Calories in Boba drink and its health benefits

Boba are small round balls made from tapioca, usually found in boba tea or bubble tea. Traditional types are mostly made from tapioca starch, which is a plant-based stuff with lots of carbs. This starch can come from the cassava root.

These boba balls are dried in big bags, then prepared by their type by boiling and draining. Once cooked, they get softer and are then added to drinks and other desserts.

In this article, we'll look at the calories in boba, its health benefits, and how to prepare it.

Calories in Boba

Here's the full calories and nutrition info for 75 grams of dried boba balls:- 

Still, different types of boba balls have different nutrients. Traditional tapioca boba balls have about 63 calories and around 15 grams of carbs per 30 grams serving, plus a lot of preservatives and artificial colors added.

Meanwhile, the same amount of popped boba balls has about 25 calories, around 6 grams of carbs, and 5 grams of sugar.

Also, some flavors have a small amount of fruit juices, plus tapioca starch, seaweed extract, and various preservatives.

All together, a 450 gram serving of boba tea (bubble tea) can easily have up to 500 calories.

• Carbohydrates

Carbs in boba balls mainly come from starch. There is less than 1 gram of fiber and sugars. But if you drink bubble tea, there might be added sugar in the tea, which greatly increases the carbs you consume.

• Fats

Boba balls don’t have any fat. But many bubble teas contain milk, cream, or other dairy, which adds fat to the drink.

• Protein

Boba balls have very little protein. Again, adding milk or cream to bubble tea increases the protein you get.

• Nutrients

Boba balls provide almost no vitamins, just a tiny bit of folic acid and very few minerals.

You can get a small amount of calcium from a serving of boba. It also provides tiny amounts of iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, and potassium, but these amounts are too small to make a big difference in daily recommended intake.

Health benefits of boba

Unfortunately, there isn’t much to say about the health benefits of boba balls. While the calories give energy, you won’t get significant health or nutrition benefits from them.

In the end, boba is really just sweet balls soaked in sugary liquids. The tea in these high-calorie drinks might be the only quality they offer.

Food allergies to boba

Since tapioca starch comes from cassava roots, people allergic to starchy root vegetables should be careful.

Also, some reports say people allergic to latex might have allergic reactions to cassava.

Symptoms of a boba allergy can include typical allergy signs like rash, redness, wheezing, trouble breathing, swelling of lips and tongue, and difficulty swallowing.

How to Make Boba

Even though you can get bubble tea (boba) from cafes and drink specialists, you can't control the ingredients as well there.

Making bubble tea is pretty simple, and there are lots of videos online that show you how to make it at home.

Making bubble tea at home lets you control ingredient quality better and watch how much sugar you add. But since you can't make bubble tea without the boba balls, the high calories, carbs, and low nutrition can't really be avoided.

When you serve bubble tea, you'll see the boba balls settle at the bottom like a pile inside the drink. It's a clear visual sign that this is bubble tea.

Sometimes milk or milk alternatives like soy, coconut, or almond milk get added, along with lots of sweet flavors, turning bubble tea into something like a smoothie.

Also, some bubble tea recipes include whole food ingredients like avocado, carrot, berries, or banana. A must-have accessory is the wide straw, so you can suck up the boba balls while you drink.

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