Americans are obsessed with protein, but they’re not all gulping raw eggs out of a glass like Rocky. The last decade has given us protein bars, shakes, cereal, pancakes, chips, crackers, jerkies. More recently, Asian American entrepreneurs have made their own contribution to this protein bonanza: protein boba tea.
Boba tea (or bubble tea, as it’s also called) originated in Taiwan in the 1980s before becoming a phenomenon in the United States in the last decade. It consists of a tea base blended into milk, with tapioca balls (or pearls) providing the signature texture. Delicious as it is, the original drink is loaded with sugar and calories, which makes it more of a treat than an everyday drink like ordinary tea.
But a new wave of at-home boba teas changes the health equation with loads of protein and less sugar. They come in the same popular flavors, including matcha, taro and Vietnamese coffee, and of course include those addictive pearls that make boba so distinctive.
But are they any good? I ordered every type I could find in the US to find my favorite.
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At a glance
Best overall:
Boba Tea Protein
Best texture:
Boba Nutrition
Best value:
Momo
Consider for less aftertaste:
Lunar Lifts
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Why you should trust me
As an Asian American, I have downed plenty of traditional boba tea drinks and still do. But I’m also an avid gym-goer, which led me to look for healthier alternatives. As a result, I’ve been trying out different boba tea brands and flavors for the past five years.
How I tested
I ordered protein boba tea samples from every company I could find, which encompassed four brands in the US. I tried as many flavors as I could, for a total of 14. Not all brands had all flavors in stock, and some brands had too many to try them all.
Every day, typically after every workout, I prepared a standard serving according to the manufacturer’s directions, which usually involved stirring the powder into either water or milk in a shaker cup; I tried them with both to get a better sense of their thickness. Since there aren’t that many competitors, I had ample time to sample every flavor over the course of the past two months. I also gained 5lbs (2kg) of muscle mass in the process!
Since I am not a nutritionist or a personal trainer, I treated this as a taste test rather than trying to determine which is healthiest. Almost all of them offer about 25g of protein per serving and use whey protein isolate, but they do use different non-sugar sweeteners that affect the taste. I also took into consideration price, flavor selection and whether brands offered bundles or sample packs.
All prices current at the time of publication.
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The best boba-inspired protein drinks of 2025
Best overall boba protein drink:
Boba Tea Protein
$49.99 at Boba Tea Protein $54.99 at Amazon Boba Tea Protein is the market leader in the boba protein space and offers the largest array of flavors. They make their powders in the United States with protein from whey isolate and monk fruit as a zero-calorie sweetener.
Why we love it
Boba Tea Protein comes in 15 flavors, including common ones such as Jasmine Milk Tea, Oolong Milk Tea and Taro Milk Tea, but also seasonal variants including Pumpkin Spice. This year, Boba Tea Protein celebrated the year of the snake by releasing the Mung Bean Milk flavor, which I loved. It’s similar to soymilk with a rich flavor and smooth texture.
The Matcha Latte and Pumpkin Spice flavors are my favorites and the ones that I continue to come back to. The former strikes a great balance between a sweet and savory vegetable-like taste, while the latter has a rich cinnamon taste that made me feel nostalgic for autumn. Every $49.99 bag contains 25 servings, coming out to about $2 a serving. The caloric amount can vary slightly by flavor: Matcha Latte has 160 calories per serving, for instance, while the Mung Bean has 140 calories. As far as texture goes, the shake feels creamy, even when made with water, and doesn’t leave behind any unwanted leftover powder.
The Oolong Milk Tea and Jasmine Milk Tea flavors taste authentic to the ones you would find in typical boba shops. The Oolong Milk Tea flavor has a sweet yet subtle floral taste that’s almost like putting flowers into your drink. The Jasmine Milk Tea flavor tastes similar to the Oolong Milk Tea but slightly more bitter, which adds an extra kick.
Boba Tea Protein even has vegan options in the form of Matcha Latte and Taro flavors. They’re made with pea, chickpea and brown rice protein, which replace the whey component of the regular protein.
With quadruple the number of flavor options compared with its competitors, Boba Tea Protein was my favorite boba-inspired protein brand, ensuring that there is something for everyone. While it’s not the cheapest, it does offer a satisfying amount of protein for the price.
It’s a shame that … seasonal flavors aren’t available year-round. The Pumpkin Spice flavor is genuinely spectacular and I would pick it up any time I would. With the huge selection of flavors available, they also need to offer sampler packs. At $50 a bag, trying out new flavors is a major commitment.
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Best boba protein drink texture:
Boba Nutrition
$49.99 at Boba Nutrition Boba Nutrition has an extra-creamy texture that makes it distinct from other products on this list. Like Boba Tea Protein, it’s made with whey protein isolate and monk fruit sweetener.
Why we love it
Boba Nutrition keeps it simple by sticking to five main core flavors, which include Taro, Brown Sugar, Honeydew, Lychee and Mango. Vietnamese Coffee is also available in a smaller decaf version. Each container costs about $50 for 25 servings, making it $2 a serving, the same as Boba Tea Protein.
Whether mixed with water or milk, Boba Nutrition has a much thicker texture than its competitors. Besides being more enjoyable to drink, it also made me feel fuller compared to other boba protein drink mixes.
Of the flavors, Brown Sugar was definitely my favorite. It has such a strong sweetness to it that tastes like caramel, but the dense texture prevents the sweetness from becoming overpowering. And as someone who is allergic to honeydew, I enjoyed being able to drink the honeydew flavor without experiencing an adverse reaction. It tastes refreshing and similar to the actual melon I grew up (sparingly) eating.
Boba Nutrition offers several bundles consisting of two flavors, and a single mega bundle with all of its flavors. The bundles also include konjac pearl toppings, which are alternatives for tapioca balls with fewer calories from carbs. On their own, these pearls are flavorless, but they soak up the flavor of what you’re drinking. Additionally, they are smaller than traditional grass jelly, another popular tapioca ball alternative and substitute. The more compact size of the pearls make them much easier to drink through a shaker, helping to simulate an actual boba drink.
It’s a shame that … Boba Nutrition’s bundles don’t include every combination of flavor. Depending on which two you want, you may be out of luck.
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Best boba protein drink value:
Momo
$44.99 at Momo Momo is the smallest brand on our list and offers only two flavors, but one of them is a clear favorite. Unlike its competitors, it’s sweetened with sucralose, sold under the name Splenda.
Why we love it
Momo offers two flavors: Matcha Soft Serve and Asian Yogurt. I wasn’t able to sample Matcha Soft Serve, but Asian Yogurt was my favorite flavor out of all brands I tried. It reminded me of the yummy Yakult yogurt drink that I grew up with and loved. If you had a similar cultural upbringing, it’ll conjure up feelings of nostalgia.
Momo offers both full-size and mini containers, priced at $44.99 and $27.99, respectively. With 25 servings in the big tub, that makes it the least expensive of all the boba protein options at just $1.80 a serving.
It’s a shame that … They can’t seem to keep this in stock. Both the Matcha Soft Serve and Asian Yogurt flavors are currently sold out.
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Consider for less aftertaste:
Lunar Lifts
$33.14 at Lunar Lifts $36.99 at Lunar Lifts With 26g of protein per serving, Lunar Lifts offers more protein than its competitors – but only marginally. At $36.99 per bag and 15 servings, it also ends up being the most expensive per serving, at $2.45. It’s made with grass-fed whey protein isolate and Stevia sweetener.
Why we love it
Of the products I tried, Lunar Lifts leaves the least aftertaste, which may be because it uses Stevia instead of monk fruit as a sweetener. Among its four flavors, the classic milk tea and coconut mango cream were my favorites, as they tasted most similar to real boba drinks compared with competitors.
Lunar Lifts also has the most consistency in calories between flavors, ranging between 125 and 131 calories per serving.
For $14.99, Lunar Lifts offers a sample pack containing one serving of all four flavors, which is a nice way to try out each one before committing to buying a full bag of a flavor.
Lunar Lifts offers four topping options: Brown Sugar Boba, Konjac Crystal Boba, Lychee Popping Boba and Honey Popping Boba. I tried the lychee and honey flavors and came away impressed with both. When you bite them, the pearls pop open and release an intense flavor. Lychee adds a fruity tang to your drink, while the honey flavor has a much richer sweetness to it – I preferred the latter.
It’s a shame that … the cost per serving is higher than its competitors. I’d like to see Lunar Lifts offer a 25-serving bag priced comparably with its peers.
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George Yang is a freelance journalist specialising in tech, gaming, music and consumer products. Based in Los Angeles, he started writing in 2019 and has contributed to various outlets and magazines. An avid gamer, music listener and gym-goer, he draws on his personal experiences to recommend the best games to play, albums to listen to and exercise supplements
