Chocolate Boba Milk Tea (Bubble Tea)

Name: Chocolate Boba Milk Tea (Bubble Tea)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 2 oz. dark chocolate, chopped; 2/3 cup hot water; 1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar; Pinch of salt; 2 tbsp cocoa powder; 1/2 cup tapioca pearls; 2-4 tablespoons brown sugar syrup; 2 cups milk of choice ((I use soy milk, but any milk will work))

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Rich, creamy, and chocolatey, this Chocolate Boba Milk Tea is truly irresistible! It's made with 8 simple ingredients and is ready in 10 minutes!

Two glasses of chocolate boba with glass straws on a white marbled board.

When hot chocolate meets bubble tea, you get the most decadent chocolate milk tea boba!

If you're like me and you love bubble tea drinks, you have to make this recipe at home!

Opposite to what it may seem, it's SO easy to make, inexpensive and you can customize it to your liking.

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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Ingredients
How to Make Chocolate Boba
Expert Tips
FAQ
Variations
Storage
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Food safety

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Quick and easy to make. This recipe comes together in less than 10 minutes and requires minimal effort.
Rich, creamy, and so chocolaty. This chocolate boba tastes like dessert! It's not too sweet, but it reminds me of my double chocolate chip cookies.
Customizable. You can add as much or as little sweetener to taste, and you can also add as many boba pearls as you want!
Made with simple ingredients. The only "fancy" ingredient you'll need are the tapioca pearls, which you can order online on Amazon or buy from your local Asian grocery store.

Ingredients

Dark chocolate: Since this is the main ingredient, I like to use a high-quality 70% dark chocolate, but you can also use a few tablespoons of chocolate syrup instead. In this case, you may need to add less sugar to avoid making it overly sweet.
Tapioca pearls: Also known as boba pearls or simply boba, they have a chewy texture and are made with tapioca starch. I like to use black tapioca pearls because they're flavored with brown sugar.
Milk: You can use any milk you like including whole milk, almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk, etc. I am using soy milk in this chocolate boba recipe.
Sugar: You'll need a little bit of granulated sugar or brown sugar to make the hot chocolate mix.
Brown sugar syrup: You'll need 3-4 tablespoons of brown sugar syrup to coat the tapioca pearls after cooking. This sweetens the boba and prevents the pearls from sticking.
Unsweetened cocoa powder: I recommend using Dutch-processed cocoa powder for a rich chocolaty flavor.
Salt: A little pinch of salt enhances the chocolate flavor of this drink.
Hot water: For mixing the chocolate mix into a paste.

See the recipe card below for exact measurements.

How to Make Chocolate Boba

Make the hot chocolate mixture. To a small bowl, add chopped dark chocolate, cocoa powder, salt, and granulated sugar.
Pour a little bit of hot water (around ¼ cup) and using a whisk, mix to form a paste. When the chocolate has melted and the cocoa powder has dissolved, pour the rest of the hot water and mix.

Chopped dark chocolate, cocoa powder, salt, and granulated sugar in a white bowl.

Mixing hot chocolate mixture from a white bowl with a stainless-steel whisk.

3. Cook tapioca pearls. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the pearls to the boiling water and cook over medium heat following the packaging instructions. Then, drain and add to a bowl. Coat with 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar syrup.

4. Assemble the chocolate boba. Add the tapioca balls to the bottom of a large glass, followed by plenty of ice cubes (if making this drink hot, skip the ice).

A white bowl filled with cooked tapioca pearls coated in brown sugar syrup. A silver spoon is also placed in the bowl.

A hand adding pouring tapioca pearls from a small white bowl to a large glass.

5. Pour the milk over the ice cubes, followed by the hot chocolate mixture. Stir and give it a taste test.

At this point, you can add more brown sugar syrup if you like it sweeter. Serve right away and top with whipped cream if desired!

A hand pouring soy milk from a small white pot to a large glass.

A hand pouring hot chocolate mixture from a small white bowl to a large glass filled with milk and boba.

Expert Tips

Cook the tapioca pearls as per packaging instructions. Cooking time can vary depending on the brand you're using, so I can't give you exact instructions. Make sure to follow the packaging notes to avoid overcooking your boba.
Once you cook the tapioca pearls, serve the milk tea right away. They taste best when they're fresh, and start to harden after just a few hours.
Adjust the sweetness as desired. The best part about making boba milk tea at home is that you get to decide how sweet or strong you want it to be. I recommend starting with a small amount of brown sugar syrup (2 tablespoons), and adding more after you taste it.
Use a boba straw to enjoy this delicious drink. Regular straws won't work in this recipe, but if you can't get your hands on boba straws, you can use a spoon.
To serve this drink warm, skip the ice and heat up the milk in the microwave or in a small saucepan.

FAQ

What does chocolate boba taste like?

This chocolate bubble milk tea taste like iced hot chocolate with hints of caramel (from the brown sugar syrup), with chewy and sweet boba balls at the bottom.

Can you make it in advance?

No, I highly recommend serving this drink fresh, right after you cook the tapioca pearls. They start to harden after a few hours.

Does chocolate boba tea have caffeine?

This recipe has a little bit of caffeine from the dark chocolate and the cocoa powder, but not as much as if you'd add black tea.

Is boba tea healthy for you?

Boba is a delicious drink that pretty much tastes like dessert and should be enjoyed for pleasure, rather than for nutrition purposes.

Variations

Chocolate hazelnut: You can use either hazelnut milk or add 1-2 teaspoons of Nutella or hazelnut syrup. Keep in mind that if you add Nutella you may want to scale down the sugar in the recipe to avoid making it overly sweet.
Caramel: You can use either caramel syrup or real caramel to add even more flavor to the chocolate boba. I suggest making a swirl in the glass and adding 1-2 more teaspoons of caramel to the milk. Same as with the Nutella, you may want to scale down the sugar in the recipe to avoid making it overly sweet.
Peanut butter: You can mix a teaspoon of peanut butter in the chocolate mixture to add a nutty flavor.
Add tea: While chocolate boba doesn't actually have tea in it, you can add some steeped black tea. Brew 1 tea bag with ½ cup water for 5 minutes. Then remove the tea bag and let the tea chill and come to room temperature before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients. In this case, you'll need to use ½ cup less milk to make up for the liquid from the tea.
Make it dairy-free: Use plant-based milk to make this recipe vegan and dairy-free.
Make it refined sugar-free: Instead of granulated sugar, you can use stevia or maple syrup. Keep in mind that dark chocolate has refined sugar as well, so you may have to use dark chocolate sweetened with stevia.

A glass of chocolate boba topped with with ice cubes and a glass straw, placed on a white marbled board.

Storage

I highly recommend serving this chocolate boba fresh, right after you cook the tapioca pearls.

The only thing you can make in advance is the hot chocolate mixture, which you store in the fridge in a mason jar or an airtight container for 4-5 days.

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