Mango Bubble Tea: Homemade Mango Milk Tea

Mango bubble tea is a refreshing mango-flavored boba tea that will invigorate your body and soul. It is a fruity, smooth, iced tea served with chewy tapioca pearls. One of the many fruit-filled variations of the traditional bubble tea that will have you wanting more.

 So, this summer try making this mango milk tea with boba pearls at our homes.

Why does this recipe work?

1. Freshly made and free of any stabilizer etc. Unlike the store-bought boba that is not freshly made.
   
   
2. A drink to impress but so simple and easy to make. Perfect drink if you are entertaining a small group. Make all the ingredients ahead and refrigerate. Cook the tapioca pearls last and assemble.
   

3. Add as much mango pulp as you like. Make it to your taste.
   
   
4. Approachable.  All the ingredients are easy to procure and most of them we already have in your pantries.
   
   
5. Make it Vegan. You can replace the dairy milk and cream with oat milk or any other plant-based milk and cream of your choice.
   
   
6. Cheaper. Homemade Mango boba is way cheaper than the store-bought ones.
   

What is mango boba made of?

The ingredients that you will need to make the mango boba are as follows:

1. Mango

First of all, you need the key flavoring agent for this recipe, which is mango. Following are the options in the order of their preference.

Mango pulp

The best thing to flavor the mango bubble tea is mango pulp. This is not easy to find in a regular grocery store. It is usually sold in Indian grocery stores. You can also find it on amazon.

These are made with very fragrant Indian mango varieties like Kesar and Alphonso.  I use it to make anything mango. Be it mango lassi, mango smoothies, mango popsicles, or even mango ice cream.

The mango pulp is sweetened, hence it also acts as a sweetener in the recipe.

You might want to add more simple syrup or other sweeteners if you are using any other form of mango.

Fresh or frozen mango

You can use fresh or frozen mango. Use ripe and sweet mangoes. Remove the pulp of the mango and blend it using a food processor. Another step that you might want to strain the pulp if the mangoes were fibrous. Bubble teas are very smooth drinks. Unlike smoothies, bubble teas cannot have any fibrous material.

Mango nectar

Choose pure mango nectar. Avoid the ones that have an artificial and bland flavor.

Frozen mango pulp

You can use frozen mango pulp. But I have never found a satisfactory frozen mango pulp.

Avoid using artificially flavored mango juices.

2. Boba

For making this mango milk tea I have used black boba. They are made with tapioca starch and flavored with brown sugar. They become black on cooking, hence the name black boba. The brown sugar boba is most widely used and easily available.

You can use any boba of your choice. Mini boba, clear boba, rainbow or pastel-colored boba, or popping boba to make the mango bubble tea

3. Maple syrup

I am using maple syrup to dunk and sweeten the cooked tapioca pearls. Traditionally they are dunked in brown sugar syrup. You can use whatever you like or have available.

4. Whole milk

Bubble tea demands whole milk. It must be rich and smooth. Though we can always substitute it with low-fat milk, that will alter the flavor and texture of the mango bubble tea.

If you want to make it vegan, then use oat milk or soy milk.

5. Tea

I am using jasmine tea in this recipe. You can use black tea, green tea, earl grey, or any other tea that you like. I like the flavor of jasmine tea with mango, so I am choosing jasmine tea for this mango boba tea recipe.

6. Loads of ice cubes to serve along with mango bubble tea

Since this is an iced sweet tea, it cannot be made without loads and loads of ice cubes.

How do you make mango boba tea?

Step 1 Brewing the jasmine tea

Boil water to 212⁰F or 100 ⁰C. That is when water starts to boil. Immediately turn off the heat and pour 1 cup of boiling water into a cup.

Put a teabag of jasmine tea in the cup and cover it with a plate. Let the tea steep for 3 minutes and then remove the plate.

Remove the teabag and chill the brewed tea until you are ready to assemble the mango milk tea.

Step 2 Cooking boba

 Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil. Then add the brown sugar boba to the boiling water. Let them cook at high to medium heat until they all start to float at the top.

I have used quick cooking boba.  Mine started to float after 5 minutes of cooking. Then reduce the heat and let them cook for 10 more minutes or until they become soft and chewy. You can cook for a few minutes more or less depending on the kind of texture you like on your boba. Mine boba took 15 minutes of total cook time.

Turn off the heat and keep them in the boiling water for 5-7 more minutes, before draining. Transfer the cooked boba into a bowl and add some maple syrup (simple syrup or brown sugar syrup) to dunk them. Set the bowl aside to cool.

Different types of boba will take different times to cook. Follow the package instructions for boiling the boba. But also check by tasting one boba pearl to ensure that it is fully cooked. ( before turning off the heat)

Step 3 Preparing mango flavored milk

For that, first, you need to prepare the mango pulp. Since I am using store-bought pulp, I do not have to do much work here. But if you are using fresh mango, then remove the pulp of the mango and blend it with some sugar until smooth. Strain to remove any mango fibers present in the pulp.

 Then, add cold milk to the pulp and mix well.

If you are using fresh mangoes add some sweetener to the milk if you did not add sugar while blending the mango pulp. The store-bought pulp is already sweetened and hence acts as a mango-flavored syrup.

 Put the mango flavored in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the mango bubble tea.

Step 4 Assemble the mango bubble tea

Into the glasses, add tapioca pearls, followed by the ice cubes. Then pour in the mango-flavored milk. Add tea and mix everything using a boba straw.

Enjoy fresh!

Expert tips for making perfect mango bubble tea

• Add some sort of sweetener if you are not using sweetened mango pulp.
  
• You can use mango bubble tea powder or readymade mixes if you have them. They contain milk solids, mango flavor, and tea, altogether.
  
• The ideal water temperature to brew the tea is 212 Degree F or 100 Degree C. which is just the boiling point of water. So just as the water starts to boil, you know that you reached the right temperature to steep the tea.
  
•  Cook the tapioca pearls or boba right before assembling the mango milk tea. They taste best when made fresh.
  
• The exact time needed to cook boba will vary with the type of boba you use. But look for them to come to the top. It is better to use quick cooking boba.
  
• Make the tea and mango milk in advance and chill it in the fridge.

• To make vegan mango bubble tea, just substitute the whole milk with the plant-based milk of your choice.
  
  

Frequently Asked Questions

More tea recipes that must try are:

• Lychee bubble tea: An easy lychee boba tea recipe
  
  
• Chocolate Boba: Homemade Chocolate Milk Tea
  
  
• Strawberry Milk Tea: Boba Tea with fresh Strawberries!
  
  
• Lychee tea: Sweet fruit-scented tea recipe
  
  

If you liked this mango boba tea recipe, please leave a rating and a comment. Do share with your friends on social media. It helps me create more recipes like this one.

Till then,

Make it delicious!

Mango bubble tea Recipe card