Anna DeGoede/The Hofstra Chronicle

Lately, boba has taken the world by storm as a drink that’s aesthetically pleasing, customizable and delicious. I personally struggled to understand the hype until I encountered brown sugar boba. Unlike basic boba tea, the pearls (or balls, as some say) are cooked in a brown sugar syrup and layered on the bottom. There’s no tea in the drink, only milk. This drink is often made with lactose-free milk, which is perfect for the lactose intolerants who pay attention to their dietary needs (I don’t).

Ingredients:

3/8 cup brown sugar

1/8 cup water

2 ½ cups milk

2/3 cup instant boba pearls (recommended: Wu Fu Yuan brand)

OR follow a recipe to make your own tapioca pearls

Instructions:

Cook pearls as instructed, either by making your own or by following the instructions for your pre-made boba pearls.

Next, add the water and brown sugar to a pot and boil until the mixture is a thick brown syrup.

Lower the heat, add the pearls to the syrup and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Remove the pot from the stove and allow the mixture to thicken.

After the mixture has thickened more, drizzle the syrup on the inside of a cup or glass and pour some in the bottom, before letting the extra syrup drip out of the glass.

Add the pearls to the glass and then pour in the milk.

Enjoy!