Tapioca Balls in Smoothies?!
Answers: Theres a cute asian place called Fruti Smoothie here. one of there add ons for the smoothies is Tapioca Balls. They are dark brown small balls, that you drink, with your smoothie. they are kind of chewy, and pretty flavorless. Does anyone know if they have any nutritional value? or why they would put that in a smoothie?
It's a variation on a popular Asian drink called 'Bubble Tea" trendy in Japan and other Asian countries. Bubble tea is black tea flavored with milk and flavored syrup. Then the bubbles are added. The 'bubbles' are beads of tapioca, which are basically balls of corn starch. They are often colored with food dyes to make them more visible. It's the same tapioca as in tapioca pudding, but larger beads.
Instead of tea, your place is putting them in smoothies. They are chewy, sweet, but really have very little nutritional value. They're not bad for you, but they do have a strange 'mouth-feel'. My favorite Bubble Tea flavor is watermelon. If there is an Asian neigborhood near you, I'm sure a cafe there serves it.
I don't believe there is any added nutrition value to your drink. Pretty much just a trend. Personally, I don't like them, never have added it in my smoothie.