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The Flavor Bender Recipes Courses Beverages How to make Boba Pearls (Tapioca Pearls)

How to make Boba Pearls (Tapioca Pearls)

3 hrs 50 mins
Easy
Beverages
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Author: Dini K.
Posted: 6/19/2020
Updated: 6/8/2021
Learn how to make homemade boba pearls (tapioca pearls). Easy recipe and better than store-bought, and makes the best brown sugar bubble tea or any kind of bubble tea! Perfect for Summer. #TheFlavorBender #BubbleTea #TapiocaPearls #Boba #BrownSugarBoba

Here’s how to make boba pearls (tapioca pearls) at home! They are super simple to make, and heaps better than store-bought ones. Use them to make brown sugar bubble tea, classic bubble milk tea, iced matcha bubble tea, or any other type of bubble tea (like this ube bubble tea) at home!

Brown sugar bubble tea with homemade boba pearls, is the perfect summer treat!

Brown sugar bubble tea with brown sugar boba pearls

My husband and I are huge bubble tea aficionados. For me, it started when my sister introduced me to bubble tea when I used to live in Australia. My favorite was usually the lychee coconut tea with boba pearls. But since then, my preferences have expanded to include classic bubble or boba milk tea, brown sugar bubble tea, taro bubble tea, ube bubble tea, and plenty more flavors! They just change according to my mood. 🙂

I started making my own boba tea when we were in the US. There weren’t very many good bubble tea places where we lived in mid-Missouri, and I had to depend on my own devices.

But I’m not gonna lie, it’s bit of a tedious task. The recipe itself is super easy, but rolling the boba pearls by hand is a PITA. You can definitely enlist help for it though. It’d be a really fun activity to do with kids. If the kids can concentrate on the same monotonous task for longer than a few minutes, that is. 🙂

Here’s what is great about this recipe

  • You will get a step by step detailed recipe for making chewy boba pearls.
  • I will share tips and tricks on how to get each step of the recipe right.
  • You can learn how to make black pearls, clear pearls, as well as matcha pearls!
  • You don’t need to use artificial food color, but you have the option of using it if you like.
  • I’ll be providing shortcuts for shaping the dough into balls.
  • You can learn how to make the brown sugar syrup that goes with the boba pearls.
  • Also learn how to store the uncooked boba pearls for later, so you can make a big batch and cook them whenever you want.
  • Made too much of the boba pearls? I’ll show you how to store and reuse already cooked boba pearls too!

With all that in mind, let’s talk about delicious tapioca pearls.

The dried boba pearls on a white plate

What are boba pearls (aka tapioca pearls)?

These delicious chewy blobs originated in Taiwan, but are very popular all over East Asia. They are made with tapioca starch (or starch from the cassava plant).

A lot of chewy, gelatinous desserts can be made with cassava root flour. But when it’s formed into round balls and cooked – they are known as boba pearls. Tapioca starch is also the same ingredient that is used to make small tapioca pearls for tapioca pudding.

Boba pearls are usually sold dry, and then cooked in water until soft. Store-bought boba pearls also have other additions to help keep their shape and prolong shelf life.

However, these homemade boba pearls are made with just sugar, tapioca starch, and water. Plus they are naturally gluten free!

The boba pearls in two separate bowls

Tapioca pearls are an important component of bubble milk tea drinks that are originally from Taiwan, but are now common everywhere.

They usually don’t have any flavor on their own, but can be a little sweet if you add sugar to the dough. They are also usually stored in a sugar syrup to keep them from sticking together. This simple syrup makes them even sweeter.

Understanding the process of making tapioca pearls

When I first started making boba pearls at home, I followed a very poorly written and explained recipe online. As a result, I ended up with an ooblek fluid (a substance that has properties of both a liquid and a solid). A lot of recipes online require you to mix the starch with hot water – without specifying how hot the water should be.

So, today I’m sharing the step by step process of making boba pearls. And also help you understand what might have gone wrong if you didn’t get the best results.

Making boba pearls

As noted above, these are made with tapioca starch. You can buy this at any Asian store, but it’s also available at Bob’s Red Mill (sometimes as tapioca flour).

Tapioca starch is very similar to cornstarch or cornflour, and as such, it doesn’t form a dough when mixed with liquids. It just becomes a messy liquid (known as ooblek).

To prevent this, you must make a starter dough by mixing tapioca starch with boiling water to make a gelatinous mass. This starter dough can then be used to make the final dough for the boba pearls.

Why heat tapioca starch with hot water to make a dough?
The combination of hot water and tapioca starch gives rise to a process called gelatinization (like with tangzhong). In this process, the starch molecules in tapioca absorb more water until the molecules burst. This results in an irreversible reaction, where the contents inside dissolve in the liquid, which causes the liquid to form a gel or paste.

If tapioca starch is combined with cold water, it cannot form a dough due to the absence of gluten. The starter dough creates a matrix that allows the tapioca starch to form a stable dough.

Making the starter dough

Weigh all the ingredients needed for this recipe.

  • Tapioca starch
  • Brown sugar – you can also use white sugar to keep the dough white (for clear boba pearls).
  • Water
  • Dark cocoa powder (if you want dark boba pearls) or matcha powder (for green boba pearls).

A note about brown sugar – The darker the brown sugar, the more prominent the molassey sweetness of the tapioca pearls. I prefer using the darkest brown sugar (muscavado), or the dark brown sugar available in stores.

The traditional ingredient to use is black sugar, which gives these pearls a much darker color. But it can be hard to find; so far I haven’t been able to find any in my local Asian grocery either.

Dark brown sugar
Dark brown sugar
Muscavado brown sugar
Muscavado sugar

For dark boba pearls, sift the tapioca starch and cocoa powder together and set aside.

Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Make sure the sugar is dissolved as well.

When the mixture comes to a boil, add some of the tapioca starch into the boiling water and whisk until smooth. Return it to cook over low heat until you get a nice, thick paste.

THIS is your starter dough.
Tapioca starch thickening in a saucepan to make the starter dough for boba pearls

Making black tapioca pearls

If you add cocoa powder to your tapioca starch, then you can make much darker boba pearls that will turn into black tapioca pearls once cooked in the dark brown sugar. You can skip the cocoa powder and add black food coloring into the water as well.

Making green tapioca pearls

Replace the brown sugar with white sugar, and the cocoa powder with matcha powder. You can also use butterfly pea powder to make blue boba pearls.

Making the tapioca pearl dough

Once you have the starter dough, you can add the rest of the tapioca starch and mix it in.

Mix until it forms a shaggy dough. Then turn it out onto a smooth work surface, and knead the dough until it becomes nice and smooth. This needs to be done while the dough is hot, so that it remains pliable.

The texture of the dough changes when it cools down.

Mixing in the rest of the tapioca starch into the starter dough

What should the texture be like?

The texture of the dough should be smooth, and not too sticky. If it’s a very wet dough, you can sprinkle some extra tapioca starch to make it less sticky.

But you do NOT want the dough to be completely non-sticky (dry surface) either. For example, if I leave the dough on the surface and try to pick it up, then it would look like it wants to stick to the surface, but I can still pull it off cleanly. This is the correct texture.

If the dough is too wet, you won’t be able to form proper smooth pearls and will end up with very ugly looking cooked boba pearls.

Once the dough is ready, you’re ready to shape them into balls.

NOTE – this dough is very prone to drying out. If you’re not shaping the dough, keep it completely wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.

Tapioca starch mixed to form a dough in the saucepan
The shaggy dough turned out onto a work surface
The boba pearl dough after it has been kneaded until smooth.
The light boba pearls and the dark boba pearl dough wrapped in plastic wrap

Shaping the dough

There are a few ways to shape the boba pearls from the dough.

  1. Take small pieces from the dough and then ball them up in your palm. Repeat until you’re finished with all of the dough.
  2. Roll out the dough into an even thickness, cut strips in both directions to form squares. Roll the little squares into balls.
  3. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions, and roll out each portion into a long evenly thick rope. Cut similar-sized pieces from the rope and roll them up into balls.
  4. If you live in the UK, you can purchase a device like this, that is used to make carp bait boilies. You can use this to create the small, round balls needed to make boba pearls too. I haven’t had any luck finding something similar in Canada so far. It’s similar to the cake pop ball makers I have seen, but much smaller.
The method I prefer to use to shape tapioca pearls

I prefer to use the second method above. I sometimes use a cake cooling rack (with 1 cm grids), and press it into the dough to create the squares. Then I cut along the lines to create similar-sized squares.

You don’t have to use the cooling rack to create the lines though. You can use a knife to cut 1 cm strips in one direction, and then in the perpendicular direction to cut similarly thick strips. Then you end up with similar-sized squares.

Cover the cut up pieces with plastic wrap, and take one portion out at a time and roll it into little balls. I usually do this in front of the TV, while watching re-watching an episode of The Office or Avatar the Last Airbender. Sometimes I get my husband to help. He likes bubble tea too much to complain.

I would love to try the carp boilie maker, but I’m still searching for one here. But if I do try it, I’ll let you know how it goes!

Rolling out the cooled dough on a work surface
Press down on the dough using a cooling rack to form squared
Cut along the lines to create squares
The brown sugar boba pearls cut into squares
Cutting matcha tapioca dough to make boba pearls
Matcha boba pearls after rolling, in starch

What if my tapioca pearls are sticking to each other?

This is normal! The dough is a little tacky while it’s warm, so the pearls will naturally stick to each other.

To prevent this, I like to keep a little tapioca starch in a bowl, and add the rolled up pearls into the bowl. Then I roll the ball around to make sure it’s coated in the tapioca starch.

Making sure each boba pearl is lightly coated with tapioca starch ensures they won’t stick to each other.

When the balls have all been made, they are ready to be cooked!

You can let the boba pearls dry for a few hours. But I have cooked the pearls fresh, dried, frozen, and they always come out well!

An image of the cut up square pieces of dough being rolled up to form balls
Boba pearls coated with tapioca starch
Plate of matcha boba pearls and clear boba pearls
Matcha boba pearls + clear boba pearls

Drying the boba pearls

To make dried tapioca pearls – spread the boba pearls on a half sheet pan, and let them dry out for about 4 – 6 hours. Every hour or so, roll the pearls around on the pan to make sure the balls are evenly dry all over, while maintaining a nice, round shape.

Freezing dry boba pearls

Once the boba pearls are dried, they can be frozen. Place them in an air-tight container or vacuum pack them.

Freezing fresh boba pearls

Fresh boba pearls are still going to be soft, so you don’t want to vacuum pack fresh boba pearls directly.

Since there will be some condensation, I prefer to wrap the boba pearls in some paper towels and then place them in an air-tight container.

Cooking the boba pearls

Cooking boba pearls will be done in two stages.

The first stage involves cooking the boba pearls in water. This will soften the boba pearls and make them chewy and almost translucent .

For every cup of boba pearls, use 4 cups of water.

Once the boba pearls are cooked, strain them and IMMEDIATELY dunk them in cold water. Keeping them soaked in cold water prevents them from sticking to each other.

The cook time will change according to how fresh / dry the boba pearls are. If the boba pearls are fresh (and not dried), then the cook time will be less.

Boba pearls floating in boiling water in a pot
Boba pearls float to the surface when they start to cook
The water boiling with boba pearls
Boba pearls in rapidly boiling water

The second stage is to cook the boba pearls in a sugar syrup.

You can use white sugar or brown sugar for this part. If you want to add more flavor to the syrup, go with a beautiful molassey brown sugar. This is what is used to make brown sugar bubble tea.

If you want to keep the color of the boba pearls vibrant, then I recommend using a combination of white sugar syrup or honey.

brown sugar syrup boiling
Tapioca pearls added to the sugar syrup

How to store boba pearls

I’ve outlined how to store uncooked boba pearls above.

This is the best way to store boba pearls (tapioca pearls) for a long time.

Can I store leftover, cooked boba pearls?

Yes! Cooked boba pearls can also be stored in the fridge for a few days. However, you must store them in the sugar syrup to prevent them from sticking to each other.

Cooked boba pearls will harden as they cool down, losing the chewy, soft texture in the process. They MUST be warm to have that soft, chewy texture.

So, to make cooked and refrigerated tapioca balls fresh again, add a little water to the syrup and re-heat in the microwave until the sugar syrup is bubbling again.

It is important that the tapioca balls are completely submerged in the liquid, and that you use a bowl or jug that is large enough to allow the syrup to boil.

Brown sugar boba pearls ready to be used

How long can I store boba pearls?

I don’t keep leftover cooked boba pearls for too long – maximum 3 days (before we finish it!). So I’m not entirely sure what the shelf life of these could be. But I do know it won’t be too long.

Dried and frozen – lasts a good 6 months.

Fresh and frozen – will last about 1 month (condensation could make it difficult to store them for longer).

  • Homemade boba pearls, with some matcha boba pearls
    Clear and matcha boba pearls
  • Iced Matcha Latte with boba pearls
    Iced matcha latte with matcha boba pearls

My tapioca pearls were too hard. What went wrong?

In this recipe, I cook the boba pearls to my family’s and my liking. Soft and chewy. You can adjust the cooking time to suit your preferences. Also remember that the larger the tapioca pearls, the longer it will take for them to cook.

Drier tapioca pearls will also take longer to cook. If you’re cooking them from fresh, you may need to reduce the cook time by a few minutes. The first batch might be a test run for you, and then you can adjust the cooking time to your liking.

Also remember that the boba pearls are initially cooked until they are ALMOST translucent in the center. The pearls are cooked all the way through in the sugar syrup.

Why are my boba pearls not keeping their shape (i.e. dissolving)?

If the boba pearl dough was too soft, then the pearls that you made were also too soft. Boba pearls that are too soft will dissolve in water and / or not keep their shape while cooking.

This can also happen if the boba pearls have too many cracks in them.

The process of making boba pearls is easy, but the more familiar you are with the dough consistency, the better your results will be.

Using boba pearls in drinks – Brown sugar bubble tea

Making brown sugar bubble tea - A spoon dragging the brown sugar syrup along the sides of the glass to create streakes
Adding the brown sugar boba pearls to the glass

You can simply add the boba pearls to a glass, and top it with ice and any drink you prefer!

However, serving brown sugar boba pearls for brown sugar bubble tea is a little different.

Place the boba pearls and the thick brown sugar syrup at the bottom of a glass. Using a spoon, drag some of the brown sugar syrup along the side of the glass to create brown syrup streaks (see pictures in the post).

Fill the glass with some ice, and then top it with some ice cold milk. The brown sugar streaks will be more visible, but will dissolve in the milk with time.

Serve with a boba tea straw. Stir well to mix the syrup at the bottom, and then enjoy your delicious brown sugar bubble tea! 🙂

Pouring the milk to make brown sugar bubble tea

If you liked this recipe, you may also like,

Classic bubble tea

Nutella frappuccino

Cookie butter cold brew coffee

Boozy coffee slushie

 

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5 from 18 votes

Brown Sugar Boba Pearls

Author: Dini K.
Yield: 1 batch makes 1 cup of uncooked boba pearls
Cuisine: Asian, East Asian, Taiwan
Learn how to make homemade boba pearls (tapioca pearls). Easy recipe and better than store-bought, and makes the best brown sugar bubble tea or any kind of bubble tea!
EASY - This is an easy recipe. However, shaping the boba pearls can be time consuming.
One batch makes about 1 cup of uncooked boba pearls. Each batch is enough for 6 drinks.
Prep: 3 hours hours
Drying time (optional): 4 hours hours
Cook: 50 minutes minutes
Total Time: 3 hours hours 50 minutes minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 6 drinks
Print Rate

Ingredients:

Brown sugar boba pearls (1 batch)

  • 50 g dark brown sugar ¼ cup
  • 60 g water ¼ cup
  • 100 g tapioca starch sifted

Black boba pearls (1 batch)

  • 50 g dark brown sugar ¼ cup
  • 60 g water ¼ cup
  • 5 g dark cocoa powder
  • 95 g tapioca starch sifted

Matcha boba pearls (or butterfly pea pearls)

  • 50 g white sugar ¼ cup
  • 60 g water ¼ cup
  • 5 g culinary grade matcha powder or butterfly pea powder
  • 95 g tapioca starch sifted

Brown sugar syrup for (1 batch)

  • 240 g water 1 cup
  • 150 g dark brown sugar ¾ cup - I like to use a combination of dark brown sugar and muscavado sugar.

    Substitute with white sugar for a clear sugar syrup.

To serve

  • Cold milk substitute with a plant based milk to keep it vegan
  • Ice

Instructions:

Making boba pearls

    Tapioca starch dough

    • Place the brown sugar and water in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, and stir to dissolve the sugar.
    • Bring the water and sugar mixture to a boil. If you want to use food color to color the dough, add a few drops to the water at this stage.
    • While the water is coming to a boil, mix the cocoa powder (or matcha powder or butterfly pea powder if you're making those versions) and tapioca starch together if you’re making black or colored boba pearls.
    • As soon as the liquid comes to a proper boil, remove the pan from the heat.
    • Add roughly 3 - 4 tbsp of the tapioca starch (or tapioca starch + cocoa mix for black boba pearls), into the water. Whisk well (but quickly), to completely dissolve the starch in the water.
    • Return the mixture back to the stove, and heat over medium low heat while whisking quickly and constantly. If the dough is heating too quickly, you can momentarily remove it from the heat to whisk the dough to temper the heat.
    • The mixture will start to thicken and form a gelatinous mass within 2 - 3 minutes. This is your starter dough.
    • Add the rest of the tapioca starch to this, and fold it in to mix it as well as possible.
    • Turn the dough out onto a clean, smooth work surface. It is normal to have some dry spots of tapioca starch, and you may have a few lumps as well. These will disappear when you knead the dough. Scrape as much of the dough from the saucepan as possible.
    • The dough will be hot, so be careful when handling the dough. Knead the dough while it’s hot until you get a nice, smooth dough, that is still soft while warm, and a little tacky. Knead quickly, as the dough will harden as it cools down and become hard to knead.
    • The dough will be smooth, soft, and tacky while warm.
    • Optional - Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, and set aside until it comes to room temperature.
      You can still work with the dough while it's warm as well.
    • Dust your work surface very lighty, and roll out the tapioca dough until it’s about ¼ inch thick.
    • Cut 1 cm strips in one direction first. Then, cut 1 cm strips in the perpendicular direction. This will create small squares (see pictures in the post). You can also use a cooling wire rack to create the grid pattern, to use as a guide to cut the dough.
    • Cover the cut up squares in plastic wrap. Also, add some tapioca starch to a bowl and set aside.
    • Start rolling the small dough squares into balls, a little at a time (keep the rest of the squares covered in plastic wrap, as the dough can dry out quickly if exposed). Place each ball in the bowl with tapioca starch, and move it around to coat the ball.
    • Repeat with all the square pieces of dough. This is the time consuming step of the recipe.
    • If a piece of dough feels dry and doesn’t form into a smooth ball (and develops cracks), you can dip a finger in a little cold water and use it to moisten the piece of dough. This will make it easier to roll it up again.
    • When all the dough squares have been rolled into little balls and are coated in tapioca starch, place them on a quarter sheet pan (or half sheet pan).
    • Let them dry for 4 hours (if you want to store them for a long time). Then, at one hour intervals, use your palm to lightly roll the balls on the surface of the half sheet pan. After 4 hours, the pearls should be firm, and they will remain nice and round.
    • Store them in air-tight containers, or vacuum seal them and freeze for later.

    Cooking the boba pearls

    • Measure out how much of the boba pearls that you will be cooking. Each batch will make about 1 cup of pearls, which should be enough for about 6 drinks. You can make as much or as little of the boba pearls as you like.
    • For every cup of boba pearls you're cooking, bring at least 4 cups of water to a boil (i.e. at least 4 times the volume of the boba pearls). I like to use about 5 - 6 cups. A covered pot will come to a boil faster as well.
    • When the water has come to a boil, remove the lid and add the boba pearls. Immediately start stirring to prevent the pearls from sticking to each other.
    • After the boba pearls float to the surface, let them cook for about 30 - 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are mostly translucent at the edges. Remove the pot from the heat. Cover the pot, and let the boba pearls sit for about 15 - 25 more minutes, until completely translucent or almost translucent.
      The cooking time will vary depending on how big and how dry the tapioca pearls are.
    • The cooking liquid might be thick at this stage, and this is natural.
    • Remove the tapioca pearls with a slotted spoon, and transfer them into a bowl with cold water.
    • Let them sit in the cold water for a few minutes to rest. At this point, they may also return to their original size.

    Making the brown sugar syrup

    • In a clean saucepan, add the brown sugar/s and water.
    • Cook over medium heat while stirring with a spatula to dissolve the sugar, and then bring it to a boil.
    • Boil the mixture until it reaches the desired thickness / consistency.
    • Using a slotted spoon, remove the tapioca pearls from the cold water and transfer them into the saucepan.
    • Bring the sugar syrup back to a boil. Cook the syrup a little longer to thicken it. About 2 - 3 minutes. Cooking them further in the syrup will also turn the boba pearls completely translucent (if they weren't before). Then remove the saucepan from the heat. Transfer to a glass jar.
    • The boba pearls are best used while warm (since they harden as they cool down).

    Making brown sugar bubble tea

    • Place 2 - 4 tbsp of boba pearls WITH the brown sugar syrup, in a glass.
    • Using a spoon, drag the brown sugar syrup along the inside wall of the glass to create streaks. This is optional, but does make the drink look visually better.
    • Add a few cubes of ice, and top with milk.
    • Serve immediately with a boba straw. Stir well before drinking.

    Tips & Tricks

    If the dough is crumbly, then too much tapioca was added. Just add a little water (a few drops at a time to make it softer).
    If the tapioca pearls crack when you roll them, moisten your hands with just the smallest amount of water and roll the pearls in your palms. This will make them smooth again.
    If the dough is too soft, the resulting boba pearls may not retain a good shape when you cook them. The dough needs to have the correct texture of being firm, but not cracked.
    It's important to adjust the starch / water levels in the dough to get the correct consistency. If you boil the water at the beginning for too long, you may end up with a drier dough (with not enough water). 
    It will be easier to roll the boba pearls smoothly, IF the dough is warm as well. 
    Adjust the cooking times to the size of the boba pearls, and consistency of the dough. 

    Nutrition Information:

    Calories: 137kcal (7%)Carbohydrates: 35g (12%)Protein: 1g (2%)Sodium: 9mgPotassium: 33mg (1%)Sugar: 24g (27%)Calcium: 21mg (2%)Iron: 1mg (6%)

    “This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”

    Course:Beverages, Brunch, Tea, Tea / coffee break
    Cuisine:Asian, East Asian, Taiwan
    Keyword:Boba pearls, Brown sugar boba pearls, Brown sugar bubble tea, Bubble Tea, Gluten free
    Did you make this?Tag me on Instagram!I love seeing what you’ve made! Tag me on Instagram at @TheFlavorBender or leave me a comment & rating below.

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    1. Achlys says

      July 11, 2023 at 11:03

      5 stars
      I was searching for a recipe like this for so long! Thanks!

      (I haven’t tried to make them yet tho)

      Reply
    2. Laura Matisr says

      May 6, 2023 at 00:05

      5 stars
      What a great tutorial!

      Reply
    3. Bea Gassman says

      January 30, 2023 at 21:51

      I found carp boilie makers on google. There was a pretty good selection of places to buy them.
      Can’t wait to try this bubble tea!
      Thank you!!

      Reply
    4. Sarah says

      December 26, 2022 at 20:48

      5 stars
      It worked! I just made brown sugar Boba pearls for the first time, and they turned out perfectly!
      Throughout the process I wasn’t sure if my dough was right, but I kept going anyway, and they turned out great!
      I just made a Boba drink at home for the first time, and it’s perfect! The Boba pearls did turn translucent and they are perfectly chewy and sweet. Love it!

      Reply
    5. Suzanne says

      November 18, 2022 at 07:30

      5 stars
      The recipe for the boba pearls worked out beautifully.

      Reply
    6. Megan says

      September 13, 2022 at 14:31

      in addition to molasses and sugar (which is just what brown sugar is, so why waste the money) I used a single capsule of activated charcoal to give a black color w/o adding flavor. Thank you for great step by step info

      Reply
    7. Kristina C says

      August 29, 2022 at 20:05

      5 stars
      Thank you!! It turned out perfect!! I made a passion fruit juice, then added bobas, milk, and ice. Yum!!!!

      Reply
    8. Dawn says

      August 7, 2022 at 16:24

      I haven’t made this yet, but wanted to give you a shout out before I continue with my day. Your recipe/instructions are SO clear and comprehensive that I feel reasonably confident that I could successfully make this myself. I

      also appreciate that you don’t go on and on with paragraphs about how great-aunt Bertha’s thriftiness on the old family farm still iNsPiReS yOu ToDaY. And I’m grateful for your good grammar, spelling, and punctuation, which seems to be a lost art. I look forward to exploring more of your recipes- thank you for sharing!

      Reply
    9. Ophelia says

      June 14, 2022 at 22:16

      Hi!! I have tried to make brown sugars boba a couple of times but always failed at the dough stage. All the recipes say mostly the same thing, and yours is the first that goes into a little more detail. When I add the tapioca flour for the sugar/water mixture for the second time, instead of forming a dough, the mixture becomes hard a hard, dry, pasty, and very unpleasant thick mass that has a slightly glossy surface and doesn’t hold its shape. I thought at first my water wasn’t boiled enough, then I thought it might be too hot, but now I’m wondering if I’ve overcooked the water. Do you maybe know what might be the problem?

      Reply
      • Sarah says

        December 26, 2022 at 20:55

        5 stars
        That did happen with my dough too, but I just put the mixture into a bowl and I kept adding water and kneeding it untill it formed a smooth(ish) dough.
        I probably added about 1.5 cups of water to it.
        Then I continued with the rest of the steps and it worked out well.
        So, I think, whenever it’s too dry and crumbly, just add more water.

        Reply
    10. Leony says

      May 26, 2022 at 18:04

      I love this recipe

      Reply
    11. Christina says

      January 30, 2022 at 12:12

      I was ambitious and made the brown sugar pearls and brown sugar bubble tea for my daughter’s baby shower. Everyone loved it. I will be making this again!

      Reply
    12. Catherine says

      January 4, 2022 at 00:29

      5 stars
      Hi Dini, thanks ever so much for putting together and sharing such a comprehensive guide complemented with tried and tested tips to making these delicious pearls. I simply love these!

      Reply
    13. Teng says

      November 20, 2021 at 04:51

      Thanks so much for the detailed info behind the science in making the pearls. Mine didn’t turn out as pretty and round, but so chewy and very nice!

      Reply
    14. Merritts says

      November 19, 2021 at 14:03

      Thank you for helping us understand the how and why’s of Boba! We won’t be wasting so much starch now!

      Reply
    15. María Paiz says

      October 17, 2021 at 13:47

      5 stars
      Thank you thank you thank you! This was a perfect recipe for perfect boba pearls. I really appreciate how generous you were with all the thorough information. I followed your steps and they came out amazing! So labor intensive but totally worth it! ❤️

      Reply
    16. Marianne Bradley says

      September 27, 2021 at 07:56

      5 stars
      Great instructions – so much detail meant we didn’t have any problems making this and it was really really delicious. Better than what you get in the shop.

      Reply
    17. Isabel says

      September 18, 2021 at 20:52

      5 stars
      I made the matcha boba pearl and it was delicious! My dough was too hard at first but I kept adding water until it was the right consistency, I have made boba pearl before so I have an idea of what the consistency should be. This recipe is a keeper, thanks so much!!

      Reply
    18. Nel says

      September 9, 2021 at 23:24

      Hi, the recipe was a success except my boba pearls were too soft and didn’t hold shape, is there a way this could be fixed/avoided for future reference? (Do I add less water or more tapioca starch?..)

      Reply
      • Dini says

        September 15, 2021 at 15:10

        Hi Nel
        Once you have made the starter dough, you can add more tapioca starch to get the dough to stiffen. So if the boba pearls were too soft, you can add more starch to stiffen the dough.
        The dough should be malleable when warm, and should become stiffer when it cools down.

        Reply
    19. Rachael says

      August 18, 2021 at 02:05

      Hi can I substitute the brown sugar for just white that’s all I have on hand

      Reply
      • Dini says

        September 2, 2021 at 14:20

        Hi Rachael
        I do use brown sugar for the boba pearls in the recipe. The white sugar is used if you want to make the boba pearls with a color.

        Reply
    20. D says

      August 3, 2021 at 11:19

      Thank you, this turned out wonderful even though we messed up a little with the dough.

      It was quite dry and crumbly at first then I added another 40ml of water which was way too much. Will add drop by drop next time.

      Love your detailed instructions and tips =)

      Reply
    21. Fiona says

      July 7, 2021 at 06:14

      5 stars
      Thank you for this recipe along with the fantastic instructions and detailed tips on what can go wrong and what caused the problem and how to fix it.

      I loved this so much that I made it for the first time, then made more the very next day. It did help that I have four kids who are home for school holidays and we’re in lockdown so they welcomed an activity like rolling dozens of little balls that they eventually get to eat

      This will be a new favourite in our household!

      Reply
    22. Valerie says

      June 28, 2021 at 12:24

      Have you tried to make them with something besides water… like coconut water or coconut milk to give the pearls a different flavor? Just curious to know if it would work.

      Reply
      • Dini says

        June 28, 2021 at 12:30

        Hi Valerie
        I prefer to use water. As the water boils, it thickens because of the tapioca pearls, and with other liquids, this could cause sugars to concentrate and burn.
        The sugar syrup at the end adds some flavor. The other way to add flavor is to add the flavor to the actual dough of the pearls.
        I hope that helps

        Reply
    23. Ellizabeth says

      June 21, 2021 at 00:52

      So do I need to “dry” the boba pearls if I am going to immediately going to cook them?

      Reply
    24. Tawnya says

      June 10, 2021 at 15:02

      5 stars
      Thank you so much for the detailed instructions! This was my first time making boba and every time I ran into an issue, you had instructions on how to solve it. I encourage everyone using this recipe to make boba for the first time to read the entire post including the tips several times before starting and everything should come out perfectly!

      Reply
    25. maria says

      May 20, 2021 at 03:48

      I was just wondering one more thing, do I need to make the sirup if I want to put the boba pearls into another type of tea?

      Reply
      • Dini says

        May 20, 2021 at 08:27

        Hi Maria
        As mentioned in the post, Boba pearls stick together uess they are kept in a syrup.
        I also like to cook it in the syrup to make sure the Boba pearls are cooked all the way through (depends in the size).
        I do prefer to keep them in a syrup (either the brown sugar or white sugar or honey syrup).
        You can choose not to, but any leftovers will definitely stick together.

        Reply
    26. Maria says

      May 19, 2021 at 10:01

      5 stars
      I was just wondering if I need to use tapioca starch or if I can use corn starch?

      Reply
      • Dini says

        May 19, 2021 at 10:06

        Hi Maria
        For this recipe you need to use tapioca starch to get similar results to boba pearls.
        Hope that helps!

        Reply
        • maria says

          May 19, 2021 at 10:17

          Thank you 😀

          Reply
    27. Brook says

      May 3, 2021 at 16:54

      5 stars
      I love this recipe!! I’ve tried others but this is the only one that turned out! I ended up using a smidge more starch but overall 10/10

      Reply
    28. Brittany says

      May 2, 2021 at 16:37

      Hi there,
      Just wondering if adding the cocoa powder gives the boba a chocolate flavour or if it’s simply for attaining a darker colour?

      Reply
      • Dini says

        May 2, 2021 at 18:29

        Hi Brittany
        I haven’t noticed a cocoa flavor personally, when the boba pearls are in the drink. But I have had a couple of readers tell me that they have liked the subtle cocoa flavor. It is used to give the boba pearls a darker color predominantly. If you prefer not to use cocoa powder, you can use food coloring as I have mentioned in the post too.
        Hope that helps!

        Reply
    29. Marcus says

      April 29, 2021 at 13:50

      Can flour be used in place of starch and can you cook it directly after making?

      Reply
      • Dini says

        April 30, 2021 at 08:19

        Hi Marcus
        Unfortunately flour is not going to give the same results as tapioca starch.
        You also get best results if you let it dry before cooking them. Otherwise the boba pearls can dissolve in the water before being cooked through.
        Hope that helps!

        Reply
    30. Delilah says

      March 24, 2021 at 19:15

      Hey how do they become translucent mine just look like little chicken nuggets haha

      Reply
      • Dini says

        March 24, 2021 at 19:42

        Hi Delilah
        Did you roll them into perfect balls?
        If the dough was too soft, or the boba pearls weren’t dried enough, they could unravel during the cooking process and look uneven.
        Even if they are uneven, they can turn translucent if the dough wasn’t too soft.
        I hope that helps

        Reply
        • Racheal says

          August 9, 2021 at 19:07

          What does it mean by to soft?

          Reply
          • Dini says

            August 10, 2021 at 09:12

            Hi Racheal
            Too soft is when you can’t form a ball because the dough has too much water. The ball doesn’t hold its shape. I hope that helps.

            Reply
    31. Shoog Khalid says

      March 24, 2021 at 18:53

      Hey u said to wrap the fresh boba with paper towels but I didn’t quite understand, could h explain more? And fresh u mean cooked right? If not how can I freeze cooked boba with the syrup so whenever I want I can microwave and drink it?

      Reply
      • Dini says

        March 24, 2021 at 19:40

        Hi Shoog
        There’s a separate section on how to store cooked boba pearls. Unfortunately I haven’t tried to freeze cooked boba pearls. I prefer to store them dry, as re heated boba pearls aren’t as good as the freshly cooked ones.
        The paper towels are for storing freshly made uncooked boba pearls (without drying them). I place them inbetween paper towels, and inside an air tight container.
        Hope that helps

        Reply
    32. Holly says

      March 15, 2021 at 13:20

      5 stars
      Yummy and great instructions

      Reply
    33. Hannah says

      February 23, 2021 at 05:39

      How do I get the middle to cook properly? I can’t cook for longer becayse the outside is too soft and chewy already

      Reply
      • Dini says

        February 23, 2021 at 09:32

        Hi Hannah
        As stated in the recipe, the boba pearls aren’t cooked all the way through in boiling water. Once they are almost transluscent, they are kept in the hot water with the lid covered. This step helps cooks the boba pearls through. While it rests, in the hot water it maintains the shape but cooks the center the pearls, turning the opaque centers, transluscent.
        Depending on the size and how dry the pearls are, the cook time and rest time changes. Check on them while they are covered in the hot water.
        Hope that helps

        Reply
    34. Katie says

      February 8, 2021 at 21:37

      When I boil them they just seen to disappear and the water turns to goo with almost no pearls left. Help!

      Reply
      • Dini says

        February 9, 2021 at 09:59

        Hi Katie
        Usually the tapioca pearls dissolve if the dough was too soft or if the pearls were too small and they were boiled too long. If they were too soft, that means the dough needed more tapioca starch. Make sure to let them dry before cooking them as well, and keep an eye on them to adjust the cook time as well.
        I hope that helps!

        Reply
    35. Donna says

      February 8, 2021 at 07:02

      I love tapioca pudding. However, can no longer find the large white pearl tapioca in stores.

      Is there a way I can I adjust this recipe to make WHITE tapioca pearls? With NO sugar added?
      Thank you

      Reply
      • Dini says

        February 8, 2021 at 07:48

        Hi Donna
        I haven’t tried to make tapioca pearls for pudding with this recipe. Thought the same technique would apply in making the pearls.
        You can leave out the sugar and the cocoa powder to make white pearls, but the amount of flour that you would need to add to make the final dough may change.
        Make the starter dough and then add enough tapioca starch to create pliable smooth dough. Then you can create the pearls (with the size that you are looking for), and it can be cooked the same way.
        I hope that helps

        Reply
    36. Elizabeth Kang says

      January 28, 2021 at 06:44

      5 stars
      Can I use cake mixer to knead the hot dough?

      Reply
      • Dini says

        January 28, 2021 at 10:42

        Hi Elizabeth
        The amount of dough here will be too little to be kneaded in a mixer.
        Hand kneading is easier and quicker.
        I hope that helps!

        Reply
    37. Rebekah says

      January 26, 2021 at 19:32

      What do I do if my dough keeps turning into a neo-neutonian thing like when you put cornstarch in water? I’ve tried it twice and followed the steps and measurements exactly and it didn’t work. I had to toss both batches out and wasted my tapioca starch.

      Reply
      • Dini says

        January 27, 2021 at 10:12

        Hi Rebekah
        The reason why the mixture is an ooblek is because the starch wasn’t added to the boiling water.
        As per instructions, you have to boil the water before adding the tapioca starch (not cornstarch).
        I hope that helps!

        Reply
        • Ariez says

          July 12, 2023 at 04:58

          Can I use a cornstarch?instead of tapioca starch?or I really need to use a tapioca starch only?

          Reply
          • Dini says

            July 12, 2023 at 11:49

            Hi Ariez
            Boba pearls are called tapioca pearls. Therefore it is made with tapioca starch.
            I haven’t tried making these with cornstarch, but you are welcome to try. I can’t guarantee that it will work, and I think the boba pearls will be softer if made with cornstarch (if it works) as well.
            I hope that helps

            Reply
    38. Kerri says

      December 23, 2020 at 13:41

      Hi Dini
      what should I do if my starter dough gets chunky

      Reply
      • Dini says

        December 23, 2020 at 14:13

        Hi Kerri
        The starter dough is chunky when it isn’t mixed fast enough.
        You can knead it and if the lumps are small then it should becomes smoother as you knead it more. If they are very large, then I would advise you to start again.
        I noticed this happening if I don’t mix the starter dough vigorously enough once I add the starch to the water.

        Reply
    39. Rach says

      December 3, 2020 at 10:53

      5 stars
      Absolutly amazing Boba☺️

      Reply
    40. Sasi says

      November 21, 2020 at 04:28

      5 stars
      Thank you so much for this detailed recipe. I would like to know if the pearls have to cook in the sugar syrup for the taste or to store them only?

      Reply
      • Dini says

        November 21, 2020 at 08:18

        Hi Sasi
        I make my boba pearls the way that is stated in the recipe. Since the pearls already have some sugar it will have a slightly sweet taste. The sugar syrup serves as adding some flavor and also for storage to prevent sticking.
        I hope that helps!

        Reply
        • Sharlynne says

          January 26, 2023 at 18:57

          What do I do if it turns into an ooblek quality where if you squish it,it tightens and if you don’t it melts

          Reply
          • Sharlynne says

            January 26, 2023 at 19:06

            I had already boiled the water before adding the starch ( tapioca) just like the recipe too

            Reply
            • Dini says

              January 27, 2023 at 19:47

              Hi Sharlynne
              The water needs to be boiling when you add the starch. That’s why I instruct to put the starch into the pot and to heat it, to form the starter dough. The cornstarch MUST boil with the water to form the starter dough. Without the starter dough, the dough will have ooblek properties.
              Hope that helps.

              Reply
    41. shwetha says

      October 24, 2020 at 10:03

      Hi Dini

      So what am I do wrong if the dough is not sticky like mentioned and the dough falls apart easily while trying to roll it out. Was it not gelatinous enough when i added the rest of the flour?

      Reply
      • Dini says

        October 24, 2020 at 10:25

        Hi Shwetha
        It’s hard for me to understand what exactly might be going on.
        If the dough was never sticky to begin with, then it might be because the starter dough wasn’t the right consistency (not gelatinous enough). Or it could also be because you added too much starch and the dough is too dry.
        Does the dough have an ooblek quality? Or is it dry?

        Reply
    42. Bernice Herb says

      October 16, 2020 at 14:32

      Thank you so much for this detailed explanation of the boba pearls. I will be trying this very soon.

      Reply
    43. Anna Dodson says

      August 26, 2020 at 17:32

      I made this! Used cocoa powder to make it dark, so I had to use almost 2x as much water as the recipe called for to get the right consistency for the boba. Another tip – Don’t skip the brown sugar step even if you don’t make the brown sugar variant 🙂
      Also, I found that making tapioca logs worked better than rolling it into a sheet and then making cubes.

      Reply
      • Dini says

        August 26, 2020 at 17:47

        Hi Anna
        Thank you for letting me know! I’m really glad to hear you made this.
        If you add more cocoa powder than the recipe states, then you will definitely need to add more water to get the right consistency.
        And I absolutely recommend adding brown sugar for all versions (as noted in the recipe!), because without it, it won’t have the nice sweetness on it’s own!
        I’m so glad the rope technique worked for you! Most people do try that method. I tried that and detested that method, so I always for the cube method now 🙂

        Reply

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