What Is Rainbow Jelly Bubble Tea?

Nowadays, rainbow jelly bubble tea is selling like hotcakes. In this article, we’ll discuss this drink and how to make a homemade version.

Bubble tea has been around for quite a while now, and it’s not going anywhere. While it may have started as a simple two-ingredient combo, bubble tea has various tastes and textures today.

Rainbow jelly bubble tea is the newest talk of the town. It’s a colorful and fruity beverage with tea, juice, and layers of jelly cubes. If you want to turn it into a delicious dessert, here’s how to make cold foam topping.

Today, we’ll cover everything about rainbow jelly bubble milk tea, from ingredients and nutritional value to instructions on making it home.

Let’s dive straight in. 

What Is Rainbow Jelly, Anyway?

Don’t take the name of this topping too literally, as it doesn’t (typically) feature a seven-color scheme. Usually coming in shades of white, red, and orange, rainbow jellies are small, soft cubes made of coconut meat.

Now, the exact recipe can vary from brand to brand. While some only use coconut meat, others may include konjac or agar agar. Both are plant derivates, the former coming from the root vegetable of the same name and the latter from a type of red algae.

Konjac and agar agar are vegan alternatives to gelatin derived from cows or pigs. The two are quite similar, except for the texture. Konjac jelly is a bit wobblier and chewier than agar agar jelly.

Regardless of the exact ingredients, you can expect rainbow jelly topping to have a gelatinous texture, similar to creamy cheese. That is quite different from the traditional boba topping – tapioca pearls. Boba pearls are made of starch and have a rather chewy, slightly al dente texture.

How Does Rainbow Jelly Taste Like

Unlike most other jelly boba toppings, rainbow jelly offers a variety of flavors. The base is, of course, coconut flavor. However, the jelly is further infused with fruit juices like strawberry, passion fruit, and orange.

Again, the exact flavor composition can vary between brands, and that’s kind of the beauty of it. You can make your boba tea burst into flavor with a single topping.

Now, the taste is by no means overwhelming. Rainbow jelly offers just a hint of sweetness from fructose found in fruit juices.

When it comes to tapioca pearls, they’re pretty much tasteless on their own. However, they’re not served like that. After being cooked, tapioca pearls are steeped in brown sugar syrup, which gives them a distinct dark brown color and sweet taste.

As you can see, the two toppings provide different boba tea experiences. Rainbow jelly is creamier and has a mild fruit flavor with notes of coconut. Tapioca pearls, on the other hand, are more rubbery and have prominent caramelized notes.

Nutritional Information Of Rainbow Jelly Boba Tea

Determining the exact nutritional information of rainbow jelly boba tea is hard, as it depends on the exact ingredients. Tea on its own has practically no calories, while milk can have anywhere from 90 to 150 calories in a single cup.

There’s a noticeable difference in caloric content between rainbow jelly and tapioca pearls. A cup of rainbow jelly cubes has roughly 130 calories. Tapioca pearls, on the other hand, can have up to 550 calories.

Of course, anything else you may add to your drink, including syrups, frozen yogurt, and whipped cream, further increases the nutritional value of your boba tea.

How To Make Rainbow Jelly Bubble Tea At Home

Getting a cup of boba tea every day can be quite harsh on your wallet. But what if I told you that you can make it at home, and for cheaper?

And yes, you can do that from scratch. That means making your rainbow jelly, which is actually quite easy and requires just three ingredients:

• Coconut meat
• Fruit juice
• Honey (organic)

Well, technically, at least three ingredients. Depending on the desired flavors, you can use as many different fruit juices as you want. I recommend combining at least two to three fruit juices that go well together.

As to why organic honey – because it doesn’t contain artificial sweeteners or preservatives. That gives coconut jelly a mildly sweet flavor without overwhelming the taste notes.

Okay, let’s make jelly. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Add ¼ cup of cold water to a mixing bowl.  
2. Add two tablespoons of coconut meat to the bowl and allow it to soften for about a minute.
3. Then, add three tablespoons of honey and ⅔ cup of the fruit juice of your choice. 
4. Whisk the mixture vigorously, transfer to a container, and leave it in the fridge to chill for at least one hour. Of course, the longer, the better. If you’re not in a hurry, let the mixture refrigerate overnight.
5. Once chilled, take the jelly out of the fridge. Cut it into cubes that are about ¼ inch large. 

That’s it! Aside from the cooling period, the whole process is pretty quick. Now it’s time to make boba tea.

If you have your favorite ingredient combo, by all means, use it. Rainbow fruit jelly goes well with pretty much any flavor profile. I find a simple drink base to go best with this type of bubble tea topping, as it doesn’t overwhelm the flavors of jelly.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 ½ tablespoons black or green tea 
• 4 cups water
• ¼ cup milk 

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to make boba tea:

1. Boil water, then set it aside. Add tea to water and let it steep for 5 to 10 minutes. 
2. Add rainbow jelly to the bottom ¼ of the serving glass.
3. Pour tea and milk into the glass. 

Remember that rainbow jelly may melt when it comes in contact with a hot drink. That’s why you don’t want to pour piping hot tea over it. Instead, let it cool down for several minutes first, and you may also consider adding ice to the cup.

If you are interested in recreating popular drinks at home, try our coffee Frappuccino copycat recipe!