How To Make Assam Milk Tea with Tapioca Pearls (Boba)
This post may contain affiliate links.Assam Milk Tea offers a delightful experience with its rich flavor, robust aroma, and comfforting warmth. It gives you a boost to start the day with good spirit!
Have you ever heard of Assam black tea? This tea is often served as breakfast with milk as Assam Milk Tea in several countries in Asia.
The strong flavor of assam black tea will wake you up, making you ready for daily activities because it is rich in antioxidants and nutrition to help you boost your energy.
This Assam milk tea at a café or restaurants can be very expensive. If you like the flavor, now you can make one at home. It is easy and you can adjust the sweetness and creaminess according to your taste.
Origin of Assam Black Tea
Assam tea comes from a region called Assam in India. It is originally from a plant native only to Assam called Camellia sinensis car assamica.
CTC is cut-tear-curl tea where the leaves are shaped into a small curly form. CTC is usually stronger, sharper and meltier. CTC is often found in tea bags, rather than in loose leaf form.
Grades and Varieties of Assam Milk Tea
Assam tea is available in various grades and varieties, each offering a distinct flavor and quality. Here are some common types you may come across:
- Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (TGFOP): This grade consists of young tea leaves with golden tips and is considered the highest quality Assam tea. It offers a rich and malty flavor. And another type called Finest Tippy Folden Flower Orange Pekoe (FTGFOP) which is of rare quality.
- Golden Broken Orange Pekoe (GBOP): GBOP consists of slightly broken tea leaves and provides a strong flavor profile with a good balance of maltiness and briskness.
- Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP): BOP comprises broken tea leaves and offers a bold, robust flavor with a darker liquor.
- CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl): CTC Assam tea is processed by crushing, tearing, and curling the leaves, resulting in small pellets. It brews quickly and produces a strong, malty cup.
What is Assam Black Milk Tea Like?
Assam black milk tea is rich and strong with a malty flavor. Its strong character makes it a common ingredient for tea blends.
The caffeine content in assam black tea is very high, it is in fact considered the strongest among all black teas. But it depends on the type of plant, tea leaves, grade, harvesting time, and brewing method.
It exhibits a strong and bold taste with hints of caramel and sometimes even a subtle fruitiness.
The brewed tea is typically a deep, vibrant red making it very attractive visually.
It has a strong caffeine content. That’s why people opt for assam black tea in the morning to help boost their energy after waking up from long hours of sleep.
Benefits Of Assam Black Tea
To enjoy the full benefits of Assam black tea, try drinking the loose leaf Assam tea rather than Assam tea bags.
- Strengthen the immune system
The antioxidants in black tea support your overall health and your immune system. It contains minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and copper.
- Helps with weight loss
Drinking black tea helps reduce calorie intake, helps burning the fat into energy, and lower fat accumulation. The black tea polyphenols are the ones responsible for weight loss. They are very safe for weight loss.
- Lower cancer risk
The risk of certain types of cancer are lower for people who drink black tea regularly. Those are skin, lung, and breast cancer. Again the black tea polyphenols are the ones that help prevent the cancer.
- Helps lower blood sugar
People with type 2 diabetes may benefit from drinking Assam black tea regularly, without sugar of course. It helps improve insulin resistance.
- Helps promote brain function
Drinking black tea can also help protect your brain against degenerative diseases like Alzheimer, Parkinson’s disease.
How To Brew Assam Black Tea Correctly
Assam black tea can only be brewed once. The next infusions may not be as good as the first one. Use only freshly boiled spring water.
Water temperature should be around 205-210°F. One teaspoon makes one cup of tea. Let it steep for 2-3 minutes. The whole curled tea will steep quicker.
Ingredients Overview of Assam Milk Tea
Assam Tea Leaves
For the leaves, opt for a grade within your taste preferences, such as TGFOP for a more refined flavor or CTC for a bolder, stronger brew.
Milk
Choose whole milk for a creamy texture. If you prefer a less creamy version, you can opt for skim milk.
I prefer the creamy texture, after all it blends well with the nature of Assam Tea. For that reason, I use evaporated milk or whipping cream sometimes.
Sweetener And Other Flavorings
- Sugar: Sugar is the most common sweetener used to sweeten the tea.
- Honey: This is another alternative to sugar with floral sweetness.
- Condensed milk: This is common in Asian countries, it gives a rich and creamy texture to Assam Milk Tea.
- Healthy natural sweetener: Stevia, monk fruit, or erythritol can be used to substitute sugarin Assam Milk Tea.
Flavorings
Use spices like cardamom, cinnamon, or ginger to add a unique twist to your tea. Remember to put it in the brewing process. Experiment to suit your preference.
Assam Milk Tea Recipe
You can easily make assam black milk tea and customize it with your own favorite milk or sweetener. Adjust the creaminess or sweetness level to your desired taste.
This recipe makes two servings of Assam milk tea. One serving is approximately one cup.
Ingredients
- 2-3 tsp loose leaf Assam black tea
- 450-600 cc hot water
- 1 tsp blackstrap molasses powder or organic palm sugar or coconut sugar
- 50 ml whipping cream / evaporated milk / whole milk
- White tapioca pearls (optional)
- Ceylon cinnamon powder (optional)
If you want to add tapioca pearls, cook it first. After it becomes transparent, take it out and put it in a bowl of sugary water. Check the video for the instruction.
How To
- Boil some water. Prepare Assam black tea in a container. Pour the hot water and let it steep. If you use loose leaf, let it steep for 2-3 minutes.
- Pour 1 cup of whipping cream into the container. If you prefer a lighter version, you can use evaporated milk or whole milk.
- Put in 1-2 tsp of blackstrap molasses powder or organic palm sugar or coconut sugar.
- You can put in cooked tapioca pearls after stirring the tea or before the tea is poured in the glass.
- Afterwards, garnish with cinnamon stick, cinnamon powder, or mint leaves.
If you are a diabetic or on ketogenic diet, you may want to change the sugar and milk. You can use monk fruit sweetener to substitute sugar.
For lactose intolerant, you may substitute milk with almond milk, oat milk, or soya milk.
Serving Assam Milk Tea
Now that you can make your own Assam milk tea at home, you might wonder what is the best snack to serve with Assam milk tea.
FAQ
Q: Can I use Assam tea in tea bags instead of loose leaves?
A: Yes, you can as it is more convenient. However, you must remember that the flavor may differ from loose leaves. Tea bags usually contain small tea particles.
Q: How to make a vegetarian version of Assam milk tea?
A: You can use non-dairy milk such as almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, or coconut milk. Just follow the same steps in the recipe and add the milk to your preference.
Q: Can I use sweeteners substitute?
A: Sure. You can substitute the sugar with stevia, monk fruit, or erythritol. I usually use blackstrap molasses to my Assam milk tea. Adjust the amount according to your taste bud.
Conclusion
Assam Milk Tea is a new trending beverage with tea leaves from Assam, India. It has strong caffeine content. Choose wisely based on your preference.
Finally, I hope you like this article about Assam milk tea and the recipe. Just try it, you will love it indeed!
Basically, savoury or sweet snack are both suitable to serve with this type of tea. Savoury snack such as Shumai or Menbosha will do.
Sweet dessert such as Dutch Butter Cake or traditional dessert like Kue Lumpang are also delightful.
Other bubble tea drinks you can make at home:
Moreover if you like Asian food, you can check my other recipes!
Assam Milk Tea
Ingredients
- 3 tsp Assam black tea leaves
- 500 ml water hot
- 50 ml whipping cream
- 1-2 tsp palm sugar
- Ceylon cinnamon ground
- 1 tbsp sago tapioca pearl cooked until transparent and soaked with sugary water
Instructions
- First, if you want some tapioca pearl inside your assam milk tea, you can boil some water and cook the tapioca pearl. If you don't skip this step, go to no.3.
- Strain the tapioca pearl and put them into a sugary water.
- Boil the water.
- Add 2-3 tsp Assam black tea into a teapot with strainer. If you want a stronger taste, you can add 1 more teaspoon.
- Pour the hot water into the teapot.
- Let it steep for 2-3 minutes.
- Strain the tea leaves.
- Add 1-2 tsp blackstrap molasses powder or organic palm sugar. If you don't like it sweet, skip this step.
- Stir well.
- Prepare a serving glass, add tapioca pearl at the bottom.
- Pour the tea.
- Add 50 ml whipping cream or evaporated milk or milk.
- Stir well. Add a dash of Ceylon cinnamon ground on top. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It’s not intended to replace medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Every person is different and may react to different herbs and teas differently. Never use teas or herbs to treat serious medical conditions on your own. Always seek professional medical advice before choosing home remedies.
