In today’s post, we’re talking about the question I keep hearing, is boba gluten free? Everyone’s favorite flavored bubble tea!
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It may surprise you to learn that those little balls at the bottom of your bubble tea are tapioca. The sweet taste this tea is very popular right now. So, is boba gluten free? Keep reading to find out!
Is Boba Gluten Free?
Yes, plain boba tea should be gluten free. The little pearls at the bottom of your drink are actually made from tapioca. The tapioca balls found inside any bubble tea drink are gluten free. They’re typically made from tapioca starch, which comes from the cassava root and is a vegetable.
Of course, when ordering, you should always be safe and verify the tapioca balls are gluten free
What Does Tapioca Taste Like?
Tapioca doesn’t have much flavor of its own. This is actually makes tapioca a blank canvas, able to absorb other flavors, whether sweet, savory or spicy.
What Is Boba Tea?
Boba tea is a beverage that has a tea base, a milk or fruit flavor, and edible pearls [the ‘boba’ in boba tea].
Boba tea can be called many different things, which can honestly be pretty confusing.
You might have heard it be called bubble tea, pearl tea, bubble milk tea, boba, boba fruit tea or tapioca tea. But they’re all the same thing.
Boba Tea has become increasingly popular over the past few years.
Traditional Boba
Traditional milk boba tea is served with tapioca balls, which are made of starch and are commonly referred to as ‘pearls’.
The drink is usually a combination of milk, water, tea and sugar, but has a lot of variations. Boba tea is available in both hot and cold versions. It is typically served in a wide mouth plastic cup and sealed shut with a clear plastic wrap.
Boba pearls are found at the bottom of a cup, and are very chewy.
Most tapioca pearls are black, but there are also versions that are white and some transparent.
Popping Boba
Traditional boba is tapioca based, but popping boba is made from juice. The little juice spheres have an outer gel layer that is created in a process called spherification.
Popping boba is popular for its burst of real fruit juice when chewing, bringing the idea of flavored boba to the next level. However, popping boba differs from flavored boba because it is not tapioca. Again, popping boba is created through a chemical and physical reaction to calcium.
Popping boba is also gluten free.
You can also make your own boba at home, and buy little jars of popping boba on amazon! So you don’t ever have to question if it’s gluten free!
In this post I shared with you the answer to the popular question- is boba gluten free? And the answer is YES! Luckily, even though we’re on a gluten free diet, for any reason we can still enjoy this fun, fruity, tea with the little edible balls at the bottom of our cup! I hope this was helpful!
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