Tiger sugar milk tea is another favorite among the bubble tea fans because of its aesthetics and taste. The drink resembles the look of a tigers fur coat when mixed with all its other ingredients. Despite the awesome name, the beverage is actually a brown sugar bubble tea.
It is made in various ways, but though it looks complicated, it is actually one of the easiest bubble tea flavored drinks to make.
Some brown sugar bubble tea drinks are made with only milk as the base of the boba drink, and do not include the tea. This is what makes these boba drinks faster and easier to make than other types.
The traditional and popular way to make tiger sugar bubble tea drinks is with the brown sugar or syrup covering the inside of a transparent cup. A transparent cup is selected to make the tiger stripe design visible whenever the sugar or syrup is added to the inside of the cup, then the milk is poured in.
A skimmer (a long spoon with holes in it) is used to pick up the cooked tapioca pearls out of its brown sugar mixture. The cup is then tilted almost horizontally while the tapioca pearls (dripping with the brown sugar) are placed inside of the tilted cup. The cup is turned to allow the brown sugar to cover the top and bottom of the inside of the cup.
Once this is done, the cup is set back to its vertical position. This is how the tiger stripes that will appear on the outside of the brown sugar bubble tea are formed. The sugar or syrup runs down the edges on the inside of the cup, which makes lines that resemble stripes. The boba rests at the bottom of the cup with the rest of the sugar.
After this, the milk is poured into the cup, which brings out the design and the unique pattern even more. This is all that is needed to make a tiger sugar bubble tea.
It is then left to the one drinking the bubble tea to mix the brown sugar into the rest of the drink for flavor after it is sealed with a bubble tea sealing machine. The drink can be turned upside down to flip flop it and mix it in a shaking manner. It is recommended to flip flop the sealed cup 12 to 15 times to fully mix the ingredients in the bubble tea before drinking it.
Taste
Most individuals compare the taste of brown sugar bubble tea to that of a caramel milk. Despite all the sugar, the bubble tea is said to only have a hint of sweetness at times, because the milk masks some of the sweetness. The boba for a brown sugar bubble tea is sweeter than most boba, since it is mixed with more sugar than a regular ratio for sugar to the amount of tapioca pearls.
Basic Ingredients for Making Brown Sugar Bubble Tea
- Brown sugar or brown sugar syrup.
- Milk (whole milk preferably or any other milk of your choice)
- Tea leaves (preferably black tea leaves).
- Some brown sugar boba drinks don’t have tea, but only have the milk as the base.
- Black tapioca pearls.
- Black sugar, a popular sugar sweetener in the Asian regions, is sometimes used in the tapioca pearls when making the tapioca pearls from scratch.
The amount of brown sugar used to sweeten the boba pearls is equal to the amount of boba pearls cooked. The tapioca pearls are cooked first, then placed in the brown sugar at a ratio of 1:1 for sugar to boba. This is how the boba shops with the best tiger sugar boba drinks do it.
Some individuals also enjoy Okinawa brown sugar bubble tea drinks, because of its special flavor. There are powder mixes which make making this bubble tea even easier than the tiger sugar boba drinks. This powder mix is listed below in one of the ways that brown sugar boba tea can be made.
How To Make Brown Sugar (Tiger Sugar) Bubble Tea
1. Tiger Sugar Milk Tea
Tiger sugar milk tea can be made by combining the brown sugar with tea and milk. This can come with or without boba, but usually it has boba pearls in it. The tea can be any flavoring to give the drink a twist. There are several loose tea leaf flavors to choose from including: black tea leaves, green tea leaves, and oolong.
The main ingredients are:
- Brown sugar or brown sugar syrup.
- Milk
- Any tea flavoring of your choice.
2. Tiger Bubble Tea
Tiger bubble tea would come with the brown sugar or syrup, tapioca pearls sweetened with brown sugar, and the tea flavoring of your choice. This one would exclude the milk if you are lactose intolerant, and have the flavor coming from the tea and the brown sugar flavored tapioca pearls.
The main ingredients are:
- Brown sugar syrup or sugar
- Tapioca pearls
- Tea flavoring of your choice
3. Tiger Milk
This is the main way that brown sugar bubble tea is made in boba shops. It has the boba pearls that are sweetened with brown sugar at a 1:1 ratio for tapioca pearls to brown sugar.
The boba pearls along with the sugar mixture are placed into the transparent cup to give it its tiger stripes as mentioned earlier, then milk is poured on top of the sugar and tapioca pearls to the brim of the cup. A little bit of extra room can be left to pour in some bubble tea cheese foam to top it off afterwards too.
4. Tiger Bubble Tea Smoothie, Milkshake, or Slush
For something a bit more cold for hot environments, the tiger boba milkshake or slush is there. Using a powder mix or brown sugar syrup with some ice and milk can be blended in a blender, and then poured into a cup with chewy boba added.
The ice is needed to make a slush, and milk and ice is needed to make a tasty milkshake. For individuals who just have to have their tea, cold brewed tea can be blended with it. Everything is blended into the blender, except the tapioca pearls. The blended mix is poured into a cup on top of the cooked tapioca pearls.
The main ingredients are:
- Okinawa Brown Sugar Powder or brown sugar syrup
- Milk (for the Milkshake)
- Ice
- A lot of ice has to be used to make it a slush or milkshake texture.
- Tea (optional)
The Flavors That Pair Well With Tiger Sugar Bubble Tea
Here are all the flavors that mix well with the brown sugar bubble tea that are worth trying in combination:
- Almond
- Black Sesame
- Peanut Butter (Reeses’)
- Chocolate
- White Chocolate
- Vanilla
- Ginger
Any of the flavors can be mixed in as syrups or powders in combination.
