Many of us will be familiar with a lot of different teas and tea products. However, sometimes we will look at a menu and question exactly what some items are. Of course, along with this – we’ll also ask how they taste.
Taro milk tea is no exception to this. You may have seen it with its beautiful purple color and unique aroma and hoped to try it, but you might be a little apprehensive depending on its taste.
In short, it’s sweet and nutty and goes exceptionally well with milk, sugar and black tea that you would use anyway. In fact, it’s become a very popular choice among tea fanatics!
But there’s a lot more to know than just this, so we’ve written this helpful guide which hopes to explain and answer all of your questions that you may have about taro milk tea.
So, if you’re ready to learn more – then read on and have your questions answered!
What Is Taro?
It’s perhaps best that we first answer what taro is before we move onto how it tastes. Taro is a starchy root vegetable and it’s naturally found in large numbers around Southeast Asia.
However, it’s not just used in Southeast Asian cuisine.
It is actually used widely, predominantly in Southeast Asia but also in Africa, the Caribbean and around the Pacific Islands. Many of these residents will use more of the taro plant, such as the leaves for some of their meals.
However, the taro root itself is what taro milk tea is made with.
Despite the fact that it’s so popular in these areas around the world, it is quickly moving into North America and Europe in large numbers, and as a result, its popularity is shooting through the roof.
Taro milk tea (see also: How To Make Brown Sugar Milk Tea)originated in Taiwan in the late 1980s and along with using milk, sugar and black tea with the processed taro root, it’s also combined with a boba – which is an edible pearl mixed with tapioca.
This is why we have the term “boba tea”, which is also known as bubble tea. Due to its consistency, it’s one of the perfect choices to use within creamy drinks.
Taro Root Taste
As we mentioned earlier, taro root has an especially light, sweet and nutty flavor to it and it is this mixture of flavors and textures that makes it perfect as an addition to regular black tea choices.
Many people compare the taste of taro root to sweet potato, but it has a much lighter flavor than this and a very slight vanilla flavor too.
Of course, this isn’t going to be the ideal choice for some tea fanatics, but some people adore it. On top of this, drinking beverages using taro has some health benefits – so even if it is just for this, it’s certainly a choice you should try.
Health Benefits Of Taro
The taro root is loaded with nutrients, so let’s look at the nutritional benefits from one cup worth of taro:
Protein
Healthy fats
Carbohydrates
Fiber
Vitamins C, E, B6 and folate
Minerals like manganese, phosphate, potassium and copper
Sugar
Does This Mean Taro Milk Tea Is Healthy?
When you drink any bubble tea, the health benefits will only be as much as the way you make it.
What we mean here of course is if you are loading your tea with syrups, sugar and lots of high fat milk – then the health benefits are going to be massively reduced.
However, it has been shown that regular consumption of black and green teas has a huge range of potential health benefits like the reduction of inflammation, improved heart health and antioxidizing effect.
On top of this, the caffeine within tea when used in small doses can be very beneficial to your heart health, alertness and general mood.
However, when it comes to taro milk tea, we need to point out a few things. To make the tea, the taro root is crushed down to a powder using high temperatures – and this contributes to a huge loss in the nutritional value of it.
As a result, the taro milk tea itself does have the usual health benefits of tea consumption (assuming it is not loaded with additional sugars etc.) but the nutritional benefits you would have got from the taro root have been all but lost.
Therefore, taro milk tea (see also: What Is Milk Tea?)is more of a drink that you should have on occasion as a special treat, due to its sweetness and the fact you will likely add milk and sugars to it.
Is Taro The Same As Ube?
It’s not uncommon for people to confuse taro with ube, as they are often terms used interchangeably. However, it’s important to point out that they are not the same thing.
While they are both starchy root vegetables with colorful, purple looks to them – they are from two completely unrelated plants.
Ube is much richer in terms of its flavor, whilst also being sweet. As a result, instead of being used for things like tea, it’s used a lot in desserts, especially in the Philippines and Pacific Islands.
Can I Drink Taro Milk Tea At Home?
Yes, of course you can! Of course, you will need to source the ingredients and then follow the recipe for the best way to make this beautiful beverage.
However, it’s stressed that you need to source the ingredients from reputable sources.
Asian food stores are a good place to start, or you can look online – just be very careful when shopping for food or drink items online and always read the information closely.
The Bottom Line
Taro milk tea has a very nutty sweet taste (see also: A Complete Guide For The Best Tasting Tea For Beginners)to it and it’s a popular drink to opt for in many places around the world. We hope our guide has helped clear things up for you!
