are usually just added to the glass, followed by milk. The two may be mixed by shaking or stirring, but that’s up to the person that drinks it.
The top variations you should try
Honestly, the best variations with this recipe all revolve around tea. The original recipe doesn’t call for tea, but brewing your favorite tea blend into the milk can give you some really tasty beverages!
For example, using matcha tea can give you an earthy, creamy flavor that mixes really well with brown sugar. The white-brown tiger stripes will be green and brown instead, of course, but it’s a small price to pay for a tasty drink.
How to store tiger milk tea
The easiest way to store this drink is likely to store all the components separately. Assembling the drink doesn’t take very long, but preparing the ingredients can take a while.
The caramel syrup is the hardest thing to make, even if it’s pretty straightforward when you get the hang of it. I would recommend making a pretty large batch and then keeping that in a mason jar in your fridge. It will store well for around a month there before it starts to lose any flavor.
For the tapioca pearls, the easiest method is to make a batch for the week or so ahead. If you know you’ll be having milk tea every day, for example, boil seven portions and store them in your fridge, so that you can just add them to a cup and start drinking. You can keep the tapioca pearls next to the milk, in the carton in your fridge.
FAQs
What does tiger milk tea taste like?
I think that tiger milk tea is a really tasty option that somehow tastes a bit better than brown sugar milk tea. The reason for this is that it looks a little better, with the slowly dissolving stripes. The end result is a beverage that tastes a bit sweeter than an almost identical one.
Tiger milk tea vs thai tea
This is a comparison I’ve seen a little bit online since they look a bit similar. However, they taste really different! Thai tea has actual black tea in it, which gives the recipe a bitter, floral flavor. It also contains sweetened, condensed milk, which gives the recipe a really sweet flavor – almost a little sickly.
Tiger milk tea is a lot milder, in my experience, since most of the drink is just milk.
Is it OK to drink milk tea every day?
Yes, it’s OK to drink milk tea every day. The answer for these things is always pretty simple – you can have whatever you like, as long as it’s in moderation.
In this case, I’d say that it’s fine to drink milk tea, as long as you’re also having some water, and maybe cutting down on sugar in some other parts of your diet. As long as you’re not going overboard with any one type of food, you’ll be fine!
This tiger milk tea recipe is as simple as it is tasty – very! I’d recommend you try making it at home, whether you’re a boba newbie or a seasoned pro. If you make a cup with an interesting variation, let me know – I love to hear what people have done to make our recipes their own.
Is there caffeine in tiger milk tea?
Since tiger milk ‘tea’ doesn’t actually have tea in it, there isn’t any caffeine at all. So don’t worry, if caffeine makes you anxious and keeps you up all night, you won’t have to worry about that with tiger milk tea.
Of course, if you decide to try a different variation of tiger milk tea by using matcha instead of milk, then yes, there will be caffeine.
Tiger Milk Tea Recipe (Insanely Simple & Yummy)
Ingredients
- 40 g brown sugar
- 30 ml water
- 600 ml milk – dairy or plant-based
- 1/2 cup tapioca pearls – cooked and cooled according to packet directions
Instructions
- Add the sugar and water to a pan, leaving them alone on low heat while they combine and slowly become thick syrup.
- Add the cooked boba to the syrup, letting them simmer and absorb the syrup for around five minutes.
- Once the tapioca pearls and sugar syrup are ready, cover the pot and take them off the heat. Then, set them aside to cool down for a few minutes.
- To make the tiger stripes, use a spoon to drizzle around one or two tablespoons of the syrup onto the inner walls of the glass.
- Add the pearls and the remaining syrup to the base of your glass.
- Top with fresh milk, and start sipping!