What Are the Pearls in Bubble Tea?

The pearls in bubble tea (also known as boba and bubbles) are made from tapioca starch. Although tapioca starts as a hard and tasteless substance, after being boiled and steeped in caramelized syrup, it becomes the sweet, black and textured pearls that sit at the bottom of your tea. Bubble tea is served in a transparent cup with a thick straw so that, as you sip, these tapioca pearls can shoot up, and then be chewed and swallowed with the drink.

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If you are yet to have bubble tea, these tapioca pearls are often associated with the classic milk tea: a frothy milk of your choice, paired with crushed ice and a few handfuls of caramelized tapioca pearls. 

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Bubble tea — in Taiwan, zhenzhu naicha (珍珠奶茶) — gets its name because of these bubble-shaped tapioca balls, as well as the “bubbles” created when the drink is vigorously shaken. That being said, although the pearls in bubble tea are often bubble shaped, these pearls can be much larger, smaller, and more uniquely shaped and coloured than that. And it doesn’t stop at pearls either. 

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Our range of fruit or milk drinks infused with jasmine green or Assam black tea can be paired with tapioca pearls, basil seeds, fruit, grass or custard jelly, or our famous popping bubbles.  The latter, also known as popping boba, are made from seaweed extract and filled with delicious bursts of a fruit juice of your choice. At Bubblebase, you can choose anything from strawberry, mango, lychee and passionfruit bubbles, to coconut, apple, grape, and even coffee flavoured jellies! In short, the options are endless and there is (truly) something for everyone. 

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We are Bubblebase: Wales’ first Bubble Tea Bar. We believe in using the best quality of ingredients to consistently serve our customers with a delicious range of drinks that have not only been created with utmost care, but also with the sharpest appearance.

Order online with our exclusive Bubblebase app and earn 9 stamps free when you register! Or place your order through our delivery partners and get Bubblebase delivered right to your doorstep. 

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