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Grass jelly boba is a jiggly, low-effort alternative to chewy tapioca pearls. You whisk grass jelly powder with water and a little sugar, set it in ice cube trays until firm, then drop the wobbly cubes into homemade milk tea. It takes about two hours, most of it hands-off chilling, and tastes lightly herbal and barely sweet.
I can’t make these without laughing, and I’m supposedly a functioning adult. The jiggle is half the fun, so just lean into it. If you’ve ever wished boba had more wobble and less chew, grass jelly boba is about to become your go-to.
These came out of a craving for bubble tea paired with zero interest in babysitting a pot of tapioca. Grass jelly sets on its own in the fridge, so the texture lands soft, slippery, and squishy instead of dense and gummy. They have the same homemade-drink energy as my two-way Korean banana milk, just bouncier.
This one earned a spot in 36 Easy Asian Desserts too.
What Makes Grass Jelly Boba So Good
The texture is the whole pitch. Tapioca pearls are chewy and dense, while grass jelly cubes are cool, soft, and jiggly, almost like a barely sweet jelly that slips right up the straw. The flavor is gently herbal and only faintly sweet, which lets the milk tea around it be the star.
Freezing the mixture in ice cube trays gives you clean little squares instead of one big slab you have to chop. They look adorable bobbing in a tall glass, round-ish and poppable in the same way my matcha cake balls are fun to pick at.
What is grass jelly made out of?
Grass jelly is made from the mesona plant, a leafy herb in the mint family that gets simmered into a dark, lightly bitter jelly. For this recipe you skip the long simmer and use grass jelly powder, which is the same plant dried into an instant mix. One whisk and one boil, and it sets firm in the fridge.
Is grass jelly boba healthier than regular boba?
Grass jelly is lighter than tapioca boba. The cubes themselves are very low in sugar and calories, while tapioca pearls are pure starch usually soaked in sweet syrup. The catch is the drink around them: sweeten your milk tea heavily and the gap shrinks fast. I keep mine barely sweet so the grass jelly stays the refreshing part.
Tips for Making Grass Jelly Boba
1. Whisk the powder in before you heat it
Stir the grass jelly powder and sugar into the cold water first, then turn on the heat. Adding powder to already-hot water is how you get stubborn lumps. A couple of minutes of whisking up front saves you a gritty, strained batch.
2. Move fast once it boils
Grass jelly starts setting the moment it cools, so pour it into your trays right away. A spouted measuring cup makes this clean and quick. If it firms up in the pot before you finish, just reheat it gently and keep going.
3. Use flexible trays
Silicone or soft plastic ice cube trays pop the cubes out in one push. Rigid trays fight you and tear the jelly. The wobblier the cube, the better, so you want a tray that lets go cleanly.
4. Chill all the way through
Give the trays the full hour and a half in the fridge. Half-set jelly slumps and falls apart in the glass. Fully chilled cubes hold their shape and have that signature springy bounce.
5. Brew the tea strong
The milk and the jelly both mellow the tea, so steep your Assam a little stronger than you think you need. A bold, malty brew keeps the milk tea from tasting watery once everything comes together.
Storage and Leftovers
Keep the grass jelly cubes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Store them on their own, not pre-mixed into the tea, so they stay firm. The milk tea is best brewed fresh, but you can keep unsweetened tea in the fridge and pour it over the cubes whenever a craving hits.
Equipment
- Ice cube tray
- Electric kettle
- Large pot
- Spouted measuring cups
- Whisk
Ingredients
Grass jelly balls (makes about 2 ice trays)
- 3/4 cup grass jelly powder
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 cups water
Milk tea
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 Assam black tea bag
- 3 tablespoons whole milk, or to taste
- Sugar, optional, to taste
Swap notes: any strong black tea works if you don’t have Assam, though Assam keeps that classic malty milk tea flavor. Use oat or any milk you like to make it dairy-free. Grass jelly powder is the shortcut here, but if you would rather start from scratch, block-style grass jelly works too, just cut it into cubes.
Instructions
- Pour 4 cups of water into a pot. Add the grass jelly powder and sugar and whisk until fully combined, then turn on the heat.
- Heat to a boil, stirring continuously so it does not clump or scorch.
- As soon as it boils, take it off the heat and pour it into a spouted measuring cup. Carefully fill your ice cube trays and seal them.
- Let the trays cool on the counter for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for 1.5 hours until fully set.
- When the cubes are firm, steep the Assam tea bag in 1 cup of boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove the tea bag, stir in the milk, and sweeten if you like.
- Pop the grass jelly cubes out of the trays, add them to your glasses first, then pour the milk tea over the top and enjoy.
Milk tea jelly is one of my favorite textures to play with. If you want a spooky-season spin, these are basically the warm-weather cousin of my milk tea jelly ghosts. They are also a gentle way to ease boba-nervous friends into bubble tea, since the cubes are soft and the sweetness stays low.
If you make these, I would love to know how the jiggle turned out, so leave a star rating on the recipe card and drop a comment below. Tell me your milk tea ratio too, because I’m always tweaking mine.
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Grass Jelly Boba
- Total Time: 145
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
Grass jelly boba is a jiggly, low-sugar alternative to tapioca pearls, made by setting grass jelly powder into soft cubes and serving them in homemade Assam milk tea.
Ingredients
- Grass Jelly Balls
- 3/4 cup grass jelly powder
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 cups water
- Milk Tea
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 Assam black tea bag
- 3 tablespoons whole milk (or to taste)
- Sugar (optional, to taste)
Equipment
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Whisk the base. Pour 4 cups of water into a pot, add the grass jelly powder and sugar, and whisk until smooth before heating.
- Boil it. Heat to a boil, stirring continuously so it does not clump.
- Fill the trays. Off the heat, pour the mixture into a spouted measuring cup, then fill and seal your ice cube trays.
- Chill until set. Cool on the counter 30 minutes, then refrigerate 1.5 hours until firm.
- Steep the tea. Brew the Assam tea bag in 1 cup boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Make the milk tea. Remove the tea bag, stir in the milk, and sweeten to taste.
- Assemble. Add the grass jelly cubes to glasses, pour the milk tea over the top, and serve.
Notes
- Whisk the powder into cold water before heating to avoid lumps.
- Work quickly once it boils, since grass jelly sets as it cools.
- Flexible silicone trays release the cubes most cleanly.
- Brew the tea strong, because the milk and jelly mellow it.
- Store the cubes separately from the tea so they stay firm.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Drinks
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Chinese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 glass
- Calories: 150 kcal
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 60mg
- Fat: 3g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 28g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 10mg