Gluten is not only in your favorite snacks, but it can be in drinks too. Picking up your favorite beverage on the go isn’t as easy if you’ve got gluten intolerances or allergies, especially if it’s from a kiosk. Many kiosks don’t have the ingredients listed and so, it can be difficult to find out what exactly you can have.
Bubble tea, also known as boba tea, can be an exciting way to enjoy your beverage. The bubbles, or boba, are the small, round, black tapioca pearls at the bottom of the beverage.
There are so many different places that you can get boba from – just choose from milk or fruit tea and customize it to your personal preferences. The most common flavors of boba tea are fruit-based and are mango, passionfruit, peach, guava, and strawberry.
If you want to know if you can enjoy boba tea, we’ll need to ask is boba gluten-free?
Yes – it is! You can freely consume boba without worrying about its ingredients.
As with all products, you’ll need to be wary of cross-contamination. In some instances, boba may be made in the same places that deal with gluten-based products.
Ingredients
Boba tea, no matter which drinks base or flavor you pick, is essentially green or black tea, fruit, sugar, milk, and chewy tapioca pearls. All of these ingredients are gluten-free and safe for people with celiac, or gluten intolerances and allergies.
Boba tapioca pearls are made from tapioca starch (flour) that has been sourced from the cassava root.
Nutritional Information
Depending on which type of boba you select and where you get it from, the nutritional information will vary. For example, fruit pearls are likely to be lower in calories but higher in sugar.
According to the UDSA, ½ cup of dried boba contains 0.1g protein, 0g fat, 67.5g carbohydrates, 2.5g sugar, and 272 calories!
If you get your boba tea with green or black tea, fruit or tapioca pearls, milk, and sugar, then your beverage will be gluten-free.