Bubble tea, also known as boba or milk tea, is a customizable drink that offers a lot of different flavors. Asian Americans love this creamy thirst quencher, but other non-Asian customers are also starting to patronize this versatile drink today. However, is bubble tea vegan, and if not, what are the vegan options at Vivi Bubble Tea?
Bubble tea may or may not be vegan, depending on the ingredients used. Since it’s typically made with milk, tapioca pearls, and tea, it may contain animal products. Some bubble tea brands include pudding which is made of eggs, so it mainly depends on the contents.
Customers can combine red, black, or green tea with creamer and toppings to make bubble tea. The versatility of this drink means it’s not completely vegan since tapioca pearls may contain some animal products.
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What Does Vivi Milk Tea Taste Like?
Most milk tea products contain boba which is typically made from cassava roots. Depending on the store, these boba pearls are sweetened with honey or a non-vegan sweetener. The most common topping is pudding which is made with eggs, so you must be cautious.
Other safer types of toppings include rainbow jelly, lychee jelly, and other fruit jellies. They are usually made from fructose, sugar, and other vegan-friendly ingredients. The grass jelly tastes like tapioca pearls and is highly recommended for vegans.
However, some stores use honey or sugar syrup in their grass jellies, so it’s important to ask beforehand. The overall taste of bubble tea depends on the flavors and sweeteners used. But in general, these boba tea products are sweet and creamy, while the pearls make them even more delightful snacks.
Does Vivi Bubble Tea Have Non-Dairy Milk?
According to a Vivi Bubble Tea staff, they only use non-dairy milk for their bubble tea while they use Lactaid milk for their Moo series. Other bubble tea with tiramisu toppings and float drinks contain dairy-based cream. You can ask for soy milk as an alternative if you want a vegan drink from Vivi.
An important ingredient used in bubble teas is milk or sweetened condensed milk. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a vegan milk tea. You can find alternative ingredients to add to your bubble tea to make it vegan.
For instance, you can use soy or almond milk instead of cow’s milk. If you want, you can remove milk from your drink to ensure it’s 100% vegan. Instead of adding milk, mixing tea, fruits, and vegan toppings is better.
Is Vivi Bubble Tea Dairy-Free?
Perhaps, your main concern as a vegan when eating out is if the food is dairy-free. Vivi Bubble Tea uses non-dairy powder in their milk tea and other drinks. However, some non-dairy powders may still contain animal proteins, so it’s important to ask for clarification.
Typically, non-dairy powders contain vegetable oil, corn syrup, flavorings, sugars, and lecithin. They can either be powder or liquid, commonly used in milk tea shops. While many bubble tea consumers generalize dairy-free to be plant-based, not all non-dairy powders are vegan.
Dairy-free and vegan diets have some things in common but are not synonymous. Vegan diets generally exclude animal products such as dairy, fish, meat, and eggs. On the other hand, dairy-free diets only exclude milk products and not other animal products.
The best thing about bubble teas is that you can customize them to ensure they are vegan. Vivi Bubble Tea is a trusted store for making vegan-friendly drinks in Hoboken and other locations. Before you drink your milk tea, make sure to check the ingredients.
Controversial Tapioca Pearls
In 2019, a girl went viral on social media after allegedly having 100 pieces of tapioca balls stuck in her stomach. This tainted the reputation of the milk tea industry across the world, and people started to believe that this drink was harmful. Medical experts have cleared the main reason for the undigested tapioca pearls.
Tapioca pearls can lead to constipation when consumed in larger amounts. However, medical experts say they aren’t supposed to show on the CT scan. Tapioca is basically carbohydrates, and they don’t cause extreme constipation.
Milk tea shops usually added guar gum and other additives to make tapioca balls. The purpose is to hold the boba pearls in place while making them stickier in water. According to experts, these additives are known to cause constipation.
What Is In Vivi Signature Fruit Tea?
Vivi, a Taiwanese bubble tea shop, offers vegan options for tea series and slushies. Their signature fruit tea is a refreshing green tea-based punch mixed with fresh fruits like apple, pineapple, orange, lime, and apple with Ai Yu tea jelly and basil or chia seeds.
The following are the available options for Vivi Flavored Tea:
- Passion Fruit Tea
- Strawberry Tea
- Mango Tea
- Grapefruit Pulp Tea
For the Fresh Fruit Series, you can choose from the following:
- Fruit Tea Aloe
- Peach Aloe Fruit Tea
- Jasmine Lemon
- Passion Fruit Lemon
- Strawberry Lemon
- Lychee Jelly Tea
- Blueberry Jelly Tea
- Strawberry Jelly Tea
- Kumquat Lemon Jelly Tea
- Pineapple Mango Jelly Tea
- Pineapple Grapefruit Jelly Tea
What Can You Order From Vivi Bubble Tea Menu?
In case you’re wondering, the tapioca pearls used in bubble teas are gluten-free as they are made from cassava starch. You can choose your sugar level and how much ice will be added to your drink. In addition to tapioca pearls, the available toppings include aloe, ice jelly, yogurt popping boba, red bean, jelly, pudding, matcha jelly, mango popping boba, strawberry popping boba, coffee jelly, and herb jelly.
For the beverages, there are more than 60 options to choose from, including flavored tea, fresh milk, floats, yogurt, slush, fresh fruit, and milk tea series. If you’re hungry, there are some snacks you can order, like Popcorn Chicken, Taiwanese Sausage, and Takoyaki. You can eat inside or enjoy the ambiance outside the shop with fresh air and a nice outdoor view.
What Boba Drinks Are Vegan?
Boba drinks can be vegan, depending on how you order them. They are made either as a milk drink or a fruit drink. The fruity version is always vegan because it’s made with fruit extracts or syrup. For milk teas, always ask if they’re using a vegan creamer to be sure before you order.
For Vivi Bubble Tea, they use special non-dairy milk to serve customers who can’t consume dairy. You can also choose vegan options for toppings such as tapioca and mango boba. The thing is, you can decide whether to order a 100% vegan drink or something dairy.
Health Benefits Of Bubble Teas
Bubble tea, boba tea, tapioca tea, pearl tea, and milk tea are all the same. This unique tasting drink has become popular worldwide because of the boba or tapioca balls. It’s not just delicious and refreshing, bubble teas also offer some health benefits to people.
Below are the health benefits of drinking bubble tea:
- Gives you strength
- Great energy source
- Stress reliever
- Boosts your immunity
- Prevents damage due to free radicals
- Promotes weight loss
- Enhances your mood
- Good for the heart
- Makes you feel good
Milk contains healthy components such as antioxidants. These components provide more strength to your body, especially the calcium content. Bubble tea also contains carbohydrates from tapioca which provides more energy for the brain.
It also fuels the central nervous system and heart muscles with the essential nutrients needed to function properly. This beverage can release stress as it contains some caffeine which recharges your body. Bubble tea can boost the immune system because it contains antioxidants that prevent the accumulation of oxidative stress.
Green tea has polyphenols and epigallocatechin that eliminate free radicals to protect the body from chronic diseases and cancer. Another benefit is the potential to lose weight by consuming milk tea because of its caffeine and polyphenol, known as dietary compounds.
Drinking bubble tea is also good for the heart since it contains Green tea and tapioca that provide the body with anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidants. These components are known to strengthen the walls of the blood vessels that protect the arteries from potential damage.
Wrapping It Up
While everyone is hying up bubble teas and tapioca pearls, customers should be aware of the ingredients in their favorite milk tea drink. It’s important to do your research, and don’t hesitate to ask if you’re unsure about the bubble tea you want to order.
So, which vegan option at Vivi Bubble Tea is your favorite?