If you’ve never tried bubble tea, you probably aren’t living your best possible life.  Bubble tea is a Taiwanese tea drink that has recently become popular in the U.S., with some shops even opening up that deal exclusively in this entirely unique drink.  The drink itself is tea-based (although there are tons of different variations and recipes out there) and the “bubbles” are actually small, black tapioca pearls (also known as boba).  Drinking bubble tea is definitely a strange experience, and you’ll probably either love it or hate it: the boba is tasteless, although sometimes sweet from being soaked in honey or sugar, and chewy.  In my opinion, bubble tea is fun, refreshing, and a perfect sweet treat, but it’s hard for me to find good bubble tea (especially bubble tea that can be made dairy-free) near me, so I did some research and concocted 2 dairy-free bubble tea recipes that are super easy and fun to try at home.  Here’s how to make them:

The Boba

For enough boba for 2 drinks, you will need:

1/3 cup black tapioca pearls (these can be purchased online or at an Asian market)
3 1/3 cup water
A small bowl of agave or honey
A bowl of cold water

Your bag of black tapioca pearls should have instructions on them for how to cook the pearls, but my method is: bring the 3 1/3 cups of water to a hard simmer and add the pearls.  Cover the pot and cook for about 6 minutes.  Remove the lid, lower the heat a bit to a soft simmer, and cook for another 6 or 7 minutes (test a pearl every now and then until they’re as soft as you want them).  Drain the pearls and add them to the cool water.  Let sit for about a minute and then drain the pearls and throw them into the bowl of agave/honey to soak while you make the rest of your drink.

Taro Bubble Tea

For 2 servings:

1/3 cup taro powder (can be ordered online; try and read the ingredients to make sure it doesn’t include any milk products!)
1/2 cup crushed ice
1 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of non-dairy milk (I accidentally used water – although it still tasted delicious – but I find cashew milk to be the creamiest non-dairy milk)

Simply blend all of the ingredients together and serve with the boba!

Creamy Avocado Bubble Tea

For 2 servings:

1 banana
1 ripe avocado
Agave or honey (eyeball how much you want and add more to taste – you shouldn’t need more than a tablespoon)
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (again, I prefer cashew milk)
1/2 cup crushed ice

Scoop the avocado into your blender and add the banana, broken up into pieces.  Add the rest of your ingredients, blend, and serve with boba!

Giant straws are not necessary to enjoy your homemade bubble tea treats, but they are definitely recommended (you can order them online!).  Give these recipes a try and decide if you’re ready to join the dark side and become a bubble tea fan.