A classic dessert turned into a delicious milk tea – this Banana Bread tea is a perfect drink for late autumn days. Learn how to make it from a scratch.
Why try it?
Let's admit it. Banana Bread is one of those desserts no one thinks of making until you have spare ripe bananas that you don't really want to waste. Regardless, it's one of the most delicious and satisfying desserts ever. And it's extremely popular. It's not uncommon to see banana bread flavoured drinks, including different cocktails and even beer. This Banana Bread tea recipe was inspired by warm and sweet notes of rich and tasty homemade banana bread. You can serve it with lots of ice, like a regular boba, or even hot.
Ingredients for making Banana Bread tea
Black Tea – the best black tea for making Banana Bread boba is a strong English Breakfast, chocolaty Dian Hong or chocolaty and malty Assam tea. Your tea base should be strong. Use 1 1/2 teaspoon of tea leaves per 250 ml of water. To add a subtle baked note, dry roast tea leaves for 10 second in a clean hot pan before steeping them.
Creamer – Instead of whole milk, opt for half-and-half or coffee creamer. They have a higer fat percentage and will give a much nicer texture and flavour. A good alternative is single cream.
Boba pearls – although you can use regular brown sugar boba pearls, to really elevate this drink, use homemade banana boba pearls instead. Although easy to make, the entire process can be a time consuming, so prepare them when you have time and store uncooked in the fridge or freezer. A great alternative to boba pearls for this drink is banana pudding. If you are using pudding, add it after you add ice. Ingredients for banana boba pearls are listed in the recipe below.
Find the recipe for making homemade boba pearls here.
Banana extract – this drink is made with banana extract rather than real bananas. Use extracts that have a natural banana flavour without artificial notes. Banana extracts are readily available in specialty stores, Asian grocery stores and even regular supermarkets (depending on your location).
Sweetener – Demerara sugar with a naturally light caramel flavour is a perfect sweetener for this drink. You can replace it with regular sugar, but the drink will lose some of the complexity and flavour. The best alternative is light brown sugar or honey. If you are using sugar, make a simple syrup following this recipe, but use water instead of tea.
Banana Bread Milk Tea
Equipment
- Kettle
- saucepan
- Serving glass
Ingredients
For banana boba pearls
- 15 grams light brown sugar
- 35 grams tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon banana extract
- 20 ml water
- Yellow food colour optional, some extracts already contain yellow colour
For banana bread milk tea
- 250 ml water
- 1 ½ teaspoon black tea leaves
- 10-15 ml half and half of coffee creamer
- ½ teaspoon banana extract
- A few drops vanilla extract
- 3 teaspoons demerara syrup
- Ice
- 1 litre water for boiling tapioca pearls
Instructions
- Start by preparing the tea base. Preheat a clean saucepan and add tea leaves. Dry roast them for 10-15 seconds.
- Bring fresh water to a boil and steep tea leaves in 250 ml of water for 5 minutes.
- Strain it into a serving glass or mug.
- Add vanilla and banana extract and stir.
- While the tea is steeping, add about a litre of water into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add boba pearls and cook them following instructions on the packaging. If you are using homemade boba pearls, wait until they are all floating on the surface, then reduce the heat and cook for 15-20 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the saucepan and let them rest for another 10-15 minutes. Strain boba pearls into a clean bowl and coat them in demerara sugar syrup. If your boba pearls turn from chewy to hard in cold tea, cook them slightly longer next time.
- Add cooked and coated boba pearls to brewed tea.
- Add ice.
- Add creamer and more sugar syrup if needed.