Grass Jelly Milk Tea

Name: Grass Jelly Milk Tea
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 4 tbsps brown sugar (divided); 2 cups milk; 2 bags black tea; 1 cup grass jelly

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Sweetened milk steeped in black tea and combined with grass jelly, this Grass Jelly Milk Tea is a delightfully refreshing drink.

One of my favourite toppings to get in my bubble tea is grass jelly. It’s chewy, bouncy, and similar to the texture of jello. They make for such a fun topping and they’re sold in cans so you can easily make your own brown sugar grass jelly milk tea at home.

A glass of grass jelly milk tea with a second glass in the background.

Did you know, grass jelly sold in cans is shelf-stable? That means you can pretty much just stock up on the ingredients and you can make this grass jelly milk tea whenever you’re craving it and save yourself a trip to the bubble tea shop!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ingredients needed to make grass jelly milk tea.

brown sugar — you’ll need brown sugar to sweeten this milk tea recipe. You can use muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar but I prefer muscovado sugar as it has more pronounced caramel and toffee notes to it.
milk — I use whole (lactose-free) milk but it’s up to you what type of dairy you want to use.
black tea — you want a robust tea for bubble tea so you can still taste the tea flavour alongside the milk and brown sugar. Here’s the link to the black tea I use.
grass jelly — you should be able to find canned grass jelly at most Asian grocers. If not, you can get it online.

How to Make Grass Jelly Milk Tea

Grass jelly cooked with brown sugar syrup.

In a small saucepan, over medium-high heat the milk along with the black tea and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar (or more). Careful not to have the temperature too high or you’ll burn your milk. Once the milk has started to simmer, turn off the heat and steep the black tea in the milk for 10 minutes. Feel free to chill the milk afterwards or enjoy it warm.
Meanwhile, spoon the grass jelly from the can (it doesn’t have to be uniform. I like spooning different sized pieces) into another saucepan. Add 3 tablespoons of brown sugar with 3 tablespoons of water (or more) to the grass jelly and simmer until the brown sugar syrup has thickened to your liking.

A glass of grass jelly milk tea on a coaster.

In a two glasses, divide the grass jelly with brown syrup and milk tea equally. Stir and enjoy.

Overhead view of a glass of grass jelly milk tea.

Recipe Tips and Notes

You can add more or less brown sugar to any of the components of this drink. For the grass jelly, just be sure to use 1:1 ratio of brown sugar and water.
You do not have to add brown sugar to the milk. I just prefer to add brown sugar as the grass jelly does not have any flavour to it.
I prefer this drink warm as it is much more cozy.
Feel free to double or even triple this brown sugar grass jelly milk tea recipe.
Be sure to get some boba straws as your grass jelly won’t fit through regular straws!

Close up of a grass jelly milk tea with a straw.

Does this have caffeine?

Yes, black tea has caffeine in it. Black tea has the highest amount of caffeine compared to other teas but has half the caffeine of a coffee.

What milk do I use for grass jelly milk tea?

I use whole milk, but you can use nut milk or soy milk to make this dairy-free. I’ve never tried heating non-dairy milk so do so at your own risk.