What Gives Bubble Tea Its Colour? Beetroot, Lycopene, Beta-Carotene and Caramel
Ning MaShare
Bubble tea is a visual drink, and in TeaJoy drinks the colour comes from four colours named on the packs: beetroot red, lycopene, beta-carotene and caramel. Beetroot red is in the strawberry syrup, lycopene in the strawberry boba and the Passionfruit & Strawberry can, beta-carotene in the mango and passion fruit sachets and the Peach & Mango can, and caramel in the boba, the tapioca and that can.
The four colours on our packs
Every colour is declared in the ingredients, and all four are on the Food Standards Agency's list of approved food colours.
Beetroot red
The Food Standards Agency lists it as E162, "Beetroot Red; Betanin". In our range it is in one place: the Strawberry Tea Syrup, in the Matcha Bubble Tea Kit and our Strawberry & Mango café kit.
Lycopene
Lycopene is E160d on the same list. It colours the strawberry popping boba in the Fruit Tea Kit and the Matcha Bubble Tea Kit, and it is the one colour in the Passionfruit & Strawberry can. On the boba pack it is listed as a preparation, with the lycopene carried on starch and maltodextrin.
Beta-carotene
The agency lists the carotenes as E160a. Beta-carotene is in the Passion Fruit and Mango Tea Syrups of the Fruit Tea Kit, in the passion fruit and mango popping boba, and in the Peach & Mango can, which prints it as "Natural Beta-Carotene".
Caramel
The agency lists four caramels, E150a to E150d. The Peach & Mango can prints "Caramel III", the popping boba in our kits lists "Caramel Colours", and the instant tapioca pearls list "Caramel Colouring".
Which TeaJoy drink uses which colour
| Product | Part of the drink | Colour on the pack |
|---|---|---|
| Peach & Mango can | The whole can | Natural beta-carotene, caramel III |
| Passionfruit & Strawberry can | The whole can | Lycopene |
| Fruit Tea Kit | Passion Fruit and Mango Tea Syrups | Beta-carotene |
| Fruit Tea Kit | Strawberry popping boba | Lycopene, caramel colours |
| Fruit Tea Kit | Passion fruit popping boba | Beta-carotene, caramel colours |
| Matcha Bubble Tea Kit | Strawberry Tea Syrup | Beetroot red |
| Matcha Bubble Tea Kit | Strawberry popping boba | Lycopene, caramel colours |
| Matcha Bubble Tea Kit | Mango popping boba | Beta-carotene, caramel colours |
| Milk Tea Kit | Instant tapioca pearls | Caramel colouring |
The Milk Tea Kit's tea powders list no colour, so in a milk tea the only one is the caramel in the tapioca.
Why a box that has sat a while can look paler
The kit packs say why: "All products made with natural colours, which may fade over time. This does not affect taste or freshness."
So a box near the end of its 24 months may look a shade paler than a fresh one, and the drink tastes the same. Store the boxes as the pack asks, "in a cool dry place, away from the sun", and use the oldest box first. Shelf life, sealed and opened, is in how long does bubble tea keep.
Questions people ask
Does a paler colour mean the drink has gone off?
No. The pack says the fading "does not affect taste or freshness". Go by the best before date on the base of the can or on the box.
Are the colours in TeaJoy natural?
Our kit packs print "All products made with natural colours". The Peach & Mango can prints "Natural Beta-Carotene" and caramel III; the Passionfruit & Strawberry can, lycopene.
See what is in every drink
Every ingredient list is on our bubble teas, and every can and kit is in The TeaJoy Range. Sign up to our emails for 15% off your entire order.