Can Children Drink Bubble Tea? What Our Packs Say
Ning MaThe short answer, from our packs: not for children under 3. Every TeaJoy kit, our three home kits and our four café kits, carries the line "CHOKING HAZARD Not suitable for children under 3 years". Our cans print the symbol that sits beside that line on the kits, a baby's face in a crossed-out circle marked 0-3, without the words.
Below is what each of our packs says about age, the caffeine in each drink, and the sugar in a can and in a kit drink, all in one place, so you can read it before you buy rather than in the kitchen afterwards.
What each pack says about age
| Product | Printed on the pack | Boba in the drink |
|---|---|---|
| Peach & Mango and Passionfruit & Strawberry cans, 330ml | The 0-3 symbol, a baby's face in a crossed-out circle, without the words | Popping boba, 10% of the can |
| Fruit Tea Kit | "CHOKING HAZARD Not suitable for children under 3 years" | Popping boba, strawberry and passion fruit |
| Matcha Bubble Tea Kit | "CHOKING HAZARD Not suitable for children under 3 years" | Popping boba, strawberry and mango |
| Milk Tea Kit | "CHOKING HAZARD Not suitable for children under 3 years" | Instant tapioca pearls |
| Fruit café kits: Mango & Passionfruit, Passionfruit & Strawberry, Strawberry & Mango | "CHOKING HAZARD Not suitable for children under 3 years" | Popping boba, from a 1.1kg tub |
| Classic Milk Tea café kit | "CHOKING HAZARD Not suitable for children under 3 years" | Instant tapioca pearls, in 50g sachets |
The boba is the part of a bubble tea you bite rather than sip. Popping boba has a thin gel skin with juice inside that bursts when you bite down, while tapioca pearls are firm and chewy all the way through. Our guide to popping boba vs tapioca pearls covers what each is made from and how it behaves in the glass.
Does bubble tea have caffeine? Ours, product by product
Every TeaJoy drink has some caffeine: a small amount from tea in the cans, the Matcha Bubble Tea Kit and the milk tea kits, and traces in the fruit tea kits. There is no milligram figure on our packs, so here is how we describe each product, and where the tea in it comes from.
| Product | Tea in the drink | Caffeine |
|---|---|---|
| Cans | Green tea extract, 2% of the can | A small amount of caffeine from tea |
| Matcha Bubble Tea Kit | Pure matcha powder, 5% of the matcha sachet | A small amount of caffeine from tea |
| Milk Tea Kit and Classic Milk Tea café kit | Instant black tea in the tea powders | A small amount of caffeine from tea |
| Fruit Tea Kit and the three fruit café kits | Jasmine green tea flavour in the fruit syrups | Traces of caffeine |
Sugar in a can and in a kit drink
A TeaJoy can prints its nutrition per 100ml: 8.8 kcal and 2.2g carbohydrate, of which 2g is sugars, with 0g fat. A 330ml can works out at about 29 kcal and 6.6g of sugars. Alongside sugar and apple juice concentrate, the can's ingredients list two sweeteners, acesulfame potassium and sucralose.
A kit drink is one tea sachet and one boba sachet in 300ml of water or milk, with ice. For the water-based Fruit Tea Kit, one drink is 50g syrup (96 kcal) plus 50g popping boba (75 kcal) = 171 kcal, with 22g plus 18g = 40g of sugars. Here are the pack figures behind that sum.
| One Fruit Tea Kit drink | Energy | Sugars |
|---|---|---|
| 50g fruit tea syrup sachet | 96 kcal | 22g |
| 50g popping boba sachet | 75 kcal | 18g |
| Per drink | 96 kcal plus 75 kcal = 171 kcal | 22g plus 18g = 40g |
The figures for every sachet, per 100g and per serving, are printed on each kit's product page, and the full ingredients for every drink are on Our Bubble Teas. The calories and sugars for every other TeaJoy can and home kit drink are added up in how many calories are in bubble tea.
Choosing for a family: water or milk
For a children's party, we point people to a water-based fruit tea, because it is simpler to clear up after a spill than a milk-based drink. Our guide to bubble tea for parties and events sets out the café-size bundles if you are serving a bigger group.
The Fruit Tea Kit is also the one we suggest to beginners. Its product page says "No boiling, cooking or brewing required": a syrup sachet, 300ml of water, a sachet of popping boba and ice, with no kettle or hob involved.
The Milk Tea Kit, and the matcha drink in the Matcha Bubble Tea Kit, take 300ml of milk or a milk alternative, and you choose which. Every home kit pack prints "100% Plant Based" and "Allergen Free", so the only milk in the glass is the one you pour.
A can needs nothing made up at all: chill it, shake it and open it. Our Fruit Tea Kit and Milk Tea Kit pages list them for "parties, sleepovers, and fun nights in", and our cans page lists "lunchboxes, picnics and days out". If you are still choosing between the three kits, our guide to the best bubble tea kits puts them side by side.
Questions people ask
Can a toddler drink bubble tea from a TeaJoy kit?
Every TeaJoy kit, home and café, prints "CHOKING HAZARD Not suitable for children under 3 years" on the pack.
Does TeaJoy bubble tea contain caffeine?
Our cans, the Matcha Bubble Tea Kit and our milk tea kits contain a small amount of caffeine from tea. Our fruit tea kits contain traces of caffeine.
How much sugar is in a TeaJoy can?
2g of sugars per 100ml, as printed on the can, which is about 6.6g in a 330ml can.
Which TeaJoy kit is the simplest to make?
The Fruit Tea Kit: a syrup sachet, 300ml of water, a sachet of popping boba and ice. Nothing is cooked and there is no milk to choose.
Kits for a family night in
All three of our home kits are on our bubble tea kits page, each making four drinks, from £13.49. Sign up to our emails and you get 15% off your entire order.