Chocolate Milk Tea – plant-based on a budget

This five-ingredient, dairy-free chocolate milk tea (featuring boba) is creamy, sweet, chocolaty, and super easy to make in just 10 minutes! Plus, homemade milk tea is healthier, more adaptable, and a lot cheaper!

Refreshing Chocolate Boba Tea

If consumed frequently, a bubble tea obsession can cost you a fortune. Especially when the company charges a premium for dairy-free options (sigh!). But that’s why it’s a great way to make it at home to save money (and cut out the artificial ingredients, too!). This time, chocolate lovers rejoice in this vegan chocolate milk tea recipe!

Combining cocoa powder, black tea (optional), non-dairy milk, and a sweetener (refined, unrefined, or even sugar-free!), this chocolate bubble tea is light, creamy, delicious, and definitely satisfies chocolate cravings. It tastes like a delicious mix of milk tea and a chocolate milkshake. What’s not to love?!

Even better, it’s inexpensive and easy to prepare and customize to suit your tastes and dietary needs. Once prepared, enjoy vegan bubble tea warm or chilled with or without boba, alone or at picnics and other gatherings. It’s decadent yet refreshing and absolutely delicious!

The ingredients

• Black tea: Use strongly flavored black teas such as Chinese black tea, Earl Gray or English breakfast tea. However, if necessary, you can also use a weaker tea. Other types of tea (oolong, green, and jasmine) also work, but combined with the cocoa flavor, you might not like them.
• Water: To prepare the black tea.
• cocoa powder: For the best flavor, use high-quality unsweetened cocoa powder. Hot cocoa mixture also works (if vegan), but it already contains sugar, so adjust accordingly.
• plant milk: Use your favorite vegan milk. That is, soy milk, almond milk, hazelnut milk, etc. Canned coconut milk is richer and creamier, and if you want it even more decadent, a vegan creamer will work, too.
• Coffee: (optional) Although there is already tea in this vegan chocolate boba tea, a small amount of coffee goes perfectly with it and enhances the chocolate flavor.
• Sweetener: Use granulated sugar (like white, brown, or coconut sugar) if needed, although liquid sweeteners will also work (and will dissolve in hot or cold milk tea). For example maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup, etc. Sugar alternatives (granulated or liquid) also work, but the amount needs to be adjusted to taste.
• Tapioca Pearls: Use regular or quick-cooking tapioca balls (brown or white) and make sure they don’t contain caramel (which isn’t vegan). Crystal Boba will also work.

You can also add ice for a super refreshing, dairy-free chocolate tea recipe. Don’t want to risk watering down the drink? make a few black tea ice cubes!

Funny vegan chocolate milk tea variations

• Dairy-free whipped cream: To serve the vegan bubble tea.
• Flavored Syrups: An easy way to add more flavor to this vegan milk tea is with flavored syrups (regular or sugar-free). For chocolate milk tea, you can make hazelnut milk-free milk tea, use chai syrup for extra warm spices, coffee syrup, vegan caramel, etc.
• Flavors/Extracts: Instead of syrup you can also add natural flavors/extracts. So hazelnut, almond, peppermint, vanilla etc.
• Cinammon: A little adds warmth and enhances the flavor of the vegan chocolate milk tea.
• Vegan jelly: To add alongside or in place of boba beads. That is, coffee jelly, coconut jelly, etc.

How do you make chocolate milk tea?

It only takes a few simple steps to make homemade vegan chocolate bubble tea.

• 1) First, if you haven’t already, cook the tapioca pearls according to the package directions. After cooking, let them sit in the liquid to keep them from sticking together or drying out.

• 2) Then steep the black tea in the boiling water for 5 minutes and then remove it from the liquid.

Steeping the tea for too long can lead to bitterness from tannins getting into the water. Alternatively you can Use a cold brew method and steep in cold water in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours.

• 3) Next, stir in the cocoa powder and sugar (and coffee, if using) and stir until well combined and the sugar has melted.

• 4) To prepare the non-dairy chocolate milk tea, start by dividing the boiled tapioca pearls into two tall glasses. Then add plenty of ice (if desired), followed by the vegan chocolate milk tea mix and the non-dairy milk and stir. Finally, taste and add a little more sugar if necessary. Serve the vegan chocolate boba with a long spoon or a wide bubble tea straw and enjoy!

If you prefer to enjoy the lactose-free milk tea with chocolate warm, Leave out the ice and heat the plant-based milk before pouring it into the glass.

FAQs

Top recipe tips and hints

• To quickly cool the tea: Shake in a shaker with ice.
• Adjust the creaminess: Use light or creamy non-dairy milk, a combination of plant-based milk and non-dairy creamer, or completely vegan creamer. You can also adjust the ratio of non-dairy milk to tea.
• Adjust according to taste: Increase or decrease the sweetener, cocoa powder, tea starch, etc. according to your taste.
• Consume fresh boba: It gets hard when it cools/sits. You have a maximum of 3-4 hours to enjoy them.
• Use a jumbo/boba straw: It makes it super easy to suck up all that boba.

How to buy and store in advance?

You can prepare the vegan chocolate tea mix (with or without mixing in the non-dairy milk) 2-3 days in advance and store covered in the refrigerator.

However, tapioca pearls must be freshly prepared. After complete assembly you have approx 3-4 hours eat the fresh boba before they become tough.

More fun vegan drinks

You might also want to browse our entire collection of budget friendly vegan drink recipes!

Photos by Alfonso Revilla