With its distinguishable purple hue, taro milk tea or taro boba is hard to miss. Made with taro, a starchy root vegetable, taro bubble tea is thick, creamy, and absolutely delicious, with a lovely purple color. Today we’re talking about all things taro milk tea and how you can easily make your own at home, either with creamy homemade taro paste or taro powders as a shortcut way.
What’s taro milk tea or taro boba
Taro milk tea or taro boba is a popular purple milk tea that originated from the Taiwan area and now enjoying popularity across the world. It is known as “芋泥鲜奶’ in Chinese. Taro milk tea is a milk-based beverage that is made with taro root in paste form or sometimes taro powders.
Taro milk tea is widely loved because of its bright purple color. The original version does not contain a tea base at all. Tea in Chinese is used to refer to beverages in addition to traditional tea liquid. But you can definitely add a tea base to it. Jasmine green tea or other types of green tea are recommended for homemade taro boba
What’s taro?
Taro is a starchy root vegetable similar in taste and texture to potatoes. It has a similar texture to a normal potato but has a mildly sweet flavor like a sweet potato. Taro is a staple in many African, Oceanic, and Asian cuisines. Taro can be used in savory dishes as long as desserts.
We have introduced taro chips and taro fries in an air-fryer and they can be used to steamed with savory seasonings.
What does taro boba taste like?
Among all of the boba flavors, taro is the most unique one and it is gaining popularity quickly, due to its unique taste and purple color.
Taro boba made with fresh taro paste has a stronger taste compared with the version with taro powder.
In general, taro milk tea has a creamy sweet vanilla flavor with a subtle nutty taste. People have described it as tasting like both the leftover milk in a bowl of Froot Loops and buttered popcorn if that helps you imagine the taste!
Ingredients for taro boba
Now, you only need three ingredients to make taro bubble tea at home: taro paste or taro powder, tapioca pearls, and milk. However, there are two main taro ingredients to choose between: fresh taro paste and instant taro powder.
Taro powder
Instant taro powder will make your bubble tea thinner in consistency but more purple in color because it contains food coloring to enhance the vibrancy. Instant taro powder is best if you have limited time.
Taro paste
Meanwhile, fresh taro paste is typically made from fresh taro root that’s cooked and blended with coconut milk and white sugar. However in order to get the purple, taro paste is usually mixed with ube. It’s very similar to ube paste and the two can be used interchangeably, depending on what ingredients you have easy access to. A bubble tea made with taro paste will have a thicker consistency but a lighter purple hue.
Milk of choice
Milk: 2% dairy milk is our go-to for this taro milk tea with boba recipe. If you are making a vegan taro milk tea recipe, try coconut milk (total flavor switch), oat milk, or almond milk. Either chilled milk or warm milk can be used to make the taro boba.
Boba pearls
Tapioca pearls or boba pearls: black tapioca pearls are the most commonly used boba pearls in taro milk tea because they can form a lovely contrast. But feel free to replace it with other colored boba pearls like golden boba or even crystal boba and popping boba.
Sweetener
Sweetener: cooked boba pearls need to be soaked in syrup or sweetener. I use brown sugar because it is much richer in flavor. But white sugar can work fine too. In addition to brown sugar, condensed milk is used in the taro powder version because it can add creaminess. For an even sweeter taste, the extra simple syrup can be added after assembling the taro boba.
Now, in the following recipe card section, we will introduce two ways of making taro boba- with fresh taro paste or taro powder.
Taro boba – Taro Milk Tea with taro paste
Ingredients
Boba pearls
- 1/4 cup uncooked boba pearls
- water for boil the boba pearls
- 1/4 cup. brown sugar
Assemble
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tbsp. taro paste
Instructions
Cook the boba pearls
- Bring 8 times of water to a boiling and then place tapioca pearls. Read the instruction on the package (find the requiring time). It may be 20 minutes or 5 minutes. Cover the lid, turn off the fire and let it rest for another required time.
- Rinse the boba pearls under running water. Then mix the boba pearls with syrup or white sugar.
Assemble taro milk tea – dirty taro boba
- Add around 3 tablespoons of boba pearls. Then use the scoop to spread the taro paste on the glasses.
- Add ice cubes and then pour milk. Stir well before serving.
- I skip syrup because the boba is already soaked with syrup. And the taro paste is sweetened too. Taste to see if any further syrup is needed.
Video
Nutrition
Taro milk tea- Taro boba with Taro Powder
Ingredients
Boba pearls
- 1/4 cup uncooked boba pearls
- water for boil the boba pearls
- 1/4 cup. brown sugar , or white sugar or 2 tbsp. simple syrup
taro powder mixture
- 2 tbsp. taro powder
- 1 tbsp. condensed milk. If you want a vegan version use simple syrup.
- 100 ml water or tea base
Assemble
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tbsp. taro paste
- ice cubes
Instructions
Cook the boba pearls
- Bring 8 times of water to a boiling and then place tapioca pearls. Read the instruction on the package (find the requiring time). It may be 20 minutes or 5 minutes. Cover the lid, turn off the fire and let it rest for another required time.
- Rinse the boba pearls under running water. Then mix the boba pearls with syrup or white sugar.
Taro powder mixture
- Add taro powder, condensed milk and water in a cup. Mix these ingredients together. A hand-held frother or mixer is the easiest way, but you can also use a whisk or fork. Just make sure the cocoa powder has completely dissolved in the hot water and no granules remain.
Assemble
- Add around 3 tablespoons of boba pearls.
- Add ice cubes and then pour milk. Pour the taro powder mixture in. Mix well before serving.
Nutrition
Calories
One serving of taro milk tea can be up to 300 calories, depending on the ingredients used.
Topping can cause a higher amount of calories.
Where can I find taro or taro powder?
Fresh taro root can be found in Asian stores or markets, either peeled or as whole ones. If you are new to this type of root vegetable, I recommend choosing the peeled ones.
Taro powder is a common ingredient for dessert ingredient shops or you can purchase it from Amazon.
What is ube milk tea?
Ube milk tea is very similar to taro bubble tea but hails from the Phillippines. Its base ingredient is purple yam paste, which is typically made with purple yam, coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla extract. Filipinos call the paste “halayang ube” and it has a taste and texture similar to taro. This is paired with milk tea and tapioca pearls to make ube milk tea.
Can taro milk tea be vegan?
If you prefer a vegan version, I recommend the taro powder version. Use coconut milk to replace regular milk, and then use simple syrup to substitute condensed milk.
Is it healthy?
When you see the magic purple color, you may think it is artificial and unhealthy. In fact, taro milk tea is made with all-natural ingredients that do not harm your health. So go ahead and enjoy the beautiful purple boba drink.
Conclusion
Taro boba is the most unique boba flavor with a lovely purple color. Many may wonder what it tastes like, the answer is creamy, rooty, and earthy. It can be made with fresh taro paste or taro powders. In order to get the nice purple color, ube powder is usually incooperated. Hope you will love it. Happy bobbing.