The Safety Tip You Should Know Before Drinking Bubble Tea

Believe it or not, bubble tea has sent many boba-loving fans to the hospital. In one case, a 13-year-old boy in China was hospitalized due to severe abdominal pain in 2020. An X-ray revealed two hard lumps blocking his colon, which doctors believed were the result of undigested boba pearls (the same little balls that are in tapioca pudding). The young teen had consumed two cups of bubble tea the week before, but had swallowed the tapioca pearls whole without chewing them first. As a result, the spheres didn't digest properly and stuck together in his stomach instead.

This is not a lone incident — there are plenty of cases where those squishy boba pearls have led to tummy troubles and entirely avoidable trips to the hospital. This is not to say that bubble tea is a dangerous drink; only that, like most foods and beverages, there are certain safety tips to bear in mind when sipping on boba as well.

The most important one is to chew those gummy balls properly. Whole tapioca pearls take longer to digest when they aren't broken down in your mouth, which is why you should really chomp them down. Additionally, the spheres are large enough that they can be a choking hazard when swallowed in quick gulps too, especially for kids. So, always sip the drink slowly so that you don't accidentally ingest whole pearls through those large bubble tea straws.

Bubble tea is pretty delicious and hard to resist, but it's important to not overindulge. While the tapioca starch that boba pearls are made from is known for being easy to digest, consuming too much of it over a short span can actually have the opposite effect. The starchy pearls need time to break down, or else they can clot in your digestive system and lead to constipation and stomach pain. Another culprit is the guar gum used to bind the pearls together. Though normally used as a remedy for constipation, it can be counterintuitive when eaten in large quantities, says Health.

This is precisely what happened to one TikToker in 2023. The content creator worked in a bubble tea shop that gave its staff two complimentary drinks every shift. After three consecutive days of work, which involved drinking copious amounts of free boba, Amanda ate a cup full of leftover tapioca pearls as well. A day later, she was rushed to the hospital due to an upset stomach.

A similar case occurred in 2019, when the CT scan of a teen showed 100 undigested boba pearls scattered across her abdomen. Though she confessed to drinking only one cup of bubble tea five days before, doctors speculate that she must have drunk much more for her case to be so severe. Moral of the story? Drink bubble tea in moderation, especially now that Starbucks too has released its version of boba.

Another reason to restrain your bubble tea consumption is its high sugar content. For one, the tapioca pearls themselves are soaked in flavored syrups. More sweeteners are then added to the tea, bringing the overall sugar content of a 16-ounce serving to roughly 38 grams (via Healthline). For context, the American Heart Association recommends that men and women limit their daily sugar intake to 36 grams and 25 grams, respectively. So a single cup of boba can make up for your entire daily allowance, and then some.

However, you can easily make a few swaps to cut back on the sugar. Consider choosing an unsweetened version of the drink, or ask for low-sugar alternatives such as monk fruit instead of syrups. You could also order a bubble tea with fewer tapioca pearls, or opt for smaller servings of the drink. There's also the option of switching the milk in your drink to reduce its calorie count. Go for low-fat milks rather than creamers, and swap dairy-based ones with plant-based alternatives made from almonds or oats. 

As tasty as bubble teas may be, cap your bobas to no more than one drink each week, and watch the amount of boba pearls that you add to other dishes like oatmeal as well. Lastly, remember to drink lots of water. This will make it easier to digest the drink and ensure that your bubble teas don't cause any tummy troubles.