Boba tea comes in many different flavors. From customizing tea, dairy, sweetener, and sinkers, the options are endless. Known for its aesthetically pleasing purple hue, taro milk tea is a go-to drink for many bubble tea lovers. Let’s dig into each of the ingredients and find out the taste of taro milk tea.
General taste
Taro boba tea is sweet, creamy, and slightly nutty because of its base ingredient, taro.
Boba tea fans relate the taste of this purple boba tea to a mild vanilla, coconut, or chocolate flavor.
The velvety smooth purple beverage that is taro milk tea carries the flavor of its base ingredient, taro. Common in Asian cuisine, the root crop taro has a slightly nutty and somewhat neutral flavor.
- When the natural flavor of the root crop mixes with milk and sugar, it produces a sweet and nutty beverage.
- The succeeding flavor is a creamy mouthfeel that tastes like vanilla, or chocolate.
- Taro’s starches lend that gratifyingly smooth and thick texture to the beverage, almost like ice cream form.
The ingredients of taro milk tea are taro (either in puree or root powder form), milk, sweetener, and tapioca pearls. The original taro milk tea does not contain a tea base.
Taro
Taro is a tropical plant cultivated mostly in the South Pacific, Asia, and Africa. It has a starchy texture and the taste is almost neutral. Generally, the flavor is similar to sweet potato with a mildly sweet and nutty essence.
Pureed taro root thickens taro boba tea adding great texture. When the puree is blended with milk and sugar, it produces a subtle creamy sweet flavor with vanilla, coconut, or chocolate undertones.
Alternatively, taro root powder may also be used as base. The ready-mix powder makes a sweeter and more vibrantly colored taro milk tea. This is because it already contains icing sugar, creamer, taro root powder, tapioca starch, and anti-caking chemicals. Hence, taro milk tea from powder is more flavorful.
Milk
- Boba tea shops typically use whole milk for taro milk tea. This allows the full-fat milk to improve the taste and texture of taro milk tea.
- Some boba tea shops also use condensed milk to yield a milkier and sweeter cup of taro milk tea.
- If almond milk is used, the boba tea will be silkier and thinner. While others use coconut milk to lend a satisfyingly thick tropical beverage.
Sweetener
- The typical sweetener used for taro milk tea is simple syrup. It adds sweetness to taro milk tea. But taro milk tea is not overly sweet unless you use too much sweetener.
- You may also vary the type of sweetener. To lend caramel notes if using brown sugar, or floral notes if using honey.
Boba Pearls
- The most common sinkers to add to taro boba tea are tapioca pearls. Boba pearls lend their chewy, springy texture and sweet taste to the beverage.
- Boba pearls enhance the sweetness of taro milk tea because they are soaked in syrup after cooking.
Conclusion
Sweet and nutty taro root blends with velvety milk, then sweetened with simple syrup, and
finally, enhanced by chewy boba pearls. Taro milk tea not only has a brilliant purple color, but also a great taste combining creamy, sweet, nutty, and chewy.