How to Make Boba, aka. Tapioca Pearls, From Scratch
Store bought tapioca pearls can be tricky to cook. That’s why I’ll show you how to make boba from scratch at home for homemade bubble tea. It doesn’t take long to prepare them, and they’re so much better than dried tapioca pearls found in stores.
In the middle of the summer heat, you may have noticed that I haven’t been posting as often lately. In part it’s due to my new philosophy of blogging. In part it’s due to having my son home for the summer, and him wanting to play with me most of the day. (I can’t be complaining about having to play in the pool and cuddle up with a sweet, adorable little 5 year old, can I?)
Mostly, though, it’s due to me not being completely caught up from my trip to the US a few weeks back. Amidst the fiestas here in my town, lots of birthday parties and being a full time mommy, it’s taking me longer than I expected to get back into the swing of things.
The first week of our adventures in the US, we stayed at my dad’s house in Connecticut, not too far away from good old New York, New York.
Most of that week was pretty relaxed, but we did manage to throw in a fun day of exploring NYC which included a delicious meal in Chinatown. I had been to NYC as a kid, but don’t remember ever visiting Chinatown, so it was a new, fun adventure for me. I loved marveling at the Asian style architecture of normally American styled places like Starbucks, and if I hadn’t been trying to travel lightly while walking the city, I probably would have bought a few kilos of Asian fruits like lychees, mangosteen, dragon fruits… all of the fun fruits that I can rarely (if ever) find here in Spain.
Another delicacy that I wasn’t able to try was boba bubble tea.
After our meal, I eyed the bubble tea for sale at the shop across the street, and hinted at perhaps going over to get some dessert. Normally I don’t go for buying specialty teas and coffees outside the house because I know they’ll be sugar-laden and definitely not paleo. 😉 How often am I going to get the chance to try bubble tea made in Chinatown Manhattan, though, right?
Unfortunately, everybody else was full, except for my boring practical husband who had no interest in trying something as absurd as bubble tea, so in the interest of not drinking alone, I decided to pass and never got to try bubble tea before heading on towards Times Square and Central Park.
Fast forward a few weeks, and I was hanging out at the Asian store here in Spain, browsing all the fun, unusual treats the shop had to offer, and I saw tapioca pearls for sale. I couldn’t help but buy some to make boba at home so that I could try to make homemade bubble tea.
The problem with store bought tapioca pearls
Unfortunately, despite having watched numerous videos and reading numerous blogs about how to cook the darn things, I couldn’t get the store bought boba to cook right!
After some research, I’ve found that it’s probably because the people who have the most success with store bought boba use tapioca pearls that have been sealed in shrink wrap and that need to be stored in the fridge and used up within a week once opened. I’m guessing those are packaged without being completely dehydrated, making their reconstitution easier later on. I have only been able to find the fully dried tapioca pearls here, though.
I tried everything from…
pre-soaking the pearls… which ended in a tapioca starch water and powdery mess…
bringing the water to a boil with the boba tapioca pearls already in the pan… which ended up with a gluey mess and no pearls to be seen…
boiling the water and then adding the boba…which, despite boiling for over an hour ended up with rubbery, transparent balls with an opaque, raw, hard, tapioca flour center. Yuck!
The only thing that sort of worked was to boil for very long periods, followed by very long periods of cooling, usually followed by boiling and cooling again at least once more. Even the boba that almost cooked all the way through (see the picture below) weren’t very appealing, and I decided to give up on making homemade bubble tea!
Or did I?
The tapioca pearls that I bought showed only 2 ingredients: tapioca starch and water.
Making tapioca pearls/boba from scratch
Making boba from scratch can’t be that difficult, right?
I thought about how I used to always make pasta from scratch. People used to think I was crazy when they heard that I always made my own pasta from scratch.
Doesn’t that take forever?
Well, actually, no!
Apart from the clean up, it took me about the same amount of time to make homemade pasta as it did for me to boil the store bought stuff. Plus, mine was just so much better and fully customizable!
Why is homemade pasta and boba so quick to make?
Faster cooking time
Because store bought pasta has been dehydrated so that it will keep for longer. Boiling it to cook it takes much longer than cooking the pasta that you have freshly made.
I no longer make homemade pasta very often; not because it takes too long, or because it’s not great, but because most of the time I have completely eliminated gluten from my diet. I have tried coming up with gluten free and grain free pasta recipes, but so far the closest I’ve come to a paleo pasta is the dough I used in my paleo dim sum recipe. (It actually tastes very similar to pasta, and has a similar texture once cooked, it’s just a lot more delicate to work with so it’s not as practical for making something like spaghetti.)
My logic, though, was that homemade boba tapioca pearls would cook similarly. Because they are fresh and haven’t been dehydrated, they would cook up almost immediately.
And I was right!
It took me less time to make boba tapioca pearls from scratch than it did for me to try to cook the store bought boba!
Seriously!
It’s super quick and easy to make, and it’s actually even kind of fun.
Plus it uses only 2 ingredients, tapioca starch and water, so it’s gluten free, grain free, and, thus, arguably paleo. 🙂
After me having thrown out some of his dried up, unusable playdough, my son was only too happy to help make little tapioca pearls too. Win-win!
(I may or may not have actually used his.) 😉
Wow, I’m chatty today…
Let’s get to it!
Video
Boba, aka. Tapioca Pearls, From Scratch
Instructions
- Boil the water.
- Add the tapioca starch to a bowl, followed by the boiling water. I work the water in little by little in case it isn’t all needed. Kneading with your hands is the best way to incorporate the water and make a non-sticky dough. Be careful not to burn yourself, though.
- Once you have a workable dough, the easiest way to make tapioca pearls is to roll the dough into long snakes of dough, cut them into small pieces and roll them into tiny balls.
- To cook your homemade boba, boil at least twice as much water as the volume of tapioca pearls that you are going to cook.
- Add your homemade boba to the boiling water. The boba should float to the top. When that happens, turn the heat down to medium
- You’ll notice that the boba begin to cook and get their chewy texture almost immediately. At any point after a couple of minutes, you can use the boba and they will be better than the dehydrated store bought pearls. I later found, though, that if you keep simmering until they fall back to the bottom of the pan, and then remove them, they will be more transparent once removed and allowed to steep in honey for a few minutes. (They will still be pretty opaque when you remove them from the water, but they start to become translucent once removed from the boiling water and stored in honey.)
- Remove the boba from hot water with a slotted spoon, and transfer them to a bowl with some honey. The honey will help preserve them until you are ready to use them, slightly sweeten them, and keep them from sticking to each other.
- Add them to your tea! I’ve found that they have the best texture when warm, so if you want cold bubble tea, it’s best to add them first to your glass while they are warm, and pour the cold tea over top, serving immediately!
- Enjoy!
Can you store homemade boba tapioca pearls for later?
I’ve been experimenting with different ways to store them.
Can you let them dry out and then use them later?
Yes, but you end up with the same sort of problem that can be had with store bought dehydrated tapioca pearls. It takes a lot longer to cook them, and you may end up with opaque, raw tapioca flour centers.
Can you freeze the cooked boba?
You can, but they will get opaque and hard. I found that out the hard way when I thought it was a good idea to make popsicles with boba! Some people swear that boba popsicles are great, but I can’t imagine how! I found the frozen boba to be unpalatable and hard. No more boba tea popsicles for me! (I did find one blog post that said that you had to use mini pearls in popsicles for them to stay chewy, but I found the frozen boba to be so gross that I probably won’t be giving it a try!)
If you boil them again, they will warm up and turn translucent again. The texture will come closer to the original chewy texture, but I didn’t find them to be as pleasant as the ones made from scratch and served immediately.
Can you freeze the tapioca pearl dough and form the boba later?
Freezing the dough works pretty well, but the dough can get a bit crumblier and harder to work with once it thaws than when it was freshly made. The cooked boba made from frozen dough seemed pretty much identical to the boba made fresh, so if you get sick of making boba in the middle of the process, freezing the excess dough is definitely an option. I wouldn’t personally make a big batch just to freeze it, though, as it is easy enough to make when needed, and the fresh dough is easier to work with.
Can you freeze the formed, uncooked tapioca pearls?
Yes, and I’ve found that to be the best way to make boba ahead of time and store them for later. They may not turn out exactly like the ones made from scratch, but they are pretty close.
I boil them right from frozen, and boil them a little bit longer than I normally do with freshly made tapioca pearls.
Can you color and flavor homemade boba?
So far, I’ve only tried adding in a pinch of salt and some honey to my homemade boba. They turned out well, and may have been slightly sweeter than the ones that are only soaked in honey, but I didn’t really notice much of a difference in the final outcome. The flavor didn’t really change too much.
A lot of people have asked me about how to make black boba.
So, I began to research the topic. At first, I was pretty sure that the black boba just added food coloring to the boba. That’s probably still the case with most inexpensive black boba for sale. (As you probably know by now, I’m not big about adding colorants to my homemade food, so I haven’t tried using food coloring yet.)
That said, other commenters have brought other theories…
Black sugar
Some people have told me that the difference is that the black boba use dark sugar. There is even a type of Asian sugar called “black sugar” that many have claimed is used in black boba. That said, I’m still of the belief that no matter how much dark sugar was added to the boba, it wouldn’t be enough to make them black!
They may use black sugar in the boba, but it it likely supplemented with some other colorant to make them the deep shade of black that you’re used to seeing in shops.
What does seem more plausible, is another theory offered by readers…
Activated Charcoal
It has been brought to my attention that sometimes activated charcoal is used. One reader saw a video on Facebook showing how activated charcoal was used to make black boba from scratch at a café.
Other colors…
I’ll probably try adding things like matcha or substituting the water with fruit juices in some of my next batches, and I’ll try to keep you updated on the outcome.
I’d love to hear what combinations you come up with!
i was wondering since i do not have access to an asian market and do not have to patience or money to order the starch from amazon if i could use kraft minute tapioca?
Hi Latesha,
I have no idea what Kraft Minute tapioca is, but from a quick look online, it seems to me that it is a form of already made tapioca pearls?
I highly doubt you’d be able to use it to make the boba as it appears to me that it’s already formed, cooked, and dried.
I’d be surprised if you couldn’t find tapioca starch somewhere in your area, though, even if you don’t have any nearby Asian markets. I live in a small town in Spain and can find it at several local stores.
I’d check large supermarket type stores in the ethnic section. It is used in both Asian and Latin American cooking, so it could be in either section. You may find different versions in both sections. It is also referred to as “yuca” and “mandioca” in Spanish, so look for those terms on the packaging. Latin American stores should usually carry it too. I hope that helps you somewhat.
I would think that if you ground up the minute tapioca in your blender it would become the tapioca flour you need for the boba.
Good thought, Cindy! It could very possibly work.
Finally!
After two tries I Almost gave up as I didn’t remember to use hot water. Came back to read the comments a few days later cause I was just super craving bubble tea pearls!
So glad I did! It worked! The dough formed! The pearls formed great! But I forgot about how quick they were to cook, third fail..
So this time I just made them again put them in the water and came back to read it once more! Success!!!
I used to work at a tea shop where we actually made bubble tea with the black pears and tea with whatever flavours. I’m so used to making it that way from dried pearls that’s why when I finally formed the balls I thought would take longer. Duh fresh like fresh pasta don’t take as long hahaha So quick I could even take them out sooner to have more of a chew like what I remember from the black pears that we made from dried ones.
There were other flavoured jellies too that were long thin strips.
I’m curious about storing them in the juice as well but they don’t store well in the fridge right? They are meant to be eaten right away?
The jellies we had were stored in the fridge but I’m sure had preservatives and different gel than tapioca.
Thanks a bunch! So glad I finally go these going! Next trial – ‘black’ Boba (most likely brown) with coconut sugar with the hot water tapioca mixture!
Hi Alie,
I’m so happy it worked out for you!
Yes, they cook so quickly when made from scratch. 🙂
I need to go back to this post and make it very, very clear that the water needs to be very, very hot for this to work! Tapioca starch changes its consistency completely, dependent upon the temperature.
As for storing, I think I was able to store them in the fridge in the honey (or a syrup would work) for a couple of days. They needed to heat up again to regain most of the texture, and they are best when used fresh, but aren’t too bad when stored and used like that for a few days.
I hope that helps!
I’d love to hear how your boba adventures go. 🙂
wow, this is brilliant. Thank you, I will definitely give this a try! I miss bubble tea 🙂
Hi Elisa,
Great!
I hope they turn out well and that you love them! 🙂
Really easy and fun! Came out great:). Thank you!
Thanks, Diana!
I’m glad you had fun with it. 🙂
Bookmarked! I’m excited to try this! 🙂
My issue was store bought ones were they had tons of chemicals in them. I’m excited to make these. I’m going to get some organic tapioca flour. What brand did you use?
Hi Diana,
Yes, that is another issue.
I live in Spain, so I’m guessing we don’t have the same brands available. I’ve been trying different ones out. It’s hard for me to find organic, except online, so I have to admit to doing a lot of my experimenting with the tapioca flour I find at the Latin American store nearby. I did just get an organic one not too long ago called Dayelet, but I haven’t tried it for homemade boba yet.
If I were in the US, I’d probably try this one from Bob’s Red Mill. I hear a lot of good things about it from fellow bloggers, but I haven’t personally tried it because it’s not something I can find here.
I bought tapioca starch from a Asian store and the package was from Thailand. I followed the instructions exactly and I ended up with a very runny paste that I couldn’t roll. When I added more flour it ended up being very hard. It’s such a weird texture! Nothing like regular flour. Do you have any tips? It looked liquid but when I went to touch it it was hard! Thank you.
Hi Diana,
Yes, tapioca starch has a different consistency from wheat flour.
I think your problem is that the water and whatever you are using to mix the tapioca and water together aren’t hot enough. You want the water to be boiling when you mix it with the tapioca because the hot water completely changes the texture of the tapioca. If you use cold water, the tapioca tends to behave like cornstarch which turns into a “solid liquid” when mixed with water. With hot water, you’ll start to end up with a rubbery dough.
I actually just tried it out with a new bag of tapioca starch to see, and it’s harder to do in winter because the water and bowl are so cold to begin with. I ended up heating the bowl and then poured in the hot water, and then the tapioca, and that seemed to work. This is the first time I tried making it in cold temperatures, and I didn’t realize it would make such a difference. I’ll try to update the recipe later on today to make that clearer for tips on making them when it’s cold! 🙂
Let me add one thing. I have noticed that the consistency also changes somewhat depending upon the brand you use. I think it has to do with the way it’s processed. Some have only the starch, some have more of the yuca in the flour, I think. There is so much contradiction about if there are differences between tapioca flour/tapioca starch, etc. I’ve seen people say cassava flour is different because it uses more of the fiber of the yuca, but that yuca flour/tapioca flour/tapioca starch should be interchangeable. That said, I can’t really find much information to be able to say that is true or not. What I will say is that I pretty much try a new brand every time I make this sort of thing lately because I want to see how it will very for other people, and I will say that I had a harder time making the balls out of my latest “almidón de yuca” (aka. tapioca starch) that is from Paraguay.
I guess my point is, if all else fails, try a different brand. What you have now will be fine for other recipes on the blog that aren’t so dependent on an exact texture. I have a ton of recipes that use tapioca starch/flour/whatever. 😉
Hai Tracy,
Thankyou for te recipe. I try it this night. And.. Viola! Its’ be a pearl!!!
First, my dough is be solid-liquid, and i adding some flour (not much). Its not much sticky but i can make some round, and i tried to steaming. I cant believe that be a pearl!
Hi Mimi,
Thanks so much for your comment!
I’m happy to hear it worked out well for you! They’re lots of fun to make. 🙂
Hi. I made my pearls buthe the problem is when I cook it the middle is still very opaque. When I tried it the middle is still very doughy. But overall it was good.
Hi Sephora,
Thanks for your comment!
Let me see if I can help figure out what went wrong. I find your comment interesting because mine turned translucent relatively quickly.
I’m going to give you a few suggestions to see if maybe we can pinpoint why yours turned out differently.
It’s very important that you mix the flour with very hot water. I brought mine to a boil and poured it in immediately. The very hot water changes the consistency of the flour completely. If you use a colder water, you can still form balls, but they will be slightly different in consistency and that may throw off the color/texture.
I would also try boiling them for a longer time if you find they are still opaque. You should boil them relatively soon after having formed the balls. Otherwise, they will completely dry out and you will end up with the same problem I had with store bought boba. You want them to retain their moisture before boiling them.
The other thing that will help them get more chewy and translucent is to leave them for a little bit longer to slightly cool in the honey solution.
If you try these tips on your next attempt, I’d love to hear if it works out better for you. It’s important for me to try to find out where a recipe can go wrong so that I can help others who may have problems with it!
Hi. I am having problems with making these pearls.
when I mix the tapioca starch with boiling water, it sticks closely so I can not make it into round shape.
Hi Taylor,
If you are having problems with it being too sticky, slowly add in more tapioca starch as needed until you can easily form them into balls. I hope that helps!
Thank you for your recipe, I just tried making the dough and now I’ll cook them so I can’t wait to see how they’ll come out! (I’ve never tried them before since they don’t come to my country).
One question though, the first batch came perfectly, but the second time I tried making the dough (the first time was super small to see if I could make them so I wanted to make more) it didn’t come out well. The starch and water mixed but it became a liquid-solid and I can’t shape it. I tried adding more water and more starch, but it doesn’t work! What am I doing wrong?
Thanks again! 🙂
Hi Mila,
Thanks for your comment! I hope you enjoy them. 🙂
As for your issue with the dough…
Was your water really hot, almost boiling, when you mixed it with the water? It’s important to use really hot water because it changes the texture of the tapioca starch a bit.
If that was the issue, maybe you could try heating it for a few seconds in the microwave to see if it fixes it. (I’m not sure how that would work, but it’s worth a shot.)
If that wasn’t the issue, then I’m not really sure, but let me know and maybe we can brainstorm what the problem might be.
Hello! I had had a problem like this when I tried to make my batch of boba pearls. Like in one YouTube video I saw (and did), they steamed their liquid (liquid-solid in this case) boba solution. I believe the steaming time will vary depending how solid it is; more solid, more time probably.
I tried adding more flour to the solution and it turned hard and flaky when applied with pressure. (Non-newtonian liquid?)
I just couldn’t believe that the tapioca starch could become dough-like! I guess temperature of water and the volume is important! Thanks to Tracy for the how-to. :]
You’re welcome!
Thanks for your insight. 🙂
What a great idea to make them yourself!
Ha! Thanks, Debra!
If you only knew how much time I wasted on trying to cook the store bought ones. 😉