Bubble tea is a widely popular drink known for the chewy tapioca balls at the bottom. Those balls are derived from cassava, a root vegetable that can have naturally high levels of lead.
“You are being exposed to lead from the bubble teas,” said Sana Mujahid, manager of food safety research and testing for Consumer Reports.
Consumer Reports tested bubble tea, also called boba, from several major brands: popular tea chains Gong Cha and Kung Fu Tea, as well as packaged products from Trader Joe’s and WuFuYuan. The organization detected lead in every product.
“The good news is the levels of lead that we found weren’t so high that we tell people to completely avoid bubble tea,” she said.
None of the samples exceeded Consumer Reports’ level of concern for lead. That’s better than other products they’ve tested, including dark chocolate and baby food.
However, three of the four boba samples contained more than 50% of their level of concern for a single serving.
In some cases, the liquid portion of the tea contained more lead than the pearls. That could come from water, sweeteners, milk or equipment used to prepare the drink.
“The effect of lead exposure is cumulative, and it’s better to limit the exposure where you can, especially if the product isn’t an essential part of your diet,” Mujahid said. “Boba tea is still safe to drink, but we would suggest that people drink it in moderation.”
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