What’s your bubble tea obsession doing to your body?

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From our social media feeds to our high streets, bubble tea is everywhere right now and is popular with children and adults alike. But what is it doing to our health? Dietitian Juliette Kellow takes a look.

“Bubble tea is a global phenomenon. It’s trendy, it’s Instagrammable, and it makes me feel more connected to the world when I drink it,” says a member of Durham University’s former Bubble Tea Society.

You only have to take to social media to see how popular it is – #bubbletea has millions of posts across Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, spreading its popularity far and wide, particularly amongst teens and young adults.

What is bubble tea?

Originating in Taiwan in the 1980s, bubble tea – also called boba tea or pearl milk tea – has travelled from East Asia to all parts of the world, including the USA and Europe. The UK has certainly embraced the trend, with more than 1,800 bubble tea shops and cafes on high streets, pop-up stands at festivals and even appearing at weddings. There are also DIY kits in supermarkets and online. It’s an important player in the drinks market – and one that’s set to grow. According to Fortune Business Insights, the value of the UK bubble tea market will rise from almost £51 million in 2024 to £88 million by 2032.

What’s your bubble tea order?

Traditional bubble tea is made with black tea, milk, sugar and chewy tapioca pearls, also known as boba. Shaken with ice and served in a cup with an extra-wide straw, the pearls sink to the bottom, ready for slurping up. Despite the name, bubble tea isn’t fizzy: the ‘bubbles’ are the frothy foam created when the drink is shaken – not the tapioca pearls as many assume.

But bubble tea has rapidly evolved. Today, there’s a huge range of milk- and fruit-based drinks in countless flavours and colours, made with all kinds of ingredients. With so much choice, what impact does this modern take on tea have on health? The answer depends on the chosen ingredients…

Tea

Black, green (including matcha), white and oolong tea are all used in bubble tea and are rich in polyphenols – natural plant compounds that act as antioxidants. One group, called flavanol-3-ols, has been shown to lower blood pressure and improve the function of blood vessels, possibly explaining why studies show higher tea intakes are linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Drinking tea has also been associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, less depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders, better cognitive function, and stronger bones in postmenopausal women.

However, tea (including green) contains caffeine – around 75mg in a mug – which may affect sleep. The NHS advises limiting caffeine to 200mg in pregnancy and recommends young children avoid tea. Tea also hinders the absorption of iron.

Milk

Providing protein for muscles, calcium for bones and iodine which helps brain function, cows’ milk is a nutritious choice. Especially for UK teens, who have especially low intakes of calcium and iodine. Plant-based alternatives like soya, coconut, almond and oat provide different flavours and nutrients, and may be fortified with calcium, B vitamins and vitamin D. Soya is rich in protein; coconut milk is high in calories and saturated fat.

It's worth knowing that many bubble teas replace milk with non-dairy creamers as they’re cheaper, last longer and often flavoured. Unlike milk, they add minimal nutrients, contain added sugar and are high in calories as well as saturated fat as they’re made from coconut or palm oil.

Tapioca pearls and popping boba

Tapioca pearls are made from tapioca starch (which comes from cassava, a starchy root vegetable), cooked in syrup for sweetness. They’re often swapped for popping boba – fruit-flavoured spheres made from water, sugar, flavourings and gelling agents, which create a thin skin that bursts or ‘pops’ to release liquid when bitten into. Studies show chewing improves satiety and reduces hunger, but whether the chewy texture of tapioca pearls makes bubble tea more filling than other drinks has yet to be researched.

It's bad new for the bubble fans – tapioca pearls and popping boba are high in refined carbs and low in fibre, vitamins and minerals, so push up calories and sugar without adding nutrients. Popping boba alone can add 50-70kcal and 10g sugar – around 2½ sugar cubes – to drinks. As the NHS recommends we have no more than 30g a day, that means one third of your daily sugar intake goes on a bubble tea.

Sweeteners and flavoured syrups

Bubble tea is often sweetened with sugar, maple syrup, honey or flavoured syrups like chocolate, coffee, mango, passionfruit, cherry, lychee, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, strawberry, pomegranate, and watermelon.

These add calories and sugar, but no other nutrients. Fruit syrups usually contain little or no fruit juice, and are mostly mixes of sugar, water, additives and flavourings. Just two tablespoons of syrup can add 36g sugar to bubble tea, exceeding the 30g daily limit. Sugar-free sweeteners help to reduce calories and sugar.

Toppings and extra ingredients

Bubble tea can be loaded with jelly, egg pudding, sauces, biscuit crumbs, cream – and even alcoholic twists with gin, vodka or rum.

These extras raise calories, sugar and fat without nutrients.

How bubble tea affects health

Tea and milk are healthy choices and add fluid to your diet. However, the other ingredients in bubble tea can mean a lot of extra calories, sugar and fat but few nutrients, making it closer to confectionery or a dessert than a drink.

For example, a regular (500ml) Jasmine Milk Tea from popular chain Bubble CITea contains 417kcal, 12g saturates and 46g sugar – more than a fifth of daily calorie needs, 60% of recommended saturates and 1½ times the amount of added sugar. That’s more than a 50g chocolate bar (260kcal, 9g saturates and 28g sugar).

Fruit teas are lower in calories and fat free but still loaded with sugar. A healthy-sounding regular fruit tea from Bubble CiTea contains 165kcal and 39g sugar – more than a can of cola (140kcal and 36g sugar).

This means drinking bubble tea regularly can stack up the calories, increasing the risk of obesity and its associated health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers. The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition confirms that frequently consuming sugary drinks – which bubble tea can be described as – increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and leads to greater weight gain in children and teens compared with sugar-free drinks. One study even suggests bubble tea may contribute to childhood obesity. Frequent sugar intake also makes tooth decay more likely.

Thanks to ingredients like tapioca pearls, popping boba, creamers, syrups and toppings, most bubble teas count as ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which have been linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, poorer mental health and some cancers. However, it’s still unclear if the risk is from processing itself or the high fat, sugar and salt content of UPFs.

Research on the health impact of bubble tea is scarce. Two Chinese studies link higher intakes to depression and anxiety. However, it’s impossible to say bubble tea alone is responsible for this – many other factors may explain this, for example, studies have connected high sugar intakes to depression. More research is needed to truly understand how drinking bubble tea affects health.

Ingredients aside, portions are also important. Some drinks reach 700ml – more than three mugs of tea or two cans of fizzy drinks – further boosting calories and sugar. Meanwhile, many bubble tea shops provide no, limited or confusing nutrition or ingredients information, making it harder to identify healthier options. Marketing with wholesome names and fruit-filled images can also mislead, suggesting that drinks are nutritious or count towards your 5-a-day.

How to make a healthy bubble tea order

Fortunately, as bubble tea can be customised, it’s possible to make drinks healthier. Here’s how…

1. Pick the smallest cup size
2. Choose milk (ideally low-fat or soy) rather than creamer to add nutrients, and reduce calories and saturated fat
4. Ask for fewer tapioca pearls or popping boba and less syrup, or use lower-sugar sweeteners to cut sugar
5. Skip toppings like jelly and sauces – add fresh fruit if available

For a truly healthy drink, stick with a regular mug of tea made with semi-skimmed milk – less than 20kcal, minimal fat, no added sugar, a few nutrients and a big dose of health-promoting antioxidants!