Mango Bubble Tea – plant-based on a budget

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 mark! Not only does it cost less to make plant-based milk tea at home, it’s also easily adaptable to your diet and taste preferences, and it’s healthier too—with much less sugar and no syrup, preservatives, or chemicals.

Instead, this plant-based mango milk tea combines the flavor of fresh, tropical mango (and tons of nutrients with it!) with light earthy green milk tea (made with your choice of non-dairy milk) and plenty of soaked tapioca pearls with just a little bit of brown sugar. The combination is sweet, creamy, and perfect for the warmer summer months (or all year round!) along with strawberry milk tea, chocolate milk tea, and matcha milk tea!

Ingredients for mango boba tea

• Mango: Use fresh (we prefer seasonal Ataulfo ​​mangoes, also known as honey mangoes) or frozen mangoes. Canned Kesar or Alphonso mangoes also work well (available in Indian/Asian markets).

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

• Boba beads: Use regular or quick-cooking tapioca pearls (brown, white, or colored), increasing/decreasing the amount per serving as needed.
• Brown sugar: This ensures the most authentic flavor, although you can use unrefined coconut sugar or even maple syrup instead. An alternative to brown sugar would also work for plant-based, low-sugar mango milk tea (adjust amount to taste).
• Teabag: We love the green tea and mango combo and use our favorite green tea bags, but jasmine tea would complement the mango flavor too.
• plant milk: Use any. B. Oat milk, soy milk, coconut milk, almond milk, etc. For a creamier version, use non-dairy milk and vegan milk jugs or just milk jugs.
• 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 the mango milk tea?

• vanilla extract: Use natural vanilla extract to enhance the dessert-like flavor of this mango bubble tea recipe.
• Mango Popping Boba: For an even sweeter treat, you can replace traditional chewy tapioca pearls with mango popping bubbles (which contain mango syrup).
• mango jelly: Instead of or alongside the cooked boba pearls.
• Other fruits: Increase the refreshment with a topping of sliced ​​fruit such as raspberries, strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, peach, etc.
• mint leaves: For a subtle, fresh, minty taste in the herbal 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 few simple steps, making it easy to enjoy this bubble tea shop favorite at home.

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

• 2) While the boba is boiling, combine the green tea bags and the water, which is just below boiling point, in a cup. Cover and leave to stand for 5 minutes.

• 3) Then halve the mango, remove the stone and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Place in a blender along with the plant-based milk and green tea. Blend until smooth (about 2 minutes, but will take much less time if using canned mango pulp).

Alternatively, you can also use one hand blender or use pre-made mango pulp/puree for a machine-free version. At this point, we also recommend trying the mango milk tea blend and sweetening it up a bit if needed.

• 4) To prepare the mango bubble tea, place the brown sugar tapioca pearls mixture in the bottom of a tall glass, then pour over the mango tea mixture – add ice if needed.

Serve the mango green milk tea with either a long sundae or latte spoon, or better yet, use a boba straw to scoop up/soak up any tapioca pearls. Enjoy!

FAQs

Top tips and hints

• Use warm water: It is best to use water with a temperature of around 80 °C to avoid making the green tea bitter.
• Use the best mango: Out of season, you should skip fresh mangoes (which can taste very lackluster) and use frozen mangoes or high-quality Indian mango puree (like Kesar mangoes) instead.
• Sweeten to taste: If the mango isn’t sweet enough, add a little more sweetener to the vegan mango milk tea blend to taste.
• Prepare fresh boba: They must be consumed within 3-4 hours of cooking (and kept in liquid at all times). Otherwise they will become chewy/chewy.
• To change the texture: Use frozen mango for a thick smoothie consistency or add ice to the blender for more mango slush boba.

Storage Instructions

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

More fruity vegan drinks

Or browse our entire collection of budget friendly vegan drink recipes!

Photos by Alfonso Revilla