Does Starbucks Have Boba on Their Menu?
Although Starbucks’ menu does not offer a traditional boba, some of its drinks can be customized to make them into a flavorful boba tea by adding tapioca pearls.
So, yes, Starbucks does offer boba, but as an add-on, not as a dedicated, traditional boba tea on their menu.
Boba tea also called bubble tea is a Taiwanese drink made with a tea base, milk, and chewy tapioca balls which give any drink a flavor and texture. It’s refreshing and tasty.
One of the salient features of this drink is the tapioca balls also referred to as pearls. These are chewy balls made of starch.
Where Starbucks doesn’t have a dedicated Boba tea menu, it gives you the option to add boba pearls to a drink as an add-on and make it into a version of a drink closest possible to a traditional boba tea.
What Does a Boba Taste Like?
As far as the taste is concerned, it depends on what flavor you would like to have of it.
A traditional boba tea without added flavors tastes, creamy and chewy, i.e. it is a bit more than a mere drink that you can just gulp or sip. You actually chew it along with gulping it.
Does Starbucks Have Boba?
Starbucks doesn’t offer boba tea as a standard menu item, but some stores do allow you to opt for tapioca pearls as an add-on to your tea or other drinks.
These tapioca pearls go well with Starbucks teas, as well as shakes and smoothies.
But if your local store doesn’t offer tapioca pearls, you can always opt for coffee pearls which are as chewy as tapioca and go well with all iced drinks.
A traditional boba tea, as it was hailed from Taiwan is made with 4 ingredients:
- Milk
- Tea base
- Sugar
- Tapioca pearls
Lately, quite a few flavors of boba tea have been introduced to make it a more fun drink.
For example, fruity flavors like mango and strawberry, or you can get a bit creative with toppings like jelly grass. Or you can add sweeteners of your choice as well.
As far as Starbucks is concerned, they have a few drinks that can be termed as very close, in taste and constitution, to a boba drink.
You can further customize them to make them into a perfect flavorful boba drink. Let’s have a look at what can be the perfect alternatives to boba at Starbucks:
| Boba Tea Alternatives at Starbucks | Resemblance to Boba |
| Iced Chai Tea | With a tea base, cardamom, and cinnamon, iced tea is the closest and perfect alternative of boba tea. Some stores can let you add tapioca pearls as well and there you go with a perfect boba tea. |
| Raspberry milk tea | You can safely call it a raspberry-flavored boba tea. Like boba, it has tea, milk, sweetener and an added flavor of raspberry. |
| Iced Vanilla Chai Tea Latte | An amalgamation of milk, black tea, and vanilla to give you a drink as refreshing as boba tea. |
In all of the above-mentioned drinks, you can add either tapioca peals or coffee pearls to recreate the chewy texture of the boba tea.
Does Starbucks Have Boba Drinks?
Starbucks does not have a dedicated traditional boba tea as a standard drink on its menu but it does have some very closely resembling alternatives. Moreover, some Starbucks stores allow you to add tapioca pearls to your drink.
If your local store does not have an add-on option for tapioca pearls, you can go for coffee pearls. These too can be added to any iced drink and have the same gooey texture.
Perhaps one of the reasons why they haven’t introduced such a popular drink in their tea menu is that it requires specific machines and ingredients. That might be too much of an investment considering an innumerable number of Starbucks stores.
Moreover, they already have a range of boba-like drinks in their menu which can further be customized according to the preferences of boba lovers. These can effectively satisfy your craving for a refreshing boba tea.
How To Make Starbucks Boba at Home?
Craving for a refreshing boba tea but your local Starbucks doesn’t offer it? The best thing about boba is that you can not only make it at home but can also experiment with it to suit your taste preferences.
For example, if your local Starbucks doesn’t offer a boba drink, you can order one of your favorite teas or iced slushes and add to it tapioca pearls. For instance, these pearls go well with a Starbucks chai tea latte or iced chai tea.
Get one of your favorite drinks at Starbucks and add tapioca pearls to it. Your personalized boba drink is ready. You can even add your favorite syrups and other sweeteners to make it exactly according to your taste.
Can You Eat Boba Pearls?
Yes, Boba pearls are absolutely edible. These are made of natural starch. However, these might not be for everyone.
Boba pearls have a chewy texture and because of this gooey nature, they might not be liked by everyone.
Are Boba Balls Healthy?
Boba balls do not have a nutritional value. These are just carbs and calories along with sugar. So, these aren’t something to be relied on for nutritional value.
They can just provide you with a boost in energy and can be refreshing but are nothing more than a bunch of carbs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Boba Made of?
It is made of milk, sugar, tea base, and tapioca pearls.
What is Boba Called at Starbucks?
Starbucks doesn’t have a standard boba at the moment. People usually add boba pearls to any of the iced drinks like iced peach tea or iced tea latte etc to make a boba drink.
Is Starbucks Boba Good?
The majority of Starbucks uses coffee balls instead of traditional boba balls for making boba drinks on demand.
These can be good if you are fond of sweet and pearls with a tinge of saltish flavor. However, for traditional boba pearls lovers, they might be a bit off beat.
Why Does Starbucks Not Sell Boba?
It may have to do with an additional cost for the specific equipment to be provided to such a vast network of restaurants.
What is Flavored Boba Called?
It is called popping boba.
Final Thoughts
Owing to the immense popularity of Taiwanese traditional boba, Starbucks might add a few boba drinks to its menu in the future. Until then, they do have some perfect alternatives on their present menu.
You can choose any of their iced tea drinks and order boba balls as an add-on for your drink. At most branches though, they use coffee pearls instead of boba pearls.
You can also choose to make your personal boba at home by adding tapioca pearls to a Starbucks iced drink.
