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Bubble tea is served in see-through cups with a fat straw so that - as you sip - the tapioca balls (also known as “pearls” or “boba”) come shooting up and can be chewed as you swallow down the delicious liquid.
The short answer is yes. Bubble tea is safe for consumption if enjoyed in moderation, so an occasional cup is fine for kids and teens.
The taste of boba can vary depending on the type of boba and the ingredients used to make it. Regular boba has a slightly sweet, chewy texture and a neutral taste. Some people enjoy the chewy texture and find it to be a fun addition to the drink, while others may find it unappealing.
Bubble tea balls are easily digestible for most people
Since tapioca comes from the starch-based cassava root, it's mainly filled with carbohydrates, according to Healthline. Starches like cassava function similarly to fiber in the body, and healthy people can digest them with no problems, Dr. de Latour said.
Tapioca is poisonous when raw, but perfectly safe to eat and very nutritious when fully cooked or processed.
The popping Boba is very nutritious. This is because they contain both calories and carbohydrates in them. And the above add nutrients to the body once taken in.
Tapioca pearls, also called boba, boba pearls, are made mostly from starch. The nature of starch makes the pearls chewy and fun, but at the same time very sensitive to humidity and temperature.
But what exactly is boba? The boba (aka the tiny, chewy black balls at the bottom of the drink) is made from tapioca, which is a gluten-free starch extracted from the root of a cassava plant. Boba is most often added to a drink, most commonly made from a tea base mixed with milk and flavoring.
The texture should be chewy, but slightly al dente. You want to remove the boba from the pot before it gets too soft and begins to degrade. The boba will also continue to cook slightly after removing them from the water, too, so keep that in mind.
Boba pearls and jellies present a choking hazard and should not be served to children under 5 years of age.
A cup of boba tea as part of a balanced diet and active lifestyle will do no long-term harm. You may have come across internet horror stories about bubble tea. But, enjoying boba in moderation and as a tasty treat is absolutely fine for older kids!
Any fruit flavored boba teas are the best for kids. This includes strawberry boba tea, mango, peach and dragon fruit. If they're not into fruit, then brown sugar or salted caramel are also great boba tea flavors for children!
The boba in bubble tea is often vegan, as tapioca pearls are completely plant-based, and popping pearls are usually made of nothing more than water, sugar, fruit juice and Alginic acid (found in algae), again, making it plant-based. Once again though, you should always ask to make sure.
Like regular tea, boba tea contains caffeine, so you've probably wondered whether or not it's safe to drink when you're pregnant. Boba tea is safe for pregnant women provided it is made with pasteurized milk and heated or cooked toppings/additives.
However, many do not realise that it is considered a sugar-sweetened beverage and should be consumed in moderation, preferably limiting intake to once a week or less.
So what exactly is it made of? Boba pearls are made of tapioca starch that comes from the cassava root, so compassionate customers can rest easy knowing that gelatin is not used in the making of these tiny balls of deliciousness.
A teenage girl addicted to bubble tea was in a coma for five days after she had two cups a day for a month and failed to control her sugar intake. The 18 year old has been given the nickname 'Bubble Tea Girl' after her doctor revealed she recorded blood sugar levels roughly 25 times higher than normal.
Lu and Syn suggested that, for some folks, boba pearls can be part of a healthy eating pattern. “While Boba pearls aren't considered a nutrient-dense food, they can be a part of a balanced diet as long as you are meeting your nutrient needs through other food sources as well,” Syn said.
Their cooked size is usually somewhere between a pea and a marble, and they're made with tapioca starch, which comes from the cassava root. They are also pretty flavorless, added to drinks and desserts solely for their delightfully chewy texture (they're similar to mochi, but a little less soft and sticky).
Undercooked tapioca pearls taste starchy and nasty. To ensure they retain their soft and chewy texture, cook them for at least half an hour and then let them sit for another half an hour.
But the tapioca at the bottom adds a creamy texture and roundness to the drink. The mix of the consistency of the tea and tapioca creates a fun and exciting taste in your mouth. The taste of the tea is not the only thing that makes bubble tea so unique. The flavours of the tea are also what make it so popular.
Brown sugar milk tea with boba has been found as the unhealthiest option with 18.5 teaspoons of sugar. For an easy reference, a can of regular coke contains 7 teaspoons of sugar; a cup of brown sugar milk tea with pearl is equivalent to 2.6 cans of coke.
But there are a few reasons to enjoy this sweetened beverage in moderation. Drinking too much of it may increase your chances of developing diet-related diseases and leave you constipated. "One to two cups a day should be fine, but you shouldn't consume anything in excess," advised Dr. Kushnir.
It also displayed the different sugar levels in seven types of bubble tea orders, all 500 ml. Brown sugar milk tea with boba pearls ranked the highest at 18.5 teaspoons of sugar. The drink with the lowest amount of sugar was the avocado tea with boba pearls with 7.5 teaspoons of sugar.