A tapioca pearl, also known as tapioca ball, is an edible translucent sphere produced from tapioca, a starch made from the cassava root.^[1] They originated as a cheaper alternative to sago in Southeast Asian cuisine.^[2][3] When used as an ingredient in bubble tea, they are most commonly referred to as pearls or boba. The starch pearls are typically five to ten millimeters (0.2 to 0.4 inches) in diameter. By adding different ingredients, like water, sugar, or some other type of sweetener like honey, tapioca pearls can be made to vary in color and in texture. Various forms of tapioca pearls include black, flavored, popping, mini, and clear.^[4][5] Tapioca pearls are commonly soaked in sugar syrup to make them sweet and chewy.^[6] In teas, they are often added for their texture, with the flavor being provided by the drink itself.^[7]

The pearls are known as sabudana in the Indian subcontinent; they are used for sweet and savory dishes, such as sabudana khichri. In Brazil, the pearls are cooked with wine or other liquid to add flavor and are called sagu.

Making jelly-like desserts from starch and using them in dessert dishes and drinks originated from Island Southeast Asia. Traditional versions of tapioca pearls made from native starch sources like palm hearts or glutinous rice include pearl sago, landang, and kaong. They are used in a wide variety of dishes and drinks like bilo-bilo, binignit, es campur, es doger, and halo-halo, among others. The introduction of cassava from South America during the colonial era added another starch source to Southeast Asian cuisine, resulting in cassava-based versions of Southeast Asian dishes that were formerly made from native starch sources. Among these are tapioca pearls, which originated as a cheaper alternative to pearl sago. They are virtually indistinguishable in taste and can be used interchangeably.^[2][3]

Pearl sago and tapioca pearls were introduced to Chinese cuisine via the Hokkien diaspora^{[citation needed]}. They are popularly sold in "jelly tapioca pearls" (also known as "frog egg drinks") which are adaptations of Southeast Asian drinks and shaved ice desserts. They get their Mandarin name, "frog eggs", from their white appearance in the balls' centers after cooking. Vendors who sell the drink usually add syrup or creamer before serving, or serve it on top of shaved ice.^[8] In Taiwan, it is more common for people to refer to bubble tea as pearl milk tea (zhēn zhū nǎi chá, 珍珠奶茶) because originally, small tapioca pearls with a 2.1 mm (1⁄12 in) diameter were used. It was only when one tea shop owner—in an attempt to make his tea stand out—decided to use larger tapioca balls and chose a more provocative name, "boba", to represent the difference. In Chinese, the word boba, 波霸, is a combination of a word for bubble and a word for big, which, when found together, is slang for "big breasts" or "buxom lady". When used to describe the drink, the characters 波霸奶茶 directly translate to boba milk tea, and loosely to bubble milk tea. This translation is commonly used by English speakers and refers to the variant with 6 mm (1⁄4 in) tapioca pearls.^[9]

The making of tapioca balls was also introduced to Brazil (where cassava is native), where they are still known as sagu, despite being made from cassava and not sago palms.^[10] Sagu is used in a traditional dish known as sagu de vinho ("wine sago"), popular in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is usually mixed with sugar and red wine and served warm. It is also often added to tea drinks.^[11]

Tapioca pearls have recently^[when?] gained greater global popularity due to the spread of Taiwanese bubble tea, also called boba tea, across Europe and North America. McDonald's restaurants in Germany and Austria were temporarily selling the dessert beverage as part of their revamped McCafé menu in 2012.^[12]

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Tapioca pearls are derived as baked tapioca products, which are obtained from heat treatment of the moist cassava starch in shallow pans.

Consumers and food retail establishments can purchase raw tapioca starch and create their own pearls, or they can purchase partially cooked pearls, which have already gone through the gelatinization process. Raw tapioca pearls usually require 45 minutes of boiling whereas partially-cooked tapioca pearls require 30 minutes. To ensure a chewy texture, the pearls are then cooled for approximately 20 minutes. One can verify whether the pearls are ready to serve by taking a pearl and chewing it, making sure it is well-cooked all the way to the center.^{[citation needed]}

In addition to the shorter cooking time, another benefit of partially cooked tapioca is that it lasts longer, with a shelf life of 8 months compared with the shelf life of 6 months for raw tapioca. Cooked tapioca pearls should only be kept for around 4–6 hours. When serving tapioca pearls, the pearls will harden once submerged in water and will eventually soften and lump together. Lumping of tapioca pearls can be avoided by stirring and adding sugar.^[17]

After the tapioca pearls are cooked, they should be strained through a colander and then rinsed to remove excess starch. Then, if they're to be used as something sweet, such as in bubble tea or as a dessert topping, the tapioca pearls are soaked in a sugar solution for ten minutes. The sugar will also help to prevent them from lumping.^[18] The only way to determine the quality of the tapioca pearls is by the texture. The pearls will all stick together if they are too soft and squishy. They will be too difficult to chew if they are too hard. There is a balance for tapioca being both chewy and firm. There is a Chinese term for this pronounced QQ. This is similar to the Italian term al dente describing pasta that is chewable, but not too soft.^[19]

Tapioca consists of mostly carbohydrates - one cup contains nearly 550 calories and 135 grams of carbohydrates. Some benefits of tapioca are that it is a source of iron, dietary fiber, and manganese. In addition, tapioca is a good option for those that have allergies to gluten, nuts, or grain since it does not contain any of them. Tapioca also contains very little cholesterol, fat, or sodium.^[20]

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To support to the creation of tapioca pearls, some additives are used, especially during the tapioca flour making process.

• Sulfuric acid is added as a bleaching agent and helps to speed up the process of making flour.
• Aluminum sulfate is useful for increasing the viscosity of the flour.
• Sulfur dioxide is used to separate the starch from other unwanted substances as well as acting as a bleaching agent, and regulating microbial and enzymatic reactions.
• Chlorine (use is banned in many countries) helps to create a higher quality flour and also has disinfecting and bleaching properties.

The tables below list permitted additives in tapioca pearl products regulated under different regions.

• Arenga pinnata
• Chondrus crispus
• Agar