How To Make Tapioca Pearls

Experimenting at home with your own boba creations? Then you'll need to know how to make tapioca pearls.

Tapioca pearls are synonymous with boba and make the drink unique. The sweet, chewy pearls are a taste sensation that people all over the world, and the UK, just can't get enough of.

What Are Tapioca Pearls?

The pearls are made from tapioca, a starch extracted from the cassava root. Naturally translucent but more often found in boba as a black pearl due to the addition of brown sugar, these little chewy pearls of goodness make for a striking look and a great taste!

How To Make Tapioca Pearls

This is an easy and simple process that anyone can follow at home. You need just two key ingredients as well as any syrups or sweeteners you would like to add to make these pearls your own.

Step 1 – Making the dough

  1. Place your tapioca starch in a bowl.
  2. Put food colouring (if desired) in a separate bowl and add a teaspoon of boiling water.
  3. Add boiling water to the tapioca starch and pour in the food colouring.
  4. Let the water liquid settle for a few seconds and then whisk the mixture with a fork.

At this point the mixture should be sticking together and it is time to transfer the clump of starch from the bowl to a flat surface.

Step 2 – Create the pearls

  1. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and homogenous.
  2. Cut the dough into roughly evenly sized pieces.
  3. Roll the dough into long strings approximately 10mm in diameter, making sure each pearl is about the same size.
  4. gently roll the pearls between your palms until they are spherical

Step 3 – Cook

Cooking the freshly made tapioca pearls is simple and easy to do at home.

  1. Bring water to a boil, using a 5:1 ratio of water to tapioca pearls.
  2. Add the pearls to the boiling water and leave to cook for 15-30 minutes. The pearls should be translucent and you can experiment with longer or shorter cooking times to alter the consistency.
  3. Transfer them to a bowl with a little water (to stop them sticking together) and pour in a little bit of syrup (we recommend hazelnut or brown sugar) to sweeten.

Step 4 – Enjoy!

Making your very own tapioca pearls is as simple as that! Drop them into a boba tea and serve to your family and friends. Alternatively, you can store boba pearls in the refrigerator for up to three days. But remember, fresh always tastes better!

Alternatively, buy them ready made!

If you feel the above is a bit too tricky to master, or you simply want an easy way to manage your time and resources, you can buy them pre-packaged. You just need to simmer them for 20 minutes and then let them stand for 25 mins and they are good to go.