Matcha-Black Sesame Milk Tea with Mini Tapioca Pearls
Recipe and post by Tatiana Bautista. Follow her on Instagram @tatbautista.
Growing up, black sesame was the star of my favorite dim sum dish: zi maa gyun. Like most Asian desserts, it was “not too sweet”, the highest of compliments. The flavor of sweetened black sesame is a warm reminder of the many Sundays I spent eating dim sum with my extended family, where I was often found unraveling each roll of zi maa gyun (my Chinese-American version of a fruit roll-up, if you will) at the table.
Black sesame has always been a favorite flavor of mine to play with in the kitchen. Black sesame and matcha are two earthy and bittersweet flavors that go hand-in-hand. Here, the two flavors team up in a refreshing, homemade milk tea with mini tapioca pearls. (They’re tiny enough to fit through a standard straw, if you don’t have a wider boba straw at home!)
Matcha-Black Sesame Milk Tea with Mini Tapioca Pearls
Prep: 30 min
Cook: 5 min
Serves: 2
Ingredients
Tapioca Pearls
- 1/8 cup mini tapioca pearls
- 1 cup water
Brown Sugar Syrup
- 1/8 cup water
- 1/8 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
Black Sesame Milk
- 1/2 cup milk of your choice
- 1 tablespoon Rooted Fare's Black Sesame Crunchy Butter
- 1:1 simple syrup, optional
Matcha
- 1 1/2 teaspoons matcha
- 2/3 cup water
- 1:1 simple syrup, optional
Assembly
- Ice
Steps
- In a small pot, bring 1 cup water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add tapioca pearls and cook for 10 minutes. At this point, the pearls will still look opaque. Transfer to a small bowl and cover for 20 minutes. (This will help the pearls to continue to cook, and eventually turn translucent when done.)
- While the tapioca pearls are resting, prepare the remaining drink components.
- Stir or whisk milk and black sesame crunchy butter until well combined. Add simple syrup to taste, about 1 teaspoon at a time. Set aside.
- Heat ⅓ cup water to just below boiling, and combine with matcha in a small bowl (or matcha bowl). Whisk until well combined. Add simple syrup to taste, about 1 teaspoon at a time. Set aside.
- In a small pot, bring ⅛ cup water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar and cook until brown sugar is fully dissolved. Turn off the heat, but keep the pot on the stove.
- Once the tapioca pearls are fully cooked, strain with a fine-mesh sieve and rinse under cold water.
- Add the strained tapioca pearls to the brown sugar syrup, and simmer over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes.
- To assemble, add a spoonful or two of brown sugar-tapioca pearls to an 8-ounce glass. Add ice cubes. Pour in half the black sesame milk. Then, carefully pour matcha over the black sesame milk. Serve with a straw and enjoy!
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- Instagram: https://instagram.com/tatbautista