There has recently been a proliferation of bubble tea establishments across Malaysia and we wanted to find out what the hype is all about. Boba has a number of monikers — bubble tea, milk tea, pearl milk tea. It is a Taiwanese drink that commonly features a base made from tea and milk with chewy tapioca pearls at the bottom of the cup. There are also other variants popping up with coffee and fruit.

According to a report by Allied Market Research, the global bubble tea market was valued at USD 1,957 million in 2016, and is projected to reach USD 3,214 million by 2023, with a CAGR of 7.40% from 2017 to 2023. Khor Reports has consolidated data on bubble tea locations in a dashboard. This provides an overall view of popular bubble tea establishments across Malaysia. The data is as of 15 October 2019.

With the advent of mandatory nutrition labels and an advertising ban for high sugar and pre-packaged drinks in Singapore, the research team at Khor Reports could not help but wonder how much sugar we may be consuming in a serving of bubble tea. We found that consuming a 500ml drink of bubble tea at 100% sugar level was equivalent to drinking three cans of Coca Cola; which exceeds the daily recommended sugar intake for adults by 205% (in Malaysia) and 293% (in the United Kingdom). 

But, bubble teas are not the only beverage you should worry about in terms of teaspoons of sugar. The amount of sugar (per 100ml) in a Coca Cola was equivalent to that of a teh tarik. Freshly squeezed apple juice may have a sugar content (per 100 ml) 28.6% higher than in a soda! To be sure a fruit juice and soda have different chemistry and other attributes. 

Moving forward, we may need to be more mindful of our drink choices. Opt for healthier drinks with less or no sugar. Eat whole fruits instead of juices. Customise your bubble tea with lower sugar levels. Simple requests such as ‘kurang manis, bos’ or ‘pearl milk tea, less ice, less sugar,’ may just help to keep health risks at bay while enjoying an occasional treat.

More details are available on a customised basis; including additional data fields. Please contact us to find out more. 

Maps and datasets were assisted by Nadirah Sharif and Loh Rachel of Khor Reports; together with Wong Ivan, our foodie specialist. 

#RethinkOurDrink #BubbleTea #Boba #Sugar #Malaysia 

Data-info addendum by the Khor Reports Boba Ops, 11 Nov 2019

Ed by Wong Ivan:

The bubble tea, or more specifically brown sugar milk tea, craze seems to be slowly dying down as there are lesser crowds lining up at shops. The reason behind this could be that there are too many brands selling the same product in the same area. However, the branches in shopping malls still have a consistent flow of customers. Queues at Chatime and Tealive are also still going strong as they have many ongoing promotions, which makes them cheaper alternatives for consumers.

Also, Xing Fu Tang is currently embroiled in a bitter dispute with its Taiwan Headquarters which resulted in two branches (SS15 & Sri Petaling) being defaced with red paint thrown onto their front doors. More information can be found here.

Japanese Shaved Ice (Kakigori) popularity seems to rising as they are popping up in many major hangout spots.

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