Is Bubble Tea Vegan, Gluten Free and Halal? Product by Product
Ning MaEvery TeaJoy can and kit is vegan, gluten free, allergen free and halal. That is our statement for the whole range: the cans, the home kits and the commercial kits. Our cans print all four on the side of the can. The kit boxes print part of it, "100% Plant Based" and "Allergen Free" on the home kits and "vegan & allergen free" on the commercial kits, and the rest is our statement.
For bubble tea in general, the answer turns on the milk and the boba. Milk teas use dairy milk or a milk alternative, while fruit bubble teas are usually mixed with water. So below is every can and kit we sell, what its pack prints next to what we state, and which of our drinks take milk, so you can check the one in your basket.
Every TeaJoy drink, product by product
| Product | Printed on the pack | What we state | What you add |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peach & Mango Bubble Tea Cans 330ml | Vegan, gluten free, allergen free, halal | Vegan, gluten free, allergen free, halal | Nothing: chill, shake and drink |
| Passionfruit & Strawberry Bubble Tea Cans | Vegan, gluten free, allergen free, halal | Vegan, gluten free, allergen free, halal | Nothing: chill, shake and drink |
| Bubble Tea Cans, 4 Pack Mixed Flavour | The same two cans, so the same four words | Vegan, gluten free, allergen free, halal | Nothing: chill, shake and drink |
| Fruit Tea Kit | 100% plant based, allergen free | Vegan, gluten free, allergen free, halal | 300ml water and ice per drink |
| Milk Tea Kit | 100% plant based, allergen free | Vegan, gluten free, allergen free, halal | 300ml milk or milk alternative and ice per drink |
| Matcha Bubble Tea Kit | 100% plant based, allergen free | Vegan, gluten free, allergen free, halal | Milk or milk alternative for the two matcha drinks, water for the two fruit drinks, ice |
| Mango & Passionfruit, Passionfruit & Strawberry and Strawberry & Mango Bubble Tea Kits (commercial) | Vegan, allergen free | Vegan, gluten free, allergen free, halal | Water and ice |
| Classic Milk Tea Bubble Tea Kit (commercial) | Vegan, allergen free | Vegan, gluten free, allergen free, halal | Milk or plant milk and ice |
The "Printed on the pack" column uses each pack's own words. On the can they sit together as "VEGAN GLUTEN FREE ALLERGEN FREE HALAL". The full ingredient list for every drink is on Our Bubble Teas.
Is TeaJoy bubble tea vegan? The boba and the powders
Yes: every TeaJoy can and kit is vegan, and a milk tea made from one stays vegan when the milk you add is a plant milk. Start with the boba. Our popping boba goes into the cans, the Fruit Tea Kit, the Matcha Bubble Tea Kit and the three fruit commercial kits. On the home kit sachets, its ingredient list opens with water, fructose syrup, sugar and calcium lactate, and includes xanthan gum and sodium alginate among the rest. The shell is made from xanthan gum. Gelatine is not in the boba ingredient list on any home kit sachet or commercial kit box, and the cans print vegan and halal on the pack.
The instant tapioca pearls in the Milk Tea Kit and the Classic Milk Tea Bubble Tea Kit are made from tapioca starch and konjac. No gelatine and no milk appear in their ingredient list either. Popping boba versus tapioca pearls covers how the two differ in the glass.
Then the powders, set out in full so you can check them for dairy yourself:
- Classic tea powder: sugar, instant black tea, silicon dioxide.
- Brown sugar tea powder: sugar, instant black tea, silicon dioxide, flavour, glucose, calcium phosphate tribasic, sucralose.
- Matcha tea powder: glucose, maltodextrin, sugar, pure matcha powder (5%), spinach extract powder.
None of the three contains milk powder or a creamer. The fruit tea syrups are built on fructose, water, fruit juice, sugar and a jasmine green tea flavour, and the cans on water, 30% fruit juice, 10% popping boba, apple juice concentrate, sugar and 2% green tea extract.
Which drinks take milk, and which take water
Across the three home kits there are twelve drinks, and they split evenly: six are made with water and six with 300ml of milk or a milk alternative. The cans need nothing added at all.
| Drink | Kit | Drinks per kit | Made with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passionfruit & Strawberry | Fruit Tea Kit | 2 | Water |
| Mango & Passionfruit | Fruit Tea Kit | 2 | Water |
| Classic Milk Tea | Milk Tea Kit | 2 | Milk or milk alternative |
| Brown Sugar Milk Tea | Milk Tea Kit | 2 | Milk or milk alternative |
| Matcha & Strawberry | Matcha Bubble Tea Kit | 2 | Milk or milk alternative |
| Strawberry & Mango | Matcha Bubble Tea Kit | 2 | Water |
The packs say which is which. The Fruit Tea Kit says "Just add water and ice", the Milk Tea Kit "Just add milk and ice" and the Matcha Bubble Tea Kit "Just add milk/water and ice". The box for our commercial Classic Milk Tea kit names both options: "just add milk / plant milk and ice". So for the six milk drinks, and the commercial milk tea, the milk you pour is the one thing that decides whether the glass in your hand is vegan. Our fruit syrups also contain citric acid, and why fruit bubble tea can curdle milk explains what acid does to dairy milk.
If you would rather leave milk out of it altogether, the Fruit Tea Kit and the cans are the simple route. Our guide to the best bubble tea kits in the UK sets water-based against milk-based in more detail.
Is TeaJoy bubble tea gluten free?
Every TeaJoy can and kit is gluten free. The can is the one pack that prints "gluten free"; for the home kits and the commercial kits, gluten free is our statement, and the whole range is allergen free too.
The ingredients behind each drink are the ones listed above: sugar with instant black tea or matcha in the powders, fruit juice and sugar in the syrups, a xanthan gum shell on the popping boba, and tapioca starch with konjac in the pearls.
Halal: on the can and across the range
Every TeaJoy can and kit is halal. Our cans print "HALAL" beside vegan, gluten free and allergen free; for the home kits and the commercial kits, halal is our statement for the range. Because every can and kit is vegan, none of them contains gelatine or any other animal ingredient.
Questions people ask
Is TeaJoy bubble tea halal?
Yes. The cans print "HALAL" on the pack, and we state that the whole range, the home kits and commercial kits included, is halal.
Which TeaJoy drinks are made with milk?
Six of the twelve home kit drinks: two Classic Milk Tea and two Brown Sugar Milk Tea from the Milk Tea Kit, and two Matcha & Strawberry from the Matcha Bubble Tea Kit, each with 300ml of milk or a milk alternative. The commercial Classic Milk Tea kit takes milk or plant milk too. The fruit drinks take water, and the cans take nothing.
Is there gelatine in TeaJoy boba?
No. Gelatine is not in the ingredient list of any of our boba sachets, popping boba or instant tapioca. The popping boba shell is made from xanthan gum, the pearls from tapioca starch and konjac, and the cans print vegan and halal on the pack.
Shop the range
Every can and kit in the table sits in the TeaJoy range, from the 4 pack of mixed cans to the three home kits. Sign up to our emails for 15% off your entire order.