Whether you made bubble tea yourself or bought some in a cafe, you will want to be able to save it for later if you did not finish drinking it. Bubble tea will not last for a long time and it’s important that you drink it soon.
If you have made a large batch of bubble tea, either for a gathering with friends and family or if you wanted to make it last for a long time, there are some steps that you should follow if you want to keep it for the next few days.
While it is possible to store bubble tea overnight, it is better to try and consume the bubble tea when it is fresh. If you can, try to only buy or make as much bubble tea as you need.
The amount of time that you can keep bubble tea will also differ based on what kind of bubble tea you have and how long each individual ingredient of the bubble tea will last.
How Long Can You Store Bubble Tea?
If your bubble tea is fresh, it can be kept in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. Keep in mind that the bubble tea will be the best when you consume it fresh. If you have to store bubble tea in the fridge, try to consume it before it has been in the fridge for the full 24 hours.
If you are storing bubble tea that already has been mixed with tapioca pearls in the fridge, know that the tapioca pearls will also be changed from being left in the refrigerator. Tapioca pearls will not last as long as the rest of the bubble tea so it’s best if you can store the liquid tea without the tapioca pearls.
It might be a good idea to drain out the tapioca pearls from the bubble tea if you want to store it in the refrigerator. While you won’t be able to enjoy the tapioca pearls with the tea the next day, the tea part of the bubble tea will still taste good.
How Long Can You Store Tapioca Pearls?
The maximum amount of time that you should store tapioca pearls is around four hours. While you can keep them for longer, the quality of the tapioca pearls will start to decrease after four hours, and you might not want to eat them anymore.
Tapioca pearls are okay to eat for even several weeks after they are made. The problem with storing them for this long is that they will quickly lose their texture and quality. While they will still technically be okay to eat after a few weeks, you will probably no longer enjoy them.
Try to avoid putting cooked tapioca pearls in the refrigerator. Putting them in the refrigerator will make them harden or shrink, and their quality will greatly decrease if you have to leave them in the refrigerator for a long amount of time.
If the tapioca pearls have not yet been cooked, you can store them for much longer. Make sure to seal them in a container or a bag and put them somewhere that will be kept dark, cool, and dry. A pantry is a great place to store tapioca pearls.
Different Kinds of Bubble Tea
There are many different forms that you can buy bubble tea in. Some bubble teas are more like slushies or smoothies. They are blended drinks that can come with a variety of different ingredients but they will have ice blended in with them.
Most commonly, bubble tea is made with milk tea. The ingredients may vary slightly but milk tea is essentially mostly milk and sugar. Often, other flavorings will be added to make the drink sweeter and more flavorful but these do not have an effect on how long the tea will last for when you want to store it.
If you get a blended bubble tea, it is probably not a good idea to store it overnight. The ice in the tea will melt and it will not have the same flavor or texture in the morning that it had the night before.
It will probably still be safe to drink the next day but it will not be the same as it had been. If you store blended bubble tea overnight, chances are that you will wake up the next day, try it, and then throw it out because it is no longer good.
Milk tea is a lot easier to store overnight. Because the ingredients are just milk and sugar, you could store it for up to a week. It will stay good as long as the milk is fresh. Do not keep milk tea past the milk’s expiration date.
If you buy this drink in a cafe, chances are that you do not know what the milk’s expiration date is. In this case, just keeping it for a week should be fine.
Is There a Difference Between Bubble Tea and Boba Tea?
If you have seen both of the terms bubble tea and boba tea, you are probably confused about what the difference is between these two drinks. However, there really isn’t a difference at all.
The two names came about as the drink became more popular in the United States. Whether you refer to the drink as bubble tea or boba tea is based mostly on the region that you live in.
However, when people say “boba,” they are most likely referring to the little round pearls at the bottom of bubble tea. These boba are made out of tapioca starch and are also referred to as “bubbles” or “tapioca pearls.”
There are actually a few other ways to refer to bubble tea, including milk tea, boba, pearl milk tea, and tapioca tea. These are all referring to the same general drink but you will most commonly see it being called either bubble tea or boba tea.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.