How to Make Honeydew Milk Tea with Boba

This honeydew bubble tea is refreshing and delicious and a great summer treat. The creamy texture and taste of honeydew make this bubble tea recipe a perfect drink on a hot day.  Keep reading to learn how to make honeydew milk tea!

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Fresh honeydew melon is one of my favorite parts of summer.  I love pretty much all melons, but honeydews are my absolute favorite.  The sweet and light floral flavor of the melon is just irresistible.

I first had a honeydew boba drink at one of my local bubble tea shops, and absolutely fell in love.  I think they make theirs with honeydew melon bubble tea powder, but i make mine with fresh fruit and add a secret ingredient that just gives an extra oomph of flavor, as well as making sure the honeydew boba tea is a fresh green color.

Other Recipes You'll Love

For another sweet milk based treat, give Dalgona Chocolate a try - it's easy and delicious.  An easy on the go breakfast drink - this Peach Strawberry Smoothie is my go-to.  And to keep cool in these warm months, try a Frosted Strawberry Lemonade.

What is Honeydew Milk Tea?

Honeydew milk tea is a drink made of ripe honeydew melon, milk, green tea, boba (tapioca pearls) and the secret ingredient - matcha.  it's a drink known throughout Asia as honeydew milk or melon milk, and as often as not, it doesn't actually contain any tea.

What does it taste like?

It tastes like honeydew!  The riper the melon, the more honeydew flavor the drink will have.  The drink is floral, sweet and earthy from the tea.  It's a great way to use up summer melons!

Ingredient List

One of the things I love about this easy recipe is that most of the ingredients are pantry staples or very easy to make.

• Ripe Honeydew Melon - you want your melon to be as ripe as possible for the best flavor
• Milk - I use regular milk here, but you can use your favorite non-dairy milk instead. 
• Green Tea - I like the smooth flavor of green tea, but you can use white tea or an oolong tea.  I wouldn't recommend a black tea for this recipe as it will be too overwhelming.
• Simple Syrup - an easy thing to make at home, but you can buy it in the drink section of your local grocery stores.
• Boba Pearls 
• Matcha Powder (the secret optional ingredient) - adding a bit of matcha adds a bit of extra depth of flavor to the drink, and ensures the prettiest color!

How to Choose a Perfect Melon

A ripe honeydew melon should be a creamy yellow color and the rind should be smooth and waxy feeling.  Pressing on the bottom of the melon (the opposite end from where it was attached to the vine) should feel slightly soft and spongy.  

If it feels TOO soft, that's a sign that the melon is overripe, and you should probably skip that one.  Once you get your melon home, leave it at room temperature until you cut it.  Once cut, the melon should go in the fridge.

How To Make Honeydew Boba

1. The first step is making the boba - the brand I bought is cooked in 5-7 minutes, but some brands can take up to 30 minutes.  Make sure to read the instructions carefully, and follow the directions on the packaging.
2. Once the boba is cooked, you will drain the tapioca pearls and cover them with a tablespoon or two of simple syrup and stir to combine.  This will keep the boba pearls from sticking together.  They may start to clump a bit as they sit, but you should be able to easily separate them by stirring them gently with a spoon.  You can add extra simple syrup if they start to clump too much.
3. In a small pan, heat your milk over medium high heat until it reaches the desired temperature for steeping tea.  For green tea, that's usually between 170 and 180 degrees F.  Once the milk reaches temperature, add the bags of green tea, and let steep for 3 minutes.  Place it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to cool. 
4. In a blender or food processor, add the cut up honeydew, milk, simple syrup and matcha powder and blend well to combine.  Note that the mixture will never be completely smooth, no matter how long you blend it - you'll have to strain the mixture through a sieve into the glass.
5. Add the boba to the bottom of a glass, and then add a cup of ice to the glass.
6. ​Pour the honeydew mixture through a sieve over the ice cubes.  Place a boba straw in the glass and enjoy!

Boba

Boba started appearing in Taiwan in the late 1980's and was brought to the United States by Taiwanese immigrants in the late 90's/early 2000's.  The word "boba" actually translates to breast in English, named so because of their round shape.  The balls are made of tapioca starch and when cooked in hot water turn into the chewy tapioca pearls we know and love.  

Popping Boba vs. Tapioca Boba

​Black tapioca pearls are the traditional addition to boba tea.  The pearls are made with tapioca starch and have little flavor in and of themselves, relying instead on sugars and syrups to add flavor and sweetness.  

Popping boba is made from seaweed extract and filled with fruit juices.  The bubbles pop when you bite into them.  They come in a variety of flavors and unlike tapioca boba, they dont need to be cooked before being added to drinks.

​Milk Tea Vs Bubble Tea

Milk tea is tea combined with milk and and sweetener (it can also be made with sweetened condensed milk or non-dairy milk)  Bubble tea includes tapioca balls and ice.  It's also made with milk but can be flavored in many different ways and the main draw is the chewy (or sometimes popping!) bubbles.

Milk or Creamer

I use regular milk, but if you're trying to keep things dairy free, feel free to use soy milk, almond milk, oat milk - your favorite non-dairy milk will work in this boba recipe.

Sugar

When it comes to cold drinks, I always prefer simple syrup over white sugar.  Sugar crystals will not dissolve in cold liquid and will just sink to the bottom of the drink instead of mixing throughout and sweetening the whole thing.  If you want to avoid white sugars, you could sweeten this with agave syrup or maple syrup instead.  

Fresh Fruit vs Honeydew Powder Tea Mix

My preference is always to use fresh melon for this honeydew tea.  You can find melons in the stores pretty much year round, but the melons will have the most flavor in the summer.  If you're craving this drink out of season you can use a milk tea powder instead of fresh fruit.  

Is Honeydew Milk Tea Healthy?

​Like a lot of drink recipes, it depends on how you make it.  Honeydew on its own is pretty healthy being low in calories and sugar, and high in fiber and vitamin c.  Green tea is widely known to have great health benefits.  But you are also adding sugar and milk to the drink, so while it's not UNhealthy, I wouldn't want to drink it every day.

​Equipment and Ingredients

This is the boba I generally use.  It's easy to make and ready in about 6 minutes.  

These are the boba straws I use.  I like that they're clear, so I can tell when they're actually clean.  Boba straws and long and thicker than normal straws to allow you to get the boba pearls along with the drink.

​A fine mesh sieve is a must for this recipe, and it's a workhorse in any kitchen.

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