Daily tea or poison? Behind its acid colors and its apparent lightness, the Bubble Tea invited itself in the routines of thousands of young people, like a little pleasure without consequences. Really without consequences?
Written by Anton take on May 4 2025, at 10 h 45 min
While the supermarket rays are crumbling under the cans of Bubble Tea, this drink from Taiwan continues to seduce crowds with gelatinous pearls and multicolored syrups. However, more and more studies are an alarming observation on the effects of the Bubble Tea on health. Under its harmless gaits, the Bubble Tea hides a real nutritional bomb, often full of additives, sugars and substances whose dangerousness is no longer to be demonstrated.
The invisible dangers of Bubble Tea: an explosion of additives in each sip
Drinking a bubble tea is swallowing much more than tea. According to a survey published by the UFC-Que Choisir on April 28, 2025, around twenty references sold in supermarkets displayed between 10 and 25 ultra-training markers. The list gives vertigo: synthetic dyes like allu red (E129), tartrazine (E102) or brilliant blue (E133), all suspected of promoting hyperactivity in children, but also ammoniacal caramels (E150C) likely to release carcinogene substances.
The cocktail is supplemented by phosphates (E452, E340), linked to an increase in cardiovascular risk, sweeteners suspected of increasing the probability of cancer, without forgetting silicon dioxide (E551), mentioned for its possible role in celiac disease. Toxic cherry on drink: some products still contain hydrogenated oils prohibited in Europe, rich in trans fatty acids, sadly famous to obstruct the arteries.
A sweet tsunami gently disguised: the caloric trap of the Bubble Tea
In terms of sugar, the Bubble Tea is not in the lace. A study published in the journal Food Science & Nutrition reveals that a standard glass (470 ml) of Bubble Tea is largely exceeded in the recommended daily contribution in added sugars. Each 1/4 cup of tapioca pearls can contain up to 160 calories. And you still have to count the often added syrups and creams.
The American nutritionist Hillary Cecere, cited in The Healthywarns: ” The only nutritious element of the Bubble Tea is tea itself. But the rest completely cancels its benefits ». A cup can easily exceed 400 calories. In other words, a glycemic bomb as violent as a soda, coated in an illusion of tea.
Bubble tea and mental health: a disturbing link with depression and anxiety
Beyond the nutritional effects, a sino-university report published in 2022 in the Journal of Affective Disorders evokes a darker reality: regular consumption of Bubble Tea is correlated with depressive symptoms, anxiety, even suicidal thoughts. The study, conducted with 5,281 Beijing students, even speaks of a form of addiction. The mechanism? A credible hypothesis is based on the impact of sugar on the hypothalamo-pituitary-surrenalian axis, keystone of stress management. By dint of saturating this axis, the body loses its capacity to regulate its emotions.
A phenomenon documented elsewhere: a study published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information in January 2024 evokes the anxiodepressive disorders induced in rodents subject to a diet rich in Bubble Tea.
A social trivialization … but alternatives still exist
The Bubble Tea is not only a drink: it has become a ritual. In China, some young adults consume between six and eleven glasses per week. And even a symbolic function: during weddings, toasts are now done … at Bubble Tea. A disturbing normalization of a sweet product that combines health risks, compulsive consumption and absence of strict regulation.
Some Chinese cities, such as Shanghai, have launched pilot programs forcing manufacturers to display the sugar and fat rate of their drinks. A nutritional classification (a to d) makes it possible to locate the products according to their harmfulness. An isolated measure, still very far from constituting a global standard.
In France, no specific regulation closes the composition or advertising of the Bubble Tea. The only escape: do it yourself. Prepare your tea, control the dosage of sugars, avoid additives: so many acts of resistance in the face of a very unscrupulous industry.
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Replace energy drinks with effective natural alternatives
Written by Anton Kunin
Training journalist, Anton writes articles on climate change, pollution, energies, transport, as well as on animals and …https://www.consoglobe.com/redacteur/anton See his file and all his articles Become editor
