What is in Bubble Tea?
The SHORT answer is MOST of them. When I first became vegan and even when I stopped drinking dairy milk, I thought I could only order the JUICED-BASED bubble teas (which are fruit-based/vegan). I like many, thought the "milk teas" were made with MILK, I mean it makes sense to think that, right?
ONE DAY on vacation, I decided to ask. At a local bubble tea spot in Florida, I was SURPRISINGLY told that they use a POWDER to make bubble tea and that they DO NOT contain milk. Not that I didn't trust them, but I'm the type of person who likes to see the evidence for myself....so I asked to see the NUTRITION LABEL on the POWDER PACKAGING. It actually was #dairyfree!!! #YASS. I was super excited and relieved since I always preferred the milk teas because of their creaminess and abundance in options.
Tapioca (circle squishy pieces in the bubble tea) are 100% plant-based. They are a starch taken from the cassava root! I actually just learned that from writing this and I recently bought a cassava root, so I will keep you guys posted on how my tapioca comes out.
I decided to write on this because there have been too many times that a MISNOMER is used on foods you would've never thought--I'll talk about this more on another post! I will say that just to be safe, ALWAYS ASK. Different locations might use different brands of powder for the "milk bubble teas". As long as you don't see CASEIN (dairy protein), LACTOSE (dairy sugar), or MILK in the ingredients section, you should be safe! The "juice bubble teas" are strictly plant-based so no need to worry about that.
QUICK TIP--did you know you can actually ask to get more than 1 flavor bubble tea? I always like to try MIXING FLAVORS and even though the cashier looks at me CRAZY and QUESTIONS my combinations-- it always ends up tasting amazing. Yesterday, I ordered a Pomegranate Guava Chai Bubble Tea---it was AMAZING.
Hope this was useful! Please write any comments or questions you have.
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