Boba tea is mainly made up of tea, boba pearl or tapioca pearl, and milk. Black tea, green tea, and oolong tea are the most common teas used to make bubble tea or boba tea. Unfortunately, all of these teas contain caffeine, and black tea is one with the highest caffeine content.
Regardless of your flavor, boba tea always contains a base tea containing caffeine. Even matcha and jasmine bubble tea contain caffeine. The amount of caffeine in boba tea depends on the tea used as a base and its concentration.
Each serving of bubble tea contains a minimum of 80-100 milligrams of caffeine, which is 25% of the daily allowed caffeine intake. Although this may not look like a lot, bubble tea also contains high sugar levels, which is not advisable for kids. This article will explain everything you need to know about boba tea and its caffeine content.
Table of Contents
What is Boba Tea?
Boba tea got its name from boba, which is tapioca pearl from tapioca starch added to regular milk tea. Others call it bubble tea, boba tea, milk tea with boba, pearl milk tea, tapioca milk tea, or just boba.
Boba—the beverage in its entirety—is from Taiwan. However, it is debatable which city and exact store it originated in.
Originally, boba balls were coupled with sweetener, beans, and lusciously chewy rice balls in shaved ice sweets. And since milk tea was also often enjoyed, someone thought to combine the two, resulting in the beloved drink that gained popularity worldwide.
Bubble tea generally falls under two types: with or without milk. The most common teas used in bubble teas are black tea, green tea, white tea, and oolong tea. Black tea is used in making Earl Grey boba tea, Thai tea, and the original Taiwanese boba tea.
Green tea is used in making jasmine boba tea and matcha boba. Jasmine boba tea has a lighter flavor compared to matcha boba tea. If you wish for a lesser “grassy” taste, you would love the jasmine tea.
While chewy tapioca balls or tapioca pearls are the common sinkers in these bubble teas, jellies and popping boba are also used. These jellies and popping boba come in different sizes and flavors, depending on the store’s specialty. Other shops also have toppings like egg pudding or custard, aloe jelly, and chopped fresh fruit to add flavor.
How Much Caffeine is in Bubble Tea?
Earl Grey Milk Tea or Black Milk Tea
Black tea is by far the most common tea used in bubble tea. Bubble tea is usually made with strong Assam black tea in most boba tea shops. In addition, black tea is included in bubble tea flavors like Black Milk Tea and Hong Kong Milk Tea, Thai milk tea, or the famous Earl Grey Tea.
Black tea adds a strong tea taste to your drink that goes great with everything else in it. It has a robust flavor that isn't overpowered by dairy or sugars like other teas.
One cup of black tea has about 40-50 mg of caffeine. That means a typical 16-oz or black tea contains around 80-100 mg of caffeine, which is 25% of the daily allowed caffeine intake.
Jasmine Milk Tea
There is no caffeine in pure jasmine tea. However, jasmine tea is more commonly mixed with other teas, making a variety of tea blends to improve flavor and offer health benefits.
As a result, jasmine tea is frequently associated with perfumed, blended, or flavored green tea. Because all genuine teas from Camellia sinensis contain caffeine, jasmine tea does as well. It has the same amount of caffeine as other pure teas. Jasmine tea caffeine content varies from 20 to 60 mg per cup, depending on the mixed teas, the number of tea leaves used, and the length of steeping time.
Matcha Milk Tea
Matcha includes caffeine, just like regular green tea, which has roughly 28 mg per eight-ounce cup. On the other hand, Matcha has more caffeine than traditional green tea since you drink real tea leaves.
A typical eight-ounce cup of matcha has 70 milligrams of caffeine when brewed with a teaspoon of matcha powder. The caffeine level of matcha powder varies based on the purity of the leaves and the types of leaves utilized.
Since matcha offers that strong green tea taste, matcha milk tea is often made with lots of milk and sugar syrup to balance the grassy taste. Almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk, or condensed milk are added to dilute the matcha. Brown sugar or honey are also added to hide the bitter aftertaste.
Thai Tea
Thai iced tea was formerly solely popular in Southeast Asia, but it is now available on the menus of Thai restaurants and roadside tea carts all over the world. Thai tea is made with sugar, black tea, dairy, and ice. It's usually served in large glasses, but it's also available in plastic cups with large straws for the boba pearls.
Although the original Thai tea did not contain boba pearls, nowadays, boba pearls are added to them to create Thai bubble tea. Since they’re made with black tea, they contain around 80-100 mg of caffeine per 16-oz serving.
Oolong Milk Tea
Like jasmine tea, oolong contains lower levels of caffeine. Oolong tea is made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, the same plant that produces green tea. Oolong tea offers a lighter flavor than black tea and provides numerous health benefits.
A cup of Oolong tea contains around 38 mg of caffeine, giving about 80 mg of caffeine per serving of Oolong boba tea.
Taro Milk Tea
Taro is a crowd favorite when it comes to bubble tea flavors. The flavors come from the starchy root powder, giving a more concentrated tea. However, jasmine tea is often used as the base tea for taro-flavored boba tea.
Flavored bubble teas often contain lesser caffeine since they are not brewed from pure teas. For instance, taro milk tea only has a maximum of 50 mg of caffeine in a 16-oz serving, compared to the 100 mg of caffeine in black boba tea.
However, the main disadvantage of these flavored bubble teas is the sugar content. To balance the taste of the tea, manufacturers often mix more sweeteners in the tea. A serving of taro milk tea requires 5 teaspoons of sugar or around 30 grams, which is the upper limit for the daily sugar intake.
Do All Bubble Tea Contain Caffeine?
No. In Taiwan, the original boba drink didn’t use tea but fresh milk as the base. The tapioca pearls are cooked with caramelized brown sugar, giving rise to sweet, dark brown balls. Fresh milk and sugar are the main ingredients of this drink. Heavy cream is also added to some tea recipes.
However, the main turnoff on this non-caffeinated option is the amount of sugar. A 16-oz brown sugar boba contains around 18 teaspoons or about 200 grams of sugar, which is very high.
Fruit teas are also great alternatives for vegans and those who do not enjoy caffeinated drinks. Favorite fruit tea flavors include honeydew, lychee, mango, passion fruit, peach, plum, strawberry, and avocado. Unlike boba milk teas, these fruit teas do not contain milk in their base, making them safe for those with lactose intolerance.
Is Boba Tea Healthier Than Normal Tea?
No. While boba teas gained popularity over the previous years, they are not nutritious drinks. Unlike regular tea, which is drunk immediately after steeping with no additives, boba tea contains milk, sugar, and carbohydrates from the tapioca pearls that do not provide any nutrients.
Another increasing concern is the high sugar content in bubble teas. Brown sugar boba milk, for example, contains around 200 grams of sugar per serving, which is higher than the standard limit.
A serving of boba milk tea also provides 56 grams of carbohydrates, which is around 25% of the recommended daily carbohydrate intake. If you’re trying to lose some pounds, you should settle with regular tea as they contain zero calories.
Drinking bubble tea in excess also leads to indigestion and constipation, as the stomach cannot digest excess starches in the gut. That results in the fermentation of the carbohydrates that produce gas and acid, causing bloating and abdominal discomfort.
Related Questions
Compared to espresso coffee which contains 63.6 mg of caffeine per ounce, boba tea is considered a low-caffeine drink with only 80 mg of caffeine per 16-oz serving. Aside from coffee, drinks with the highest caffeine content include energy drinks, sodas, and chocolate drinks.
Depending on your body mass and tolerance, you will need up to 200 mg of caffeine to stay awake. Unfortunately, one serving of boba tea cannot guarantee an all-nighter, as a regular serving only contains up to 100 mg of caffeine.
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