Chocolate Boba – Easy dirty Coco Boba

Chocolate boba or chocolate dirty boba is basically a delicious iced chocolate with sweet and chewy boba balls surprising you at the bottom. The tapioca pearls soak up the rich chocolate flavor to make a chocolate milk tea that you’ll become addicted to after one taste. Fortunately, it’s so easy to make at home with our chocolate boba recipe. Ready to give it a go?

What Does Chocolate Boba Taste Like?

Our chocolate boba milk tea tastes like iced chocolate, with soft, chewy, and sweet boba balls at the bottom. It has a rich and creamy chocolate flavor thanks to the combination of cocoa powder and chocolate sauce. This is mixed with milk, water, and tapioca pearls. If you substitute the water for black tea, which some people do, the chocolate bubble tea will obviously have more of a tea flavor.

About dirty boba

I always love to make dirty boba drinks because I love to stir and see how the strips melt with the milk. It is a pleasing process for me. You can check our dirty boba post to make brown sugar dirty boba.

Chocolate Milk Tea Ingredients

You only need six ingredients to make our chocolate boba. The key thing to know is that while this is called chocolate milk tea, our recipe doesn’t actually contain tea (not all boba drinks do). However, we’ll let you know when you can use tea if you would like to add it instead of just plain water.

• Cocoa powder: Any cocoa powder will work in this recipe. We’ve also used hot chocolate mix in the past with good results and plant-based consumers might like to substitute it for raw cacao powder instead. The cocoa powder just gives the drink the most chocolate flavor. It’s the essential ingredient, as you can’t have chocolate boba without chocolate!
• Chocolate syrup: This recipe uses chocolate syrup (or chocolate sauce) twice. First, we mix it with cocoa powder to enhance that chocolate taste. Then we line our cups with it because there’s no such as too much chocolate in chocolate boba!
• Milk: The thicker and creamier the milk, the better. So we recommend using whole milk (with at least 2% fat) or oat milk and not using skim milk, if possible. Some people even use half-and-half for extra creaminess.
• Hot water or tea liquid: Hot water is essential for mixing together cocoa powder and chocolate syrup. However, you can substitute hot water for hot tea instead. Just brew your preferred black tea or green tea as you would normally. Black tea definitely gives the drink a stronger tea flavor compared to green tea.
• Ice cubes: Self-explanatory, right? But we recommend filling the cup with ice, as the chocolate mixture is warm.
• Tapioca pearls: You can find tapioca pearls (also known as boba balls) on Amazon or at your local Asian supermarket. They’re essential to make chocolate boba. Otherwise, it’s just iced chocolate.

How to Make Chocolate Boba

Here are our easy step-by-step instructions on how to make chocolate milk tea:

Make the chocolate mixture

1. In a separate measuring cup or jug, add the cocoa powder and chocolate syrup.
2. Add hot water to the measuring cup. Now, this is where you can add the hot black tea of your choice instead of water.
3. Mix these ingredients together. A hand-held frother or mixer is the easiest way, but you can also use a whisk or fork. Just make sure the cocoa powder has completely dissolved in the hot water and no granules remain.

Prepare the drink

• Grab the glass or cup of your choice and line the sides with chocolate syrup.
• Place two spoonfuls of cooked tapioca pearls into the bottom of the cup.
• Add a large scoop of ice on top. Because we use hot water in the chocolate mixture, you’ll want to use a substantial amount of ice to ensure the drink remains nice and cool.
• Pour in the milk, but don’t fill it up all the way!
• Add the chocolate mixture.
• Now, give the ingredients a good stir with your boba straw to evenly distribute the chocolate mixture.
•  Enjoy your chocolate bubble tea!

Cooking Notes

Adjust the drink’s sweetness according to your taste. If you don’t like a strong chocolate flavor, use less cocoa. If you have a sip and don’t think it’s sweet enough, add more chocolate syrup. Your chocolate boba equals your rules.

Here are some fun recipe variations to make this chocolate bubble tea suit you:

• Add a tablespoon of Nutella to the chocolate mixture for a hazelnut chocolate milk tea. If you want to enhance the hazelnut flavor, use hazelnut milk, too.

• For caramel chocolate milk tea, swap the chocolate syrup for caramel syrup.

• For a drink that tastes similar to a liquid Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, add a tablespoon of creamy peanut butter to the chocolate mixture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can it be served hot?

Yes, you can have hot chocolate boba. To make it, omit the ice cubes and use hot milk. You’ll need to heat it up either on the stovetop or in the microwave. Then follow the rest of the instructions as written.

Is this chocolate milk tea vegan?

Use oat milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk) and yes, this chocolate bubble tea is vegan. Just double-check that the cocoa powder and chocolate syrup are vegan or swap the cocoa powder for raw cacao powder.

What type of tea should I use if I want to add some tea?

For a strong tea flavor, use black tea. For a less strong tea taste, use green tea.

What other toppings can I add to my chocolate boba?

There are so many different toppings you can add to chocolate milk tea, like:

• A scoop of chocolate or vanilla ice cream.
• Some mini chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, or jellies are sprinkled over the top.
• Whipped cream (and then add some extra chocolate drizzle on top, of course).
• A dusting of cocoa powder, ground cinnamon, or cinnamon sugar.

It’s so easy to make chocolate boba at home in just a few simple steps. We hope you give this recipe a try and enjoy our rich and creamy chocolate milk tea as much as we do!