Does Bubble Tea Contain Tea? Extract, Powder or Flavour: The Form Tea Takes in Every TeaJoy Drink
Ning MaShare
The short answer: yes. Every TeaJoy drink contains tea, but in different forms. The cans hold a 2% green tea extract, the fruit tea syrups hold a jasmine green tea flavour, the milk teas hold instant black tea in the powder, and the matcha kit holds 5% pure matcha powder.
Here is the form the tea takes in every TeaJoy drink, and where the tea comes from.
Why it matters
The word "tea" on a label can mean several things. It can be a brewed leaf, an extract, an instant powder, or a flavour. Each one behaves differently in the glass and tastes differently on the tongue.
At TeaJoy, the tea is named on the pack in every product, and the form follows the drink. Below is the full breakdown.
The tea in every TeaJoy drink
| Product | Form of tea | How much |
|---|---|---|
| Cans: Peach & Mango, Passionfruit & Strawberry | Green tea extract | 2% of the can |
| Fruit Tea Kit: Passion Fruit and Mango syrups | Jasmine green tea flavour | In the syrup |
| Fruit café kits: Mango & Passionfruit, Passionfruit & Strawberry, Strawberry & Mango | Jasmine green tea flavour | In the syrup |
| Milk Tea Kit: Classic and Brown Sugar tea powders | Instant black tea | In the powder |
| Classic Milk Tea café kit | Instant black tea | In the powder |
| Matcha Bubble Tea Kit: matcha powder | Pure matcha powder | 5% of the matcha sachet |
The full ingredient list for every drink is on Our Bubble Teas.
The cans: a 2% green tea extract
The cans hold a green tea extract at 2% of the can, alongside 30% fruit juice and 10% popping boba. An extract is tea that has been brewed and then concentrated, so it carries the tea's flavour without the leaf. It gives the drink a light, clean tea note rather than a strong brew.
Both flavours, Peach & Mango and Passionfruit & Strawberry, use the same green tea extract.
The fruit tea kits: a jasmine green tea flavour
The fruit tea syrups are built on fructose, water, fruit juice, sugar and a jasmine green tea flavour. The same flavour is in the three fruit café kits.
A flavour is a tea note captured in the syrup, which keeps the fruit forward and the drink light. If you want a stronger tea taste, our milk teas and matcha are the other direction. What does bubble tea taste like describes each flavour.
The milk teas: instant black tea in the powder
The Classic Milk Tea Kit, and the Classic Milk Tea café kit, use instant black tea in the tea powder. The powder itself is sugar, instant black tea, and silicon dioxide, and it stirs straight into milk or a milk alternative with no brewing.
That is what makes a milk tea ready in about 20 seconds with no kettle. The tapioca pearls that go with it are instant too, made from tapioca starch and konjac, with no heating or cooking.
The matcha kit: 5% pure matcha powder
The Matcha Bubble Tea Kit is the one product where the tea is a ground leaf, not an extract or a flavour. Its matcha powder lists glucose, maltodextrin, sugar, pure matcha powder (5%) and spinach extract powder. So 5% of the sachet is real matcha.
That gives the two matcha drinks in the kit their creamy, gently bitter character, which is why they are made with milk rather than water. The other two drinks in the same box, Strawberry & Mango, are fruit teas made with water.
Where the tea comes from
We source our tea from the Taichung region in western Taiwan, the home of bubble tea. Ning, our founder, studied tea there, and the recipes began in the kitchen of her Brixton restaurant, MamaLan.
Caffeine, in one line
Because every drink contains tea, every TeaJoy drink has some caffeine. The cans, the Matcha Kit and the milk teas contain a small amount from tea, and the fruit tea kits contain traces. There is no milligram figure on our packs. Age, caffeine and sugar, pack by pack, are in can children drink bubble tea.
Questions people ask
Does TeaJoy bubble tea contain tea?
Yes. Every TeaJoy drink contains tea, in a form named on the pack: green tea extract in the cans, jasmine green tea flavour in the fruit syrups, instant black tea in the milk tea powders, and pure matcha powder at 5% in the Matcha Kit.
Is there real tea in the cans?
Yes. The cans hold a green tea extract at 2% of the can. An extract is tea that has been brewed and concentrated.
Does the Matcha Kit contain real matcha?
Yes. The matcha powder lists pure matcha powder at 5% of the sachet, alongside glucose, maltodextrin, sugar and spinach extract powder.
Where does TeaJoy source its tea?
From the Taichung region in western Taiwan, the home of bubble tea.
Does bubble tea have caffeine?
Yes, because it contains tea. TeaJoy's cans, Matcha Kit and milk teas contain a small amount of caffeine from tea, and the fruit tea kits contain traces.
Taste the tea in every drink
Every can and kit in this post is in The TeaJoy Range: the cans collection, the Fruit Tea Kit, the Milk Tea Kit and the Matcha Bubble Tea Kit. Sign up to our emails for 15% off your entire order.