Bubble tea – or boba – is tea with milk or fruit flavour, and chewy tapioca pearls at the bottom that you draw up through a thick straw. Here is what the pearls actually are, the difference between ordinary boba and popping boba, and how to make it at home without the pearls going hard.
What is bubble tea?
Bubble tea came out of Taiwan in the 1980s. The basic recipe is tea, milk or fruit syrup, ice and tapioca pearls. The name does not come from the pearls, but from the foam that settles on top when the drink is shaken.
"Boba" is the slang word for the pearls, and today it is used for the whole drink. In practice the two words mean the same thing.
Tapioca pearls or popping boba?
This is the most important difference, and the one that most often disappoints people who order the wrong thing:
- Tapioca pearls are made from cassava starch. They are chewy and neutral in flavour, and have to be boiled before use. This is the classic boba texture.
- Popping boba are small spheres with fruit juice inside and a thin skin outside. They burst in the mouth. They need no cooking and are used straight from the tub.
If you want the real texture, you want tapioca. If you want something the children like and that is ready in no time, popping boba is the answer.
How to cook tapioca pearls
- Bring plenty of water to the boil – about eight times as much water as pearls.
- Add the pearls and stir straight away so they do not settle on the bottom. They sink first and float up after a couple of minutes.
- Boil for the time the packet says, usually five to thirty minutes depending on size, then let them stand for just as long with the lid on and the heat off.
- Rinse in cold water and put them into sugar syrup or brown sugar while they are still warm. This is what gives them their flavour.
The main thing: the pearls should be used the same day. Put them in the fridge and they go hard in the centre, and there is no way back. Cook only as much as you are going to drink.
Ready-made sets
If you want to keep it simple, there are complete sets with pearls, syrup and straws in one pack. They are the quickest starting point if you have never made bubble tea before.
Which tea do you use?
Classic milk tea is made with strong black tea, often assam, brewed twice as strong as you would drink it on its own – the milk and the ice thin it out. Fruit versions use green tea or jasmine tea, which are lighter and do not compete with the fruit. We stock black tea, green tea and matcha.
Frequently asked questions
What is boba made of? Tapioca starch from cassava root, water and usually brown sugar. Popping boba, on the other hand, is fruit juice in a thin alginate skin.
How long do cooked pearls keep? Four to six hours at room temperature. They do not take the fridge.
Do I need special straws? Yes, ordinary straws are too narrow for the pearls to come through. Wide boba straws often come with the sets.
Is bubble tea gluten free? Tapioca is made from cassava and contains no gluten, but always check the ingredient list on syrups and powders.
Getting started
If you are trying it once, take a ready-made set. If you are going to make it often, loose tapioca is cheapest in the long run – a 375 gram bag goes a long way. Everything sits in the bubble tea collection and among the tapioca and bubble tea pearls.
