Honeydew Bubble Tea (Boba, Milk Tea) - Plant Based Jess (2024)

If you enjoy milk teas, then you will love this homemade honeydew bubble tea! It is so fruity and naturally pretty sweet, thanks to the fresh honeydew melon. This refreshing drink is amazing to help you stay hydrated on a hot sunny day, plus it is super easy to make right at home with simple ingredients.

This refreshing honeydew bubble tea is truly unbelievable: it is super easy, filled with fresh and fragrant fruit flavors, features a pleasant chewy bite from the tapioca pearls and this drink is naturally very sweet too, thanks to the fresh melon.

Also, including fresh honeydew melon in your boba tea boosts your drink with a ton of vitamins and health benefits, although you won't even realize it. This drink can enhance your energy level and help keep you hydrated in such a delicious way!

I have been into bubble teas recently especially since I discovered how easy they are to make from scratch, how much healthier they are when you control what goes into them and how cheaper they are compared to the bubble teas you get at the local bubble tea shops.

Just to name a few, I have something special for thishomemade strawberry bubble teaand my kids beg me for achocolate bobaregularly. And now this melon bubble tea is such a delicious fruity boba drink that all my family adored, it will definitely make it into my boba rotation!

This recipe pairs fresh honeydew melon with creamy plant-based milk. I used full-fat oat milk, which is my favorite dairy-free milk for drinks as it makes everything so rich and creamy.

Then, I also added a little bit of matcha powder to the honeydew melon milk: it boosts the color of the honeydew juice to a brighter green color, adds a mild heartiness to balance out the super sweet fruit and also brings a heaping amount of antioxidants to your healthy drink. Matcha is totally optional though if you don't have it!

The sweet honeydew milk blend is then served with cooked tapioca pearls making your healthy drink more interesting and filled with an amazing chewy texture.

Let me know if you gave it a try! ❤️

Why you should try this recipe

• Made using real honeydew melon for best flavor (no honeydew powder tea mix, no honeydew simple syrup, no artificial colors)
• Blending real honeydew loads your drink with a ton of fiber and vitamin C
• Features a fresh and fragrant unique flavor
• Made using only 5 easy ingredients, with the option of adding some extra matcha green tea
• Versatile and can be made with OR without tea
• Naturally sweet (only needs a fraction of the amount of added sweetener compares to other milk teas)
• Great way to enjoy more fruit
• Delicious chewy texture, thanks to the boba pearls
• This bubble tea is made 100% vegan, dairy-free and with an easy caffeine-free option

Ingredients you'll need

• Fresh honeydew melon: look for a ripe fresh honeydew melon! If your melon isn't ripe, juicy and sweet enough, then your drink won't be as great and might lack flavor and natural sweetness.
• Tea bags: honestly, you can use your favorite tea to make it. I think green tea works best in this recipe, but black tea, jasmine tea, oolong tea or herbal tea ALL work well. As a side note, you actually don't have to add any tea to your drink, even if its name implies that there should have tea. When making bubble teas for my kids, I'll often make it without it.
• Plant-based milk: oat milk is amazing for creamy refreshing drinks. I use it preferably for matcha lattes, boba teas or smoothies. I love the full-fat oat milk from Oatly, but use any brand you can find. If you cannot find oat milk, then simply use any non-dairy milk you have, such as soy milk or almond milk.
• Sweetener: I always use maple syrup to sweeten drinks as I love its flavor and it dissolves easily in liquids, but granulated white sugar works too if that's all you have.
• Black tapioca pearls: They are made out of tapioca starch and they are what gives bubble teas such an amazing texture! I found mine in our local Asian market, but you can also find tapioca balls easily online. Look for instant tapioca pearls made for boba, so they cook quickly.
• Matcha green tea powder (optional): just omit if you don't have it! Adds flavor, antioxidants and color, plus a little boost of energy!

How to make a honeydew bubble tea

Homemade boba are actually pretty easy to make and the more you make them, the easiest they get. In this case, the trick is to prepare the boba pearls, steep the tea and make the honeydew milk simultaneously so it comes together quickly.

Make the tea (if using)

If you want to add some tea, then start by making it so it has some time to cool down.

Add the tea bag to a small mug and then pour ½ cup of hot water over. Let the tea steep for about 5 minutes, then remove the bag. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

Prepare the tapioca pearls

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil (about 3 cups) and then add the tapioca pearls. Let them simmer on medium heat for 5-10 minutes depending on how tender you want them to be: for softer pearls, cook longer (8-10 minutes) and for chewier boba, then cook less longer, about 5-7 minutes.

Then, turn off the heat and let the boba pearls stand in the hot water for another 5 minutes. Drain and place the boba in a bowl, add about 1 tablespoon of maple syrup (or sugar) and stir. Set aside.

Make the honeydew milk

Peel and deseed the honeydew melon, then roughly chop in cubes.

In a blender, add the chopped honeydew melon, cooled tea, plant-based milk, maple syrup and for a brighter green, then add the matcha green tea powder (optional).

Blend on high until smooth. Then, taste and adjust the sweetness level to your liking (see below for more flavor booster ideas!).

Serve

Transfer the boba pearls to the bottom of a glass, cover with ice cubes and then, pour the honeydew milk mixture over. You should be able to make 2 large bubble teas.

Enjoy right away 😀

Helpful tips

• I recommend reading the boba pearls packaging's instructions. I used theblack boba pearls from the brand E-Fathat I easily found in my local Asian market, although I know they sell them online too. Most brands are instant tapioca balls like mine that cook very quickly, but some brands are different and might require different cooking instructions.
• Also, if you do enjoy boba teas often, then I also recommend getting some reusable boba straws that are easy to clean.
• If your fresh honeydew melon is very sweet, then you might want to wait before adding any maple syrup to the blender and see if it needs it.
• Boba teas are best when enjoyed very cold, so try to enjoy it right away once you serve it.
• At the end of cooking the boba pearls, do a taste test to check for doneness before draining them to ensure they are the right texture for you.
• Boba teas tend to separate quickly, so stir often as you drink to keep it smooth and uniform in flavor.
• As a side note, this bubble tea is at its best when you use a ripe honeydew melon full of sweetness, super juicy and packed with aromatic flavors. If making this recipe with a fruit that's dull and not that juicy, then your drink just won't be as good.

Serving suggestions

You will need 2 tall glasses to serve this honeydew boba tea recipe, plus wide boba tea straws to enjoy the large chewy tapioca pearls.

Boba teas are great served with lots of ice cubes to keep them chilled and frosty. You can use crushed ice for more of a slushie consistency as well.

You can serve this drink topped with a spoonful of whipped cream to make it even more creamy and rich. Try using acoconut whipped creamor we also loveoat whipped creamfrom the store. Add some chocolate sauce for a treat!

If you prefer, you can also serve your drink in layers! Blend the honeydew alone without any other ingredients (or with the matcha powder if using) and then serve your drink in your glass starting with the boba pearls, then ice cubes, sweetener, steeped tea, honeydew juice and finally the milk. Give it a good stir before enjoying and add more sweetener as needed.

Variations to the recipe

Bubble teas are so fun and easy to customize with all your favorite drink ingredients. You can experiment and try adding new things every time! Here are a few ideas:

• More fruits: you can add more fruit to the blender, such as strawberries, peaches, mangoes or raspberries. If doing so, then use half honeydew melon and half the other fruit. This can be a good option if you find your honeydew melon to be lacking sweetness and flavor.
• Ultra creamy texture: Swap the plant milk for coconut milk or add a spoonful of coconut cream to the blender.
• Herby: honeydew melon goes so well with fresh herbs, such as basil and mint. Add a few leaves to the blender for a boost of freshness!
• Zesty: squeeze some lime juice in the blender to brighten up the flavors.
• Slush: plan ahead and cube + freeze the honeydew melon before adding it to the blender to turn your drink into a boba slushie!

What kind of tea can I use?

You can really use any tea you have or like best, although there are some options that might work better for you:

With caffeine:

• Green tea: probably the best choice for this honeydew recipe since the natural sweetness from the fruit will balance the earthiness of the green tea perfectly.
• Black tea: also pretty earthy in flavor and can be quite aromatic, which would also go great in this drink.
• White tea: milder in flavor and often contains less caffeine than green or black tea.

Without caffeine:

• Rooibos tea: I use rooibos tea all the time for making boba, especially when making them for my kids. It adds a mellow tea flavor that's just perfect for boba teas without boosting the drink with any caffeine.
• Herbal fruity tea: can add a nice flavor without any caffeine. Chamomile or mint tea would work well here, but I would avoid any stronger herbal tea such as hibiscus so the flavor is not overpowering the whole drink.

Storage tips

Boba teas are best when served and enjoyed right away. The boba pearls can change in texture while resting in the liquid, something you want to avoid.

You could make the honeydew milk mixture ahead, although I find fruity mixtures not to hold so well in the fridge (serve within 24 hours).

FAQ's

More milk tea recipes to try

• Strawberry bubble tea
• Chocolate bubble tea
• Earl Grey milk tea
• Hot bubble tea
• Mango boba smoothie

More refreshing drinks to try

• Strawberry kiwi flavored water
• Berry tonic
• Blueberry lavender lemonade
• Kale tonic
• Lemon chia seed water
• Iced blueberry matcha latte
• Mango water
• Strawberry acai lemonade refresher
• Vegan horchata
• Pineapple slush
• Ginger turmeric glowing shots
• Oolong peach iced tea
• Dragon fruit lemonade
• Chia seed tea

I hope you like this honeydew bubble tea recipe as much as we do! If you try it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how it was. Your feedback is so helpful!

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