Matcha Bubble Tea

Heat three cups of water in a small saucepan until boiling. Add brown sugar and stir until sugar dissolves and forms a syrup. Pour the syrup in a large bowl and set aside to cool.

Boil a small amount of water. Measure tapioca flour into bowl, then add 2 tsp. hot water and stir until a dough forms. Knead the dough with your hands to make a ball. The dough should feel like playdough. Add a tiny amount of hot water if the dough is too dry or a little tapioca flour if it’s too sticky. Knead dough, then transfer to a cutting board. Use your hands to roll dough into cylinders the thickness of a pencil. Cut each long cylinder into short pieces that are as long as they are wide, then roll each piece into a ball. (These are your homemade boba balls!)

Heat 2 cups of the brown sugar syrup until boiling (reserve 1 cup for later), then add boba balls. Cook until boba are soft, gooey and more translucent, testing for doneness every five minutes (you will see boba become more translucent when taking it out of the water to test doneness). This process often takes about 20 minutes, and can vary depending on the size of the boba. Use a slotted spoon to transfer boba from boiling syrup to the reserved 1 cup syrup.

In a small bowl, whisk the matcha green tea powder with ¼ cup hot water. Set aside and let cool.

To assemble drinks, divide ½ cup boba (from cooled syrup) in two glasses. Add 2 tsp. brown sugar syrup each for sweetness. Fill glasses with ice and pour milk. Finally, pour matcha green tea. Stir, adjust sweetener to taste and enjoy.