Mango Bubble Tea

This 5-ingredient mango bubble tea combines tropical mango with refreshing green tea and chewy tapioca pearls for a sweet, creamy, refreshing summer drink! It’s easy to make, cheaper than buying, and now 100% vegan!

Sweet and Creamy Summery Mango Bubble Tea

If you’ve never made homemade bubble tea before, this mango bubble tea recipe is your sign to do so! Not only does making plant-based milk tea at home cost less, but it’s really easy to adapt to your dietary and flavor preferences, and it’s healthier, too – with way less sugar and no syrups, preservatives, or chemicals.

Instead, this plant-based mango milk tea combines the flavors of fresh, tropical mango (which means lots of nutrients, too!) with mildly earthy green milk tea (using your dairy-free milk of choice) and plenty of tapioca pearls soaked in just a little brown sugar. The combination is sweet, creamy, and perfect for the warmer summer months (or all year long!) along with strawberry milk tea, chocolate milk tea, and matcha milk tea!

Mango Boba Tea Ingredients

• Mango: Use fresh (we prefer in-season Ataulfo mangoes, aka honey mango) or frozen mango. Canned Kesar or Alphonso mango works well, too (carried in Indian/Asian markets).

Pure mango nectar/mango juice (without unnecessary additives/artificial ingredients) may also work, but yield a thinner, less creamy/smoothie-like consistency.

• Boba pearls: Use regular or quick-cooking tapioca pearls (brown, white, or colored), and increase/decrease the amount used per serving if preferred.
• Brown sugar: This will provide the most authentic flavor, though you could use unrefined coconut sugar or even maple syrup instead. A brown sugar alternative would also work (adjust the amount to taste) for plant-based low-sugar mango milk tea.
• Tea bags: We love the combination of green tea and mango and use our favorite green tea bags, though jasmine tea would also complement the mango flavor.
• Plant-based milk: Use any. i.e., oat milk, soy milk, coconut milk, almond milk, etc. For a creamier version, use dairy-free milk and vegan creamer or just creamer.
• Ice: Optional for a super refreshing mango boba tea. To avoid watering down the drink, use brewed green tea ice cubes.

What Else Can I Add To Mango Milk Tea?

• Vanilla extract: Use natural vanilla extract to enhance the dessert-like flavor of this mango bubble tea recipe.
• Mango popping boba: You could replace regular chewy tapioca pearls with mango popping bubbles (that contain mango syrup) for an even sweeter treat.
• Mango jelly: Instead of or alongside the cooked boba pearls.
• Other fruits: Increase the refreshing-ness with a topping of sliced fruits, like raspberries, strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, peach, etc.
• Mint leaves: For a subtle, fresh, minty flavor in the plant-based mango milk tea recipe.
• Whipped coconut cream: To serve over the vegan mango milk tea.

How To Make Mango Bubble Tea

Preparing this creamy and refreshing mango green milk tea requires just a handful of simple steps, making it really easy to enjoy this bubble tea shop favorite at home.

• 1) First, cook the tapioca pearls according to their package instructions. Once cooked, combine the cooked tapioca pearls with the brown sugar, mix well, and set aside.

• 2) Meanwhile, as the boba cooks, combine the green tea bags and water just below boiling in a mug. Leave it to steep covered for 5 minutes.

• 3) Then, slice the mango in half, remove the pit, and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. Transfer it to a blender with the plant-based milk and green tea. Blend until smooth (about 2 minutes, though this will take far less if using canned mango pulp).

Alternatively, use an immersion blender or use pre-prepared mango pulp/puree for a machine-free version. At this point, we also recommend tasting the mango milk tea mixture and sweetening it a little if preferred.

• 4) To assemble the mango bubble tea, add the brown sugar tapioca pearl mixture to the bottom of a tall glass, then pour over the mango tea mixture – add ice if preferred.

Serve the mango green milk tea with either a long sundae or latte style spoon or, even better, a boba straw to help scoop/suck up all the tapioca pearls. Enjoy!

FAQs

Top Tips and Notes

• Use warm water: It’s best to use water around 80C/175F to avoid the green tea becoming bitter.
• Use the best mango: Out of season, ditch fresh mango (which can taste very lackluster), and instead use frozen mango or high-quality Indian mango puree (like Kesar mango).
• Sweeten to taste: If the mango isn’t sweet enough, add a little more sweetener to the vegan mango milk tea mixture to taste.
• Make boba fresh: They must be consumed within 3-4 hours of cooking (and kept in liquid throughout). Otherwise, they become tough/chewy.
• To change the texture: Use frozen mango for a thick smoothie consistency or add ice to the blender for more of a mango slush boba.

Storage Instructions

You can prepare the vegan mango milk tea mixture several days ahead (3-4) or store leftovers for just as long covered in the fridge, but tapioca pearls need to be made fresh as they only last 3-4 hours before becoming tough.

More Fruity Vegan Drinks

• Easy vegan bubble tea
• Kale pineapple smoothie
• Orange creamsicle smoothie
• Watermelon slushie
• Citrus mango smoothie
• Cucumber watermelon lemonade

Or enjoy browsing our entire collection of budget-friendly vegan drink recipes!

Photos by Alfonso Revilla