Any idea how many carbs in a tapioca/bubble tea?

I eat a very healthy diet 95% of the time, but once in a while I love to splurge with a tapioca bubble tea. I know the tapioca balls are pure sugar, but you have an option to add Splenda to the drink instead of sugar which I do. I never can guesstimate the right amount of carbs or bolus to take with the drinks and my BG always spikes. Does anyone have any idea about how many grams of carbs are in these drinks??? Thanks in advance!

Jenni

No idea.... however i suspect it's more the glycemic index than the carb amount that's causing the spike. Does your BG level out after 4-5 hours? or do you need additional corrections later? If it's level after 4-5 hours with no correction it's just a timing issue then. Pre-bolus additional 15-30mins before drinking the tea, or maybe drink the tea slower as needed. Scientifically, you could drain the tea, and weigh the bubbles on scale to see how much they weigh and just guess from there. I would suspect 56-80 carbs for a cup, though it may be higher. (Venti mocha with whip is roughly 54carbs, bubble teas tend to be roughly same size, but sweeter) Mileage may vary etc. Of course, now i am craving a bubble tea... mmmm

Great question, Jenni0219. I love that stuff, too. I looked it up and there's lots of info about it. Here's a sample, copied from an article entitled "Nutritional Information for Bubble Tea" in LivingStrong.com:

Lollicup Inc. is a coffee and tea house located in California that sells bubble tea drinks. They make fruit, milk and iced versions. Their 16-oz. Boba Milk Tea has 317.5 calories, 10.6 g fat (0 g saturated), 2 g protein and 56 g carbohydrates (38 g sugars, or 9.5 tsp.). A 16-oz. black or green bubble tea with fructose has 231.5 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g protein and 54 g carbohydrates (54 g sugars, or 13.5 tsp.). According to the Singapore Ministry of Foods, on average, one cup of bubble tea, with milk and pearls, has 340 calories, 13.6 g fat, 1 g protein and 52.7 g total carbohydrates.