It’s 9pm, and you’re getting ready to start an intense study session to prepare for your midterm tomorrow. You also need a study motivator to accompany you, so you’re headed to ShareTea to grab boba. However, your midterm is at 10am tomorrow, so you want to make sure that you’ll still be able to sleep tonight. Which kind of boba should you get?

Different kinds of tea have different levels of caffeine. Black tea has the most caffeine, followed by oolong, green, and white tea. Herbal teas like rooibos and chamomile have no caffeine. Therefore, a black milk tea would have more caffeine than an oolong milk tea. Black tea still has less caffeine than coffee, however, so the caffeine in boba is more likely to affect non-coffee drinkers. My roommates have often relied on black milk tea to keep them awake at night to study, although sensitivity to caffeine levels plays a role in how long the tea may keep you awake. In general, oolong tea has enough caffeine to keep you up for an hour or two, while black tea has enough caffeine to keep you up for longer.
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The amount of sugar in the boba also may have an effect on how it will affect your energy levels. If you’re sensitive to sugar but still want the boba to be sweet, try requesting 50-70% sugar and 30% ice. Choosing between milk tea and fruit tea may also have an effect on keeping you awake. In my experience, I’ve found that milk tea can make you sleepy, while fruit tea helps keep you awake. This depends on your experiences with boba, however!
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Boba is a great study companion, but you also want to make sure that it can keep you awake and not put you to sleep. Try not to drink the boba too fast though; you want to stay motivated to study as long as possible!