Jasmine is a plant that produces a strong, sweet, floral fragrance. The scent lends a distinctive flavor to green tea and is especially popular in teas that trace their origins to China, Taiwan and other Asian nations. Although it's most common for teahouses and bubble tea shops, which serve cups of tea with starchy, soft tapioca pearls in the cups, to serve black tea or milk tea, combining pearls with jasmine green tea produces a brighter, fresher flavor.
Nutrition Facts
A cup of jasmine blended green tea from the Tapioca Express chain has no fat, no cholesterol, negligible sodium, no protein and 30 g carbohydrates. With pearls, however, the values change. A half cup of cooked black tapioca pearls adds 16 g fat, 6 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber and 7 g protein to the drink.
Calories
By itself the green tea has about 115 calories. However, the total with the pearls tops 300 calories, since 1/2 cup of cooked pearls has 200 calories, 140 of them from fat. So while the starchy black pearls may be tasty, they're not the healthiest additions to a glass of tea, although they do add some fiber and protein.
Ingredients
According to the Tapioca Express website, its green lei jasmine tea is made by grinding dry tea leaves and jasmine until the mixture is powdery and adding hot water to form tea. The company also notes that some versions of its green jasmine tea may contain nuts, soybeans, pine nuts or sesame seeds. Tapioca pearls are derived from cooked tapioca flour, which is made from the starchy cassava root.
Alternatives
To enjoy a lighter version of the tea, choose a clear beverage that has no milk, soybeans, nuts or solid ingredients added. Clear green tea has very few calories and boasts antioxidants, which may have disease-fighting properties. Another way to make the beverage healthier is to cut down on the amount of tapioca pearls in the drink. Using just 1/4 cup of pearls cuts the calories and fat of that addition in half and won't result in calorie overload at mealtimes.
Considerations
Although tea with tapioca pearls is refreshing and fun to drink, it provides very few of the essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients that the body needs to function at its best. Instead of making it a staple feature of your diet, it's healthiest to enjoy it only occasionally and focus on MyPyramid's recommendation to get most of your daily calories from whole grains, nonfat dairy, lean proteins, vegetables and fruits.
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