Trader Joe's Instant Boba Kit

Review

For those of you who have never had or heard of Boba or Bubble tea, it is referring to the tapioca balls found at the bottom of the drink. Boba tea originates from Taiwan and interestingly enough this product is made in Taiwan. The drinks have to be served with a straw large enough to fit those pearls. Often times when I hear people that don't like bubble tea it is because they weren't quite expecting the texture of the bubbles. Bubble tea can come in a variety of flavors.

Trader Joe's went mainstream with these brown sugar tapioca pearls. Brown sugar is a popular flavor and if this catches on maybe we might see other flavors.

The boba is chewy and hard to describe. It's often attributed as having a Q texture to it. And since this is a brown sugar tapioca pearl we are dealing with this is quite sweet. The directions included are on point in the microwave. My pouch was fully thawed, warm, and ready to go. In each pouch, it will give you about an inch of tapioca pearls at the bottom of your glass. My glass was tall but not wide and the wide gauge paper straw had no problems picking up these brown sugar tapioca pearls.

While I'm not wild for paper straws, this didn't disintegrate as I sat and sipped on this brown sugar boba drink. I had low expectations for the straw, but it was fine, and appreciated that it was included in this kit.

Part of the magic of this drink is done for you. The rest depends on what your choice of milk, coffee, or tea is to make this special. The brown sugar boba here adds a depth of sweetness but the surrounding drink will make it stand out.

This item is both vegan and gluten-free. And nutritionally speaking, it doesn't add much. This is mostly just sugar. So think of grabbing a boba tea much like grabbing your favorite Starbucks dessert-like drink.

What was slightly unusual for me was that there was a caramel color added which is very unlike Trader Joe's.

How to make this

The directions were less than ideal on the package especially if you are unfamiliar with boba. So for the visual learners out there, here is how mine was assembled. First, prepare the boba per the directions. Once that is ready add it to a glass. Add ice. Add your favorite milk (tea, coffee, or whatever your heart desires). Pop in the straw and you are done. Give it a quick swirl to make sure you aren't just drinking up the sugar syrup with the chewy tapioca.

Packaging

Within the box, there are four individually wrapped packages of boba. Included are four large paper straws which will allow for the boba to come up the straw easily. Each straw is in paper wrapping.

Where to buy

Trader Joe's Instant Boba Kit is found in the freezer section of Trader Joe's and can only currently be purchased in-store.

Recipe ideas

If you are stumped and need some inspiration on what else you can do with this product then consider the following flavor variations:

• Chocolate Milk Tea
• Hokkaido Milk Tea
• Strawberry Milk Tea
• Taro Milk Tea

Overall

Would I buy this again? Yes, I would buy Trader Joe's Instant Boba Kit again. It made pretty good boba considering these were frozen. The taste and texture were on point considering it was a frozen pre-made item.

If you don't like the texture of tapioca pearls, then leave this item alone.

Did you try it?  Let me know what you think in the comments section!