So you may be finding more unique flavors of milk tea in your favorite boba shops. Charcoal milk tea being one of them. But why all of a sudden are they becoming more popular? Not too long ago there was an increasing trend about the idea of charcoal infused drinks. Drinks like charcoal lattes, charcoal face masks, charcoal toothpaste, and more.
Why is it in our boba now? More than likely it is a way of capturing or grabbing the attention of customers, which isn’t a bad thing!
But let’s dive a bit deeper into what this craze is about for charcoal milk teas! What is charcoal milk tea?
What is Activated Charcoal in Foods and Drinks?
Before we get into the charcoal milk teas let’s talk about what activated charcoal actually is. From face value it doesn’t seem like it’s healthy to consume any kind of charcoal, at least that’s what we thought.
Activated charcoal by definition helps to contain or trap certain chemicals in the gut that may be harmful to your body. There have been many cases where activated charcoal has been used to treat poison situations. Some experts even say that it can be anti-aging (hence the face mask products), cure hangovers, reduce cholesterol, and more.
But, it may also be an ingredient that contradicts the use of certain medicines. In short, there are both positives and negatives about activated charcoal. If you’re interested, you can read more about activated charcoal here. We don’t want to get too much into the science of activated charcoal. We’ll let the professionals handle that.
Let’s talk boba.
What Does a Charcoal Milk Tea Taste Like?
Like we mentioned before, there are a lot of charcoal milk teas popping up in your favorite local boba shops. This begs the question (at least for us it did) what does the charcoal milk teas actually taste like? If you’re familiar with charcoal lattes, you might be able to relate to how activated charcoal will taste in milk tea, it’s quite similar.
When adding activated charcoal to your milk tea, you hardly taste anything different. The only thing that we notice differently is a slight underlying after taste. It’s nothing pungent or undesirable though.
There’s really no taste to it (unless you consume ungodly amounts, which isn’t recommended) nor is there any unique texture to it. Activated charcoal powder is like one of those things that you add into your drink for its benefits (or cons) and nothing more.
This is probably why it has been on a trend in the health and beauty industry. It simply is something these companies can use to attract attention, in a good way (benefits). Charcoal milk tea will taste like your normal milk tea. If you order yourself a traditional black milk tea and it has activated charcoal mixed into it, it will most likely taste like your normal milk tea.
Whether it’s a charcoal latte, charcoal lemonade, or charcoal milk tea; it will taste as the intended drink should taste like. It will just look different and become Instagram worthy.
Is Charcoal Infused Drinks Healthy for You?
Let’s expand a bit more about the health benefits with charcoal infused drinks. We promise we won’t get too science-y here though!
Over the past years, many charcoal infused drinks have popped up, especially in the health space. Drinks like charcoal lemonade, charcoal lattes, charcoal juices, and more! With all the advertised health benefits and detoxing claims that companies promote, is it all true?
For the most part, claims like detoxing benefits and whatnot are true. However, more than likely the amount of activated charcoal isn’t enough. Or worse, it is too much at times.
Some cafes will include very few amounts that ultimately has no benefit for your health. On the other hand, some shops may think they providing the right amount and indeed are providing too much. Which ends up becoming the opposite of a benefit.
Like anything you consume, be sure to understand what you’re in for, you can never be too sure. Balance is everything!
Would You Buy the Trend and Try Charcoal Milk Tea?
Now that you know a bit about the charcoal ingredient and what it tastes like in milk tea, do you think you’ll buy the trend? It’s definitely an aesthetic drink to buy but nothing more really. Even on our Instagram profile, we’ve shown some cafes that included their own versions of charcoal milk teas.
So we definitely know what makes for a good picture! Have a look at our page if you haven’t already.
If you’re not sure where you can get charcoal milk tea, maybe have a look at our list of boba places we recommend. Tag us to be featured on our page too, we get a lot of people who want to get on our page but we’re always looking for more! Don’t miss your chance.
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