Do you need tapioca starch to make boba

Once upon a time, not too long ago (seriously, it was the ’80s), bubble tea was invented in Taiwan. The origins are a bit hazy, but it’s said the milk tea and tapioca beverage emerged when a tea shop owner added the starchy balls—typically saved for shaved ice desserts—to his drink. The creation took the island country by storm. 

In the 1990s, boba stateside mostly existed in Taiwanese enclaves throughout the United States. Now Sharetea, a Taiwanese boba chain, has locations speckled across the U.S. from Georgia to Kentucky to Utah and also has found homes in the Czech Republic, Vietnam, and Australia. You can take one quick flick through TikTok and find videos of DIY boba pearls made in a rainbow of colors and flavors. Boba is everywhere.

But not all boba is created equal. You may have heard of a boba shortage this past year for premade tapioca balls, but tapioca starch is readily available for those who make their boba from scratch. That includes Tea Maru, a Southern California boba chain with locations in Irvine, San Gabriel, and Downtown Los Angeles.

“We make the tapioca balls in house because it’s then free of artificial [ingredients] and preservatives,” explains Daniel Wang, the manager of the Irvine location. “We use tapioca starch, some water, and brown sugar.” That’s it.

The benefits of making boba pearls at home is knowing directly what goes into it. The downside is that “not all of them will be 100% identical,” Wang says. “There’s a slight variation.” However, it adds to the drink’s charm. 

Making the boba itself is simple, but requires a bit of hands-on work. 

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What you’ll need

As Wang stated, all you need to make boba is tapioca flour, brown sugar, and some water. Do not substitute the tapioca flour for any other type of flour, lest you lose the bouncy texture—comparable to mochi—that makes boba boba.

Forming the dough

Wang doesn’t have a specific ratio for forming a ball of tapioca dough because it’s all by preference in terms of sweetness and feel. You’ll want to begin by dissolving brown sugar in water before combining the liquid with tapioca flour. You’re looking for an elastic-feeling dough that you can knead—it shouldn’t be too tacky, nor should it be so dry that it cracks.

From there, pinch off dime-sized pieces of dough to form the actual boba pearls and toss in a bowl with additional tapioca flour so the spheres don’t stick.

Boiling the boba

Once you have your tapioca balls formed, ununiformed and all, you’re going to need to boil them to get that signature bouncy texture. Add your pearls to a pot of boiling water and boil for 15 to 20 minutes.

During this time, try sampling your boba to ensure it’s reached the desired consistency. “The texture will actually be softer [than premade boba],” Wang says, because the dough is fresh. “It also depends on how long you cook it.” You’ll want to boil longer for a softer texture, and shorten the cook time for firmer boba.

What should you add your boba pearls to?

Whatever you want! Milk tea is the most popular pairing, but boba fares well with tropical fruit teas, iced coffee, strawberry milk, and whatever else you might feel like sipping on that needs an added kick of sweetness. You can also experiment with swapping out brown sugar with honey, agave, and other alternative sweeteners or incorporating vanilla, chocolate, fruits, and flowers into your boba dough. 

“I think it's worthwhile to try and make boba at home,” Wang says. “It’s only three ingredients—why not?”

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Kat Thompson is a staff writer at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter @katthompsonn. 

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