Place the boba pearls, water and sugar in the inner liner of your Instant Pot. It is important to use sugar in this recipe, as the boba need to rest in a sugar syrup in order to stay chewy and pliable.
Cook at high pressure for 2 minutes. Allow the pot to sit undisturbed for 5 minutes, and then release all remaining pressure.
When you open the lid, you will see some mighty big boba floating around. These will settle down to a much more manageable size as they cool. Do not refrigerate the boba. Allow them to cool in the liner, or pour them out into a mason jar and let them cool, about 15-20 minutes.
The boba can be kept in the refrigerator in this sugar syrup for a few hours, but the really don't store very well. Which is a great excuse for eating them all up actually, so that works out.
Meanwhile, mix together the tea, sugar, milk and ice cubes and shake to chill the tea.
Divide the boba amongst four glasses, cover with tea and serve.
I don't trust the nutritional info for these as my software only had tapioca pearls not boba pearls. Please use the information on the packet you buy.
Tips and Tricks for Making Instant Pot Bubble Tea
Refrigerating. Don't cool them after cooking in the refrigerator, or store them there. The texture gets weird and chewy.
Amazon. Find Boba Pearls on Amazon for the easiest method of purchasing.
Sugar. Don't skip the sugar in this recipe, as the boba pearls need the sugary syrup to stay at the right consistency.
Alternative. You can use coconut milk with vanilla or pandan as your base liquid for the pearls rather than tea.