What are Tapioca Pearls?

Bulathgama et al., Development of Commercial Tapioca Pearls (European Journal of Engineering and Technology Research) notes that tapioca pearls are round, edible spheres produced from tapioca starch, which is extracted from the root of the cassava plant.

Research investigated that when tapioca starch is cooked with water and heat, it changes physically. The tiny starch grains swell up, soak in water, and turn into a kind of gel. This is what makes the pearls soft, chewy, and a bit bouncy. The texture people love in things like bubble tea.

You can enjoy boba pearls in any bubble tea, but they’re most popular in milk teas. Unlike popping balls or jelly, they are starchy, giving a chewy, filling texture.

Their History with Bubble Tea:

The origins of boba tapioca balls and bubble tea trace back to Taiwan, where innovative tea vendors sought to create a unique, unseen beverage. In the 1980s, they combined brewed tea with sweet milk and added chewy tapioca balls, giving birth to “bubble tea“. The drink soon spread across Asia and eventually attracted interests from people all over the world.

Bubble tea shows how inventive people can be with food and drinks. Something as simple as a regular tea was transformed into something unique and fun, so much so that it’s now recognised and loved around the world.

How to Make Them:

The process of creating boba involves 4 steps:

• making the dough,
• shaping the pearls,
• cooking them and
• serving and storing them.

In simple terms, making them involves mixing starch with water, shaping it into small balls, cooking until chewy, and sweetening to keep them from sticking together. The chewy texture comes from the starch gelatinising in the hot water.

Watch the video below to learn step-by-step how to prepare our 10min quick-cook brown sugar pearls.

How to determine the quality:

You want to sell the best pearls to your customer, but how do you know which ones are the best? Here are just a few indicators that can help you determine their quality once cooked:

• Look at them: Good pearls are a nice, even dark brown. They should all be the same size.
• Feel them in your mouth: They should be soft but a little chewy. Not hard or gritty.
• Taste them: On their own, they shouldn’t taste much. They’re meant to soak up the sweetness from the added sugar syrup (e.g. brown sugar, hazelnut or honey).
• Freshness matters: Fresh pearls feel a bit springy and smell pleasant.
• How they’re cooked counts: Properly boiled and soaked pearls will have the right chewiness. However, this is a bit flexible. You can choose to cook 1 to 2min longer or shorter than recommended on the label just to find your perfect texture.
• Where they come from: Using pearls from trusted brands usually means better quality.

Different Flavours and Variations:

They come in many flavours and types, which makes bubble tea fun and customisable.

Flavours:

• Original: The classic, slightly sweet tapioca flavour.
• Brown sugar: Has a rich, caramel-like taste and a darker colour.
• Taro: A nutty, slightly sweet flavour that also gives a purple hue.
• White: These have almost no flavour on their own, but they absorb the syrup or sweetener you soak them in, making them ideal for creative recipes.

Variations based on preparation:

• Regular pearls require 40min to cook
• Quick-cook pearls require only 10min to cook
• Instant pearls usually take about 5 minutes. They often have a firmer texture and a milder taste because of preservatives or additives.

So essentially, you can change both the taste (by choosing different flavours) and the texture or convenience (by choosing fresh versus instant pearls) to suit your drink.

Read our blog to understand how to choose the right tapioca pearls for your needs.

How to Use Them in Drinks:

To enjoy them, add them to your tea, milk tea, or smoothie and stir gently so they mix in without breaking. Their chewy texture makes it fun and satisfying, giving your drink something extra. You can also try other toppings like popping boba, fruit jelly, or aloe vera to add new flavours and textures. Mixing different toppings, such as boba with coconut jelly in milk tea, lets you create your own fun recipes.

Conclusion:

Tapioca balls have become a big deal in the world of food and drinks because they’re chewy, fun, and can make any drink taste better. Their story, how they’re made, the different flavours they can take on, and the enjoyment they bring all make them a key part of bubble tea culture. It’s encouraging people to try them and enjoy the full experience of boba in their drinks.