Got Boba?

[derekinla]

Just wanted to see if there are other PS''rs out there who are also fans of boba tea / bubble tea? For those of you not familiar with this beverage click here.

 

[Mara]

I love bubble teas!!!




However, after I found out how many calories are in one tapioca ball (not to mention the other ~30 per cup!)...no more bubble tea for me! It was a fun desserty drink but not for what it was costing me, so I haven't had it in over a year! One year bubble tea free...heheeh. Oooh but looking at the pictures makes me miss it. I better go have a spritz of some whipped cream.

 

[Tek]

I gotta have bubble tea once or twice a week. I love it. I normally just stick with the teas and not the slushes. Have you tried the mango or lychee jelly with the bubbles? Oh man, those are dang tasty too!!

Errr.....I am afraid to ask, but how many calories per bubble? (gulp) I have never really look because I keep telling myself they are sugar free

 

[Nicrez]

Bubble tea....They have that a PHENOMENAL Malaysian restaurant near my little abode, and their Mango smoothie makes me SOOO happy! Is it primarily Malaysian?

 

[derekinla]

Boba Tea (bubble tea) originated in Taiwan. It's interesting to me how there are soooooooo many different variations and names for this beverage. According a Taiwanese friend, the origin of the name "Boba" is in reference to large breasts!! "Bo" in Chinese means "wave" and "Ba" in Chinese refers to "king". "Boba" was originally a nickname given to a Hong Kong B movie actress who underwent breast augmentation and the name is supposed to describe the "king sized waves" she would presumeably make in say a swimming pool. When the drink came out in the 1980's the nickname for that actress was adapted to the drink and the tapiocca balls.

 

[Mara]

Got this from nutrition.com.sg...I guess anywhere from 360-428 calories for a 16 oz cup of basic...but the additions of sugars or flavorings which are KEY for me (honeydew, yum!) add sugars and calories as well. There are also alot of carbs in the drinks...which is a no-no for me also.

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Most bubble tea, also known as pearl tea, tapioca tea, boba, milk tea and zhen zhu nai cha, contains brewed black or green tea, tapioca pearls, milk and honey or sugar. Some of them are blended with fruit juice and other flavourings as well. I do not see that any of the above ingredients being harmful as long as they were handled hygienically.

The amount of calories will depend the size of your cup and also the type of milk bubble tea you order. One source gives the calories for a basic milk bubble tea with tapioca pearls at about 360 calories per 16 oz cup. Rumour has it that 7 pearls are about 100 calories and there are about 30 pearls in a drink. That makes each serving of bubble tea fairly high in calories when you compare it to a cup of regular milk tea which is only 60 calories per cup!

 

[ClownFishFunk]

Hey there everyone! I really enjoy bubble tea! There is a place on the road right off of my campus, so we go occassionally, but pretty rarely. I like the tapioca balls, but they tend to make me feel sick if I eat too many of them, so usually I only have a couple - but they sure do put a lot in there! I'm glad you all know what bubble tea is because whenever I try to explain it to someone else they look at me like I'm a nut job, haha.

I suppose it is a rather strange drink.