Cooking Boba or Tapioca Pearls At Home!

Kristin McCoy-Ward
Mar 5, 2021
4 min read

There is nothing more satisfying than perfectly chewy boba in your homemade bubble tea. Soft on the outside, chewy in the centre, and lightly sweetened, freshly cooked tapioca pearls taste completely different from the instant kind. In this post (and the full video tutorial), I’ll show you how to cook restaurant-grade Grade A tapioca pearls imported from Taiwan so you can enjoy real café-style boba at home!

Smiling woman holding pink bubble tea with tapioca, kitchen background. Text: "Perfect Tapioca Pearls," "Home Cafe!" with red and green accents.

Boba, also called tapioca pearls, started in Taiwan and grew into a global drink culture. Shops import factory-made pearls in sealed bags, then cook, sweeten, and hold them through the day. The magic is not only the pearls. It is the cook time, water ratio, rinse, and warm sweet soak. Do those steps well and you get perfect chew and gloss every time.

What kind of tapioca pearls or boba to use

Use restaurant-grade pearls from Taiwan. They usually do not say quick-cook and will crush to powder if you press one dry pearl between your fingers. Avoid the quick-cook type if you want true café texture.

Size I like: 8.5 mm. It fits standard boba straws and gives a satisfying bite.

Ingredients

1 cup Taiwanese Grade A tapioca pearls
5 cups boiling water
Syrup for soaking (brown sugar syrup, honey, palm sugar syrup, or simple syrup)

Step-by-step

Boil the water: Bring 1.25 L water to a rolling boil in a roomy pot. Leave headroom. Pearls and water expand during cooking.
Rain in the pearls: Sprinkle in 170 g pearls across the surface while the water is boiling. Do not dump in one spot. Stir once to separate.
Cook 30 minutes: Return to a lively boil. Lid ajar so steam can escape. Set 30 minutes. At 15 minutes, stir top and scrape the bottom gently.
Rest 15 minutes: Turn heat off. Lid on. Rest 15 minutes to finish cooking through.
Rinse 1 minute: Pour pearls into a colander. Rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear. This stops the cook and removes excess starch.
Sweeten and rest 15 minutes: Toss the pearls in a sweetening solution (below). Rest 15 minutes so the syrup soaks in. Now they are ready for drinks.

Black tapioca pearls being strained over a white pot, against a blurred kitchen background. The mood is calm and focused.

Sweetening the Pearls

The pearls will take in the flavour of whatever syrup you choose, so pick your favourite. Some options you can use:

❤️ Brown sugar syrup

❤️ Palm sugar syrup

❤️ Simple syrup

❤️ Honey

❤️ Longan honey syrup

Tip: Always make fresh syrup for a fresh batch. Do not reuse old soak for new pearls.

Serving and holding

Best window: within 4 hours at room temperature in covered container.
Keep warm: store in an insulated container. If your kitchen is cold, pulse a rice cooker on warm for 5–10 minutes occasionally. Do not cook again.
Do not refrigerate pearls in the drink overnight. They turn hard and unpleasant.

Troubleshooting

Boil-overs: Pot is too small or lid is closed tight. Use a larger pot and keep the lid ajar.
Clumping: Pearls were dumped in one spot or not stirred at the 15-minute mark. Sprinkle in a rain and stir mid-cook.
Too firm in the center: Add 3–5 minutes to the rest phase, or cook a little longer next time.
Mushy: Too little water, prolonged warming, or continuous heat after cooking. Stick to the 1:5 ratio and the rest-then-rinse steps.

Quick safety notes

Rinse thoroughly. The cook water is starchy and not pleasant to drink.
Handle hot pots and steam carefully.
Clean the pot and utensils right away. Starch hardens if left to dry.

Things to always remember

Perfect boba has a soft outer layer with a springy centre. Glossy. Sweet all the way through.
If too firm, cook a little longer or rest longer.
If too mushy, then the water was too low or boba was held warm too long.
Clumping pearls mean they were dumped in one spot or not stirred early.
Keep dry pearls airtight and away from moisture.
Cooked pearls are a delicate same-day item. Do not refrigerate in drinks overnight. They turn hard and become swollen by morning.
In cold shops, you can keep the cooked pearls in a small rice cooker or soup warmer, but only "warm them" occasionally; do not keep it on or the boba will become too mushy like marshmallows.