December 24, 2017
Two of my favorite bubble tea ingredients are black sugar and grass jelly! When there’s a drink that incorporates both, how can anybody say no?
In the Seattle area, there’s a craft bubble tea shop called Drive Thru Boba that runs a small revolving menu of drinks. Possibly the most popular and most rare rotation is the black sugar milk tea with grass jelly. In the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the bubble tea capitols of the world, I haven’t been able to find this drink. Luckily black sugar isn’t too out of reach, and we’re able to make our own grass jelly!
Once you start paying attention to all elements of your food, you would be surprised to find out how the smallest ingredients can make a big difference to the overall taste. With bubble tea, you have to have good quality tea, the appropriate type of creamer, and sometimes, the right sugar. In this drink, black sugar is the star of the show.
How to Make Black Sugar Milk Tea w/ Grass Jelly
Black sugar is characterized by a smoky molasses sweetness, much deeper and more sophisticated than white sugar, which may taste “flat” in certain situations, and a little more dynamic than brown sugar would be. It also goes by “Okinawan brown sugar”, where it is most popularly produced. Black sugar, rich with potassium, iron, and calcium, is prized as the Eastern woman’s equivalent of the Western woman’s chocolate. Great source of sugar for that time of the month. Other than that, it’s incredibly popular in drinks and desserts – perfect for stuff like bubble tea!
Top the drink off with a little homemade grass jelly and voila – we’ve got ourselves a lovely little treat.
Follow our series of grass jelly-themed posts here:
- Part 1: How to Make Grass Jelly Tea
- Part 2: How to Make Grass Jelly
- Part 3: How to Make Black Sugar Milk Tea with Grass Jelly
Enjoy, and remember to follow us on social media for the latest recipes and ramblings about the coffee, tea, juice, and bubble tea world!
- Like & Follow us on Facebook
- Like us on Instagram
- Subscribe to our newsletter here
- Follow us on Pinterest
How to Make Black Sugar Milk Tea w/ Grass Jelly
Ingredients
- Guanxi Specialty Black Sugar 2 ounces
- Taylors of Harrogate Pure Assam Loose Leaf Black Tea 2 tablespoons
- Coffee-Mate 4 teaspoons
- Grass Jelly How to Make Grass Jelly
- Wide straws
Instructions
- Bring 14 ounces of water to a boil.
- Using a french press, tea pot, or tea infuser, brew the tea with water for 4 minutes. If you don’t have a french press or tea infuser, brew the tea directly in a pitcher and filter with a sieve or coffee filter.
- Stir the black sugar and Coffee-Mate into the tea.
- Pop the tea into the freezer to cool down.
- If the tea hasn’t chilled, scoop half a cup of ice into a martini shaker. Crushed ice is great, but cubed works fine too. Pour the mixture into the shaker, put the cap back on, and shake, shake, shake! 10 seconds will do.
- Filter the drink into a serving glass, and utilize half of the remaining ice from the shaker in the drink.
- Add grass jelly.
- Sip through a wide straw and enjoy!
Note: We link to products on Amazon.com as Amazon Associates. We may receive a portion of the proceeds from your purchases of any items linked, which helps us pay for operating costs of this website.
