Is Bubble Tea Made With Milk?

Does Bubble Tea Have Milk?

 

 

 

There are many reasons to why a person would ask "Does bubble tea have milk in it?" They may be vegan and want to stay away from animal products, or just simply lactose intolerant to a point that this question is necessary to ask. Some people ask because they are actually trying to fit milk into their diet. Others ask out of plain curiosity to fill their noggin with more random facts.

The best way to answer this is, yes bubble tea has milk in it; atleast it normally is expected to include it, so it does. However, bubble tea can be made in many different ways, that do not include milk, and not all boba drinks include milk. Here is the different ways to make bubble tea to give a broader spectrum.

In this post, we will include alternatives to making bubble tea without milk, how to order boba drinks with or without milk, give vegan options, and differentiate milk tea from bubble tea.

 

If you are at a boba shop, you should always ask them if the flavor you want is dairy free. If it is or isn't, either way boba shops are normally capable of making the beverage with or without milk. Every boba shop is different, so it is best to not think that they generally would do/make their bubble tea the same.

Bubble tea is generally sometimes referred to as milk tea, even though specifically speaking milk tea would include milk. The words "bubble tea" can represent milk teas, smoothies, coffees, juices, and any other drink that contains tapioca pearls. There are other toppings too that can go into a bubble tea besides tapioca pearls.

Can You Get/Make Bubble Tea Without Milk?

 

Yes. Most boba shops can make bubble tea without milk, and have non dairy creamers for the lactose intolerant. However, the non dairy creamers do have caseinate in it, a milk derivative. 

 

This means that it is made for the lactose intolerant, because it lacks the lactose in the substance, but aren't vegan.

 

It is a great substitute that can add qualities to your beverage that milk itself would. If you are interested in using the non dairy creamer for you boba shop, or homemade drinks, it is found here for purchase:

 

 

 

To make a bubble tea drink with the non dairy creamer, use 3 tablespoons of the powder for every 16 ounces, and mix it with the boba flavor. It mixes best with hot water.

A non dairy creamer can be used to create lactose free milk tea beverages by adding the powder into tea. Purchasing your own non dairy creamer, ordering a base drink at a boba shop with your favorite flavor without milk, then adding your own non dairy creamer to it can work if a boba shop doesn't have it.

If you are ordering from a boba shop, ask for a bubble tea with tea and tapioca pearls only. This will ensure that the drink will come without milk without over complicating things. This is a great option for vegans. All if not most of the toppings are usually vegan as well.

There are many loose tea leaf flavors to choose from such as black tea, green tea, and oolong. Many toppings besides tapioca pearls are available too, which can add customization with just tea and toppings alone. 

 

This is also one of the best approaches to creating a healthy bubble tea.

 

Is Milk Tea And Bubble Tea The Same?

 

Technically speaking, milk tea and bubble tea are not the same. Milk tea is a traditional drink that contains both milk and tea, while bubble tea can have many consumable liquids as its base (juice, tea only, powder flavors) and doesn't always contain milk.

For instance: Milk with tea also existed in the late 1600s in Britain. It was enjoyed in various ways and forms, and has evolved into a British lifestyle of breakfast tea in Britain. 

 

The thing that separates a bubble tea from a milk tea is the pouring in of milk. When you see a diy bubble tea on tik tok and they start pouring in the milk on top of the tea, its a milk tea now.

Milk tea when referring to boba, often includes the tapioca pearls topping. These are used in combination to create the appetizing pictures found in the search engines. A lot of times in the photos you will notice the syrup spread around the outer part of the glass of the drink. When the milk tea is poured into the cup, it creates a visually appealing milk tea.

This is done by putting the flavored syrup into the see through cup or glass, tiltling it on its side, and rotating the cup. The murky milk makes it easy to see because of its light bright color.

With bubble tea, this can't necessarily be done, because a bubble tea may come in the form of a smoothie or juice instead for example. Bubble tea sometimes is even made with nothing but tea and pearls.

 

Because other ingredients besides milk can make a bubble tea look like a milk tea (powders and non dairy creamers for example), it can be hard to tell the difference between a boba tea with milk, or without milk. If you don't trust the people making your drinks, then make your own drinks. Making your own drinks will ensure that you always know what is in it, plus you can customize them into plain milk teas, or complex bubble teas without milk with special ingredients.

 

So with the explanation provided, you should expect everyone to properly classify a milk tea, and a bubble tea, when mentioning one or the other, but they most likely won't. Bubble tea and milk tea generally speaking will always be used as a general term by some to describe both even if one has milk and the other doesn't.

Same thing happens with bubble tea (Boba tea) when it comes to tea. "Why is it called bubble tea if it doesn't have tea?" someone may ask..

Because the drink is being classified in general based off of the tapioca pearls in it; not whether it has tea or not.

Common Boba Flavors That Are Made Into Milk Teas

 

Here are some common flavors that are made into milk tea drinks:

Black Milk Tea - A traditional milk tea made with milk and black tea leaves. This is the most common boba drink.

Tiger Sugar Milk Tea - A milk tea often made with brown sugar and milk. The syrup method mentioned above of beautifying the cup is often used with this.

 

Taro Milk Tea - A very popular milk tea flavor made with milk because it tastes better with milk.

Thai Milk Tea - A sweet Thailand drink that has become very popular across the world.

Another flavor that may come with actual milk is the almond milk tea. Even though almond milk is dairy free, it doesn't mean that an almond milk tea will always be made with almond milk. The flavoring powder or syrup could be almond and the milk could whole milk.

 

Whole milk has become the standard for making bubble tea/milk tea drinks in many regions, because it just simply makes the taste of boba drinks more "whole".