FAQ Bubble tea

What do you need to make bubble tea?

At its simplest, making bubble tea the “right” way requires flavored tea and optional add-ins like syrup, milk powder, or fruit juice—and of course the signature pearls, better known as boba.

Traditionally, the pearls are made from tapioca, but you can also use fun alternatives like fruit juice–filled popping pearls.

Since the pearls are larger than regular drink toppings, you’ll need an extra-wide straw—around half an inch (12 mm)—so they can slide through easily.


What are tapioca pearls?

Tapioca pearls are sweet, chewy balls made from cassava starch and brown sugar. Before cooking, the pearls are brown in color, but after boiling they turn black and develop their signature texture.

The mouthfeel of a tapioca pearl is a bit like soft fruit candy—slightly chewy, slightly bouncy.


What are fruit pearls?

Fruit pearls are little spheres filled with fruit juice that burst in your mouth. Their thin outer shell is made from seaweed extract. For safety reasons, fruit pearls are not recommended for children under 4 years old due to choking hazards.

These pearls are created using molecular gastronomy techniques, which allow the juice to be encapsulated into tiny spheres using a calcium solution and sodium alginate.


What kind of tea is used in bubble tea?

You can actually use almost any tea as the base for bubble tea. Black and green teas are the most common choices. In our selection, you’ll find both green tea and flavored tea extracts available in 400 ml bottles. When preparing the tea drink, the contents of one bottle are diluted with 10 liters of water.

Bubble tea can also be made using flavored powders like Taro or Thai milk tea.


Does bubble tea include milk?

Bubble tea can also be made as a milk tea, using powders like Taro or Thai milk tea.


How is bubble tea sweetened?

Bubble tea can be sweetened in many ways: with flavored syrups, traditional granulated sugar, cane sugar, honey, or even stevia. Using fruity syrups makes it easy to add different flavor notes, like mango, passion fruit, green apple, strawberry, or peach. There’s also brown sugar syrup, which gives a rich, caramel-like flavor.

Can bubble tea ingredients be used for other purposes?

Fruity bubble tea pearls are also perfect as a topping for ice cream or in other desserts.


Should bubble tea be served hot or cold?

Bubble tea can be enjoyed either hot or cold. In the summer, a chilled version over ice is especially refreshing. When made with milk, bubble tea is also delicious served warm on colder days.


How many servings can you get from a pack of fruit pearls?

  • 3.2 kg pack yields about 50–60 servings.

  • 1 kg pack yields about 20 servings.

  • 450 g pack yields about 10 servings.

One serving is approximately one ladle, or 45–55 g of pearls.


How many servings can you get from a bottle of flavored syrup?

For sweetening bubble tea: use 30 ml of syrup per 300 ml serving.

  • 2-liter container provides about 60–65 servings.

  • 300 ml bottle provides about 10 servings.

For 2-liter containers, a convenient dosing pump is available. With the pump:

  • For a 300 ml drink: one press (≈30 ml)

  • For a 500 ml drink: two presses