To make the boba balls, first heat the water and brown sugar in a pot and bring to a boil.

Once the sugar has all dissolved add in half the tapioca starch and stir well with chopsticks. Turn off the heat, and stir in the rest of the tapioca starch until it is well combined.

Remove the dough from the pot and keep kneading it until it becomes a smooth mixture. Roll out the dough into a long sausage shape and then cut into half and then half again. Keep ¾ of the dough wrapped in some plastic while you work on the first ¼ .

Roll the dough on a smooth surface, add a sprinkle of tapioca starch if it is too sticky. Then using a scraper or knife cut into small pieces (they should fit through a big metal boba straw).

Roll each piece into a small ball between your hands and put it into a bowl with some starch, to keep them from sticking.

Once done, sift the extra starch, then you can keep these frozen in a bag to be used later, or use straight away.

Boil some water in a pot, then put the boba balls in and boil them for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally so they don’t stick. Then finally remove from the pot and place them in cold water (they will shrink back to the original size).

Make the brown syrup by mixing it with ¼ cup of boiling water and stir well (heat it in a microwave for 2 minutes if you want it to thicken it more).

Make Boba Tea : Boil some water and steep some tea bags for 2 minutes. Put 2 tablespoons of brown syrup into a tall glass. Turn the glass sideways and rotate it to let the syrup swirl around the side walls. Pour in some boba balls into the glass. Add in the tea, and then some milk as desired (add ice if you prefer a cold drink).