Bubble tea is a drink made from Taiwanese tea which is recognized by the presence of tapioca balls. Because it is made from Taiwanese tea, many have asked whether Bubble tea contains caffeine? To find out about this, keep reading this article!
Boba tea or Bubble tea is one of the fun, delicious, versatile desserts you can easily find in America. But lately there have been concerns about this boba tea, whether children and pregnant women can consume it, because whether this delicious drink contains caffeine or not.
So, the short answer to the question “does boba tea contain caffeine?”, Yes, it does. For a cup of Bubble tea sometimes contains 100 mg or 160 mg of caffeine.
Bubble tea drinks usually consist of a mixture of tea, milk, fruit, and chewy tapioca balls. So, Bubble tea is a drink that can be said to contain a high amount of caffeine.
The tea in Bubble tea is a concentrated type of tea which is usually made from caffeine-rich black tea. Caffeine levels in tea are not absorbed all at once but are absorbed gradually, so this is different from coffee.
However, there is good news that now there is Bubble tea which is made without using tea so that boba tea or Bubble tea is caffeine free.
If you want to try Bubble tea with less caffeine in it, then you should try a tea latte. Tea latte contains less tea than milk tea. So, the caffeine content is also less.
So, before we explain more about boba tea and whether bubble tea contains caffeine or not, let’s first understand what bubble tea really is.
What Is Bubble Tea?
Bubble tea is a variety of tea drinks that use tea as a base and contain tapioca flour balls inside, originally made in Taiwan. Tea can be said to be Taiwanese-style milk tea which has become popular because it is served in various restaurants in Asia, Taiwan and the western world.
In the place where it was born, boba tea is known as Zhenzhu Naicha or pearl milk tea (flour balls are like pearls). Well, what makes boba tea different from other teas is that it contains flour balls and usually settles at the bottom of the cup.
Boba tea consists of condensed milk, tea, jelly, fruit and syrup. So, bubble tea is a refreshing, fun dessert that goes beyond drinks like the Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino.
We said at the beginning of the article that the name bubble tea is given because of the balls of flour in it, but even though many people think that it is, this name is given because of the foam on top of the drink. So, the bubble in question is the froth floating above the drink.
The first time around, this bubble tea was made by combining tea, milk, and sugar and there were absolutely no tapioca flour balls. then the mixture is specially mixed and shaken in a Taiwanese restaurant.
The result of this strong shaking then produces a layer of foam at the top of the drink. So, then this drink is called “bubble tea”.
However, recently there have been many variants calling for “boba tea”, even though they don’t use tea as a basic ingredient at all. So, if this bubble tea doesn’t use tea, you can be sure it doesn’t contain caffeine.
Again, does bubble tea contain caffeine? It really depends on the base material. If the base ingredient uses tea then it contains caffeine, and if the base ingredient does not use tea, then the drink does not contain caffeine even though it is called “bubble tea”.
In Taiwan, Bubble tea drinks are also very popular and can be easily found in various corners of the city. This drink soon spread and became famous in neighboring countries such as Japan, South Korea, mainland China, and in the mid 90’s then spread to the United States.
In western countries, bubble tea is still a mystery, many people don’t know how this tea works and what bubble tea tastes like. In America alone, there are more than 800 Boba tea stores, most of these liquor stores located in New York and California.
But before you try bubble tea, you need to know a few things about it.
- Does bubble tea contain caffeine?
- How much caffeine does it have?
- Do some bubble teas not contain caffeine?
Let’s try to see one by one the answers to the questions above!
Does Bubble Tea Have Caffeine?
Bubble tea is a fun drink based on black tea, sweetened condensed milk, syrup and tapioca flour balls, drunk while warm through a wide straw that allows the flour balls to rise up through the straw. Then you are ready to graze slowly.
But now, bubble tea is available in various variants, some use black tea, some use green tea, Thai tea, Pu-erh, and Oolong tea, all of these teas contain caffeine.
But if you want your bubble tea to be decaffeinated, you can ask for a variant that doesn’t use tea. So, bubble tea that uses tea, all contain caffeine.
When you order bubble tea, the seller brings out tea that has been steeped for a long time. Then this tea will be used as a base for bubble tea, the longer the tea is steeped, the higher the caffeine extraction will be.
However, the caffeine content of tea is certainly not the same as coffee, it is less than coffee, but bubble tea still contains caffeine.
So, bubble tea can be drunk by pregnant women or children, not because there is no caffeine, but because the caffeine content is small. This is different from coffee which contains more caffeine.
Nevertheless, still children and pregnant women should take bubble tea in moderation.
Bubble tea contains antioxidants, increases the body’s metabolism, sheds belly fat, is good for fighting inflammation, and is good for reducing the risk of heart disease.
How Much Caffeine Does Bubble Tea Have?
Want to know how much caffeine is in bubble tea? The Hong Kong government conducted research on the caffeine content in this tea. They found that a cup of bubble tea contains as much as 100 to 160 mg of caffeine.
This study underlies a comparison of the caffeine content of three types of drinks: coffee, cafe-style tea and bubble tea. It was found that one cup of caffe latte contains 54 mg of caffeine, while one regular cup contains 380 mg.
Hongkong Cafe-style milk tea contains as much as 73 mg – 220 mg of caffeine for each cup. While this Taiwanese milk tea which is known as “Bubble tea” contains as much as 100 mg to 160 mg of caffeine.
Well, if you calculate the caffeine content of bubble tea, then you find that the caffeine content in bubble tea is less than half the caffeine content in a cup of coffee.
So, it can be said that the caffeine in bubble tea is not a problem for children and pregnant women. However, it should still be limited to 220 mg per day.
Caffeine servings for children
Children under 12 years of age should not consume more than 2.5 mg to 5 mg of caffeine per kg of body weight per day. This also applies to bubble tea and even all caffeine-based drinks, even including coca cola which also contains caffeine, where one can of Coca cola (it is 12 ounces) contains 34 grams of caffeine within.
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Are There Bubble Teas That Don’t Have Any Caffeine at All?
Bubble tea is now very developed and available in many variations. If in the past there were only bubble teas with tapioca flour balls, now you can find a wider variety of boba teas.
In general, bubble uses tea as its basic ingredient. But now many people, especially Americans, prefer to use coffee as a basic ingredient. If you brew coffee instead of tea, of course your bubble tea (bubble coffee) contains the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee.
Many bubble tea shops also sell Asian-style smoothies, where the basic ingredient is milk flavored with fresh fruit such as watermelon, cantaloupe, lemon, banana, strawberry, and many more.
So, no bubble tea is free from tea or coffee, so no bubble tea is free from caffeine. But if you want, you can order specifically not to use tea as a base for bubble tea.
