Ube Milk Tea
Equipment
- 1 medium pan for cooking ube
- 1 large glass
- 1 ice cube tray
- 1 measuring spoon
- 1 measuring cup
- 1 fork for mashing ube
- 1 blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked and mashed ube
- 2 cups brewed black tea chilled
- 1 cup milk of your choice dairy or non-dairy
- 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk or sugar adjust to taste
- Ice cubes
- Optional: tapioca pearls
Instructions
- In a blender, throw in the mashed ube, brewed black tea, cold milk, and sweetened condensed milk or sugar. Blend until smooth.
- Fill glasses with ice cubes. If using them, add in the tapioca pearls, if using.
- Pour the ube milk tea mixture over the ice.
- Stir gently to combine and serve.
“Oh my God, what is that?!” – Cardi B, seeing this ube milk tea (probably).
This beautiful, vibrant purple drink is certainly something to behold. It’s a bit earthy, perfectly sweet, and crazy delicious. You can drink it warm, iced, or (my fave) in secret so your kids will quit stealing sips. It’s so good, I’m sharing two ube milk tea recipes today to make sure you can get in on the wonderful world of ube!
For a sad majority of my life, I had never heard of ube. Embarrassingly enough, I initially thought it was a typo of ‘Uber’ and pronounced it just like ‘Uber’ without the ‘r’. Turns out it is pronounced ‘ooh-bay.’ It was actually a neighbor of mine, on a military post of all places, who was giving out extra ube brownies that opened my eyes to the Ube world. Ever knocked on a neighbor’s door for a single purple brownie? I have! From there I was sold. I started creating recipes with Ube. Including this delish ube milk tea.
What is Ube Anyway?
Ube is a vegetable in the yam family and comes to us from the Philippines. Not to be confused with the purple sweet potato. Though you may hear some countries refer to it as a ‘purple yam’. Ube looks great for its age with mentions of Ube stemming back as far as 1613. Visually, it’s a stunner. It stands apart from other yams. Because, well, it’s purple! Ube, though, not only adds a wow visual. Ube also has a unique taste that’s earthy, slightly nutty, and subtly sweet. You may be wondering how it stands against a standard yam. According to Healthline.com, Ube is clearly the winner in the yam fam with more antioxidants, cancer preventative, improves blood pressure, and more!
Also, if you’re up on social media trends, you may have seen Ube rise to fame over the last while. Everyone uses it in everything: ube ice cream, ube cookies, ube cake, etc. I heard Ube was even on Taylor Swift’s shortlist for concert openers. Don’t quote me on that one. However, you cut it, Ube is a deserving star finally getting the attention it deserves. You will thank me once you try this ube milk tea!
What is Milk Tea?
‘Milk tea’, to some, may sound like two words that should not be that close to each other in a sentence. Yet, they’re an awesome match made in drink heaven. Milk tea is also not a new concept, being as it’s original origin isn’t completely unknown. However, many believe the origin is India due to the country’s resources for having been able to introduce milk tea at the time.
How the ‘milk’ and the ‘tea’ compliment each other is unreal. The milk adds a creaminess to the tea while still maintaining a distinct tea flavor. Now, while there are SO many different recipes, forms, and combinations of the combo, milk tea is just that: milk and tea! In most cases, you are simply adding milk and black tea together as your base. From there, you can personalize the drink to your taste. Keep in mind, though, that different cultures/countries will enjoy the milk and tea duo in their own way. For instance, in some countries, you will also see milk being added to tea. However, the distinction in countries like the UK may be that the drink is not referred to as ‘milk tea’ but something along the lines of ‘tea with milk.’
Where Can You Get Ube?
Due to Ube coming from the Philippines, your best bet to commonly find it is at your nearest Asian grocery store. Other stores may even carry ube. In my experience though, it’s rare. You may be able to find it in the freezer section of some stores. So, if you’re unlucky enough to not have an Asian grocery store near you, try there. With that in mind, that is why I have two recipes here on the blog for this drink. Ube extract gives you the flavors of ube even if you cannot find the yam anywhere near you. In which canse, you can summon it with a click of a button from the comfort of your couch – thanks to our BFF, Amazon! Ube extract to the rescue!
What Does Ube Milk Tea Taste Like?
Ube brings a flavor that’s subtly sweet with hints of vanilla and a dash of nuttiness. Think: sweet potatoes’ cooler, more colorful cousin. When it joins forces with milk tea, get ready for a lovely taste sensation that will, not to be dramatic, change your drink life! Enjoy this ube milk tea year round! It is the perfect warm-weather refresher. You can also cozy up with a warm cup on a cold night. Either way, you’re def going to enjoy!
Making Ube Milk Tea
- Prepare your ingredients. Start with cooking the ube by boiling it for 20-30 minutes. If you’re making your Ube Milk Tea a cold/iced drink, allow the ube to cool completely before moving onto the next step. If you’ve got your lie together more than I do, you can even make the ube ahead of time. If going that route, just simply peel and boil, mash while hot, and allow it to sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
- Add mashed ube, black tea brewed the way you like it, and cold milk to a blender. For sweetening, you can use either condensed milk or sugar. I prefer condensed milk because it adds to the creaminess of the milk and tea combination. Otherwise, sweeten with sugar or a sugar substitute of your choice. I don’t recommend adding both sugar and condensed milk. So choose your player and add them in.
- Blend until smooth.
- Add ice and any extras you may want to a large glass. If you are adding tapioca pearls/boba (totally optional) add them in before the ice. Don’t forget to have a boba straw on hand!
- Pour the ube milk tea mixture in over the ice. As the ube milk tea sits, it may separate slightly but it doesn’t affect the taste or appearance. The ube and milk tea are just individual superstars and want to shine on their own, that is all. As you are enjoying it in your glass, simply stir your drink from time to time.
6. Enjoy and report back!
Here are instructions for if you can’t get your hands on any ube. You can purchase ube extract on Amazon here.
Ube Milk Tea (with Extract)
Equipment
- 1 large glass
- 1 2 cup size measuring cup
- 1 teaspoon
- 1 tablespoon
Materials
- 1-2 teaspoons ube extract adjust to taste
- 2 cups brewed black tea chilled
- 1 cup milk of your choice dairy or non-dairy
- 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk or sugar adjust to taste
- Ice cubes
- Optional: tapioca pearls boba for an extra treat
Instructions
- In a glass, add the brewed black tea, milk, sweetened condensed milk or sugar, and ube extract. Stir well until fully combined and vibrant.
- Add ice cubes to the glass.
- If using tapioca pearls, add them to the glass as well.
- Stir gently and serve immediately
Kristine
This Ube sounds so delicious! Thanks for a unique drink idea. I look forward to your next post!
Schmied Feed
Thanks Kristine!
Mary Mcdougal
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Schmied Feed
Thanks for your comment Mary 🙂