Second, tapioca pearls have to be well-cooked to maintain its soft and
chewy texture longer.
Even though the cooking time for tapioca pearls is actually 20 minutes (plus another
20 minutes for sitting), we usually suggest cooking them a little bit longer than 20
minutes. For the raw tapioca pearls, cook them for about 45 minutes (then
let sit for another 20 minutes); for the semi-cooked tapioca pearls, cook them for
approximately 30 minutes (then let sit for another 20 minutes).
The way one can tell whether they've been cooked enough is to bite into one
tapioca pearl. When the pearl gives no resistance and is soft to the center, then it is done. When the pearl still retains some starch in the
center, then it needs to be cooked for more time. For recipe, please click
here.
Third, after cooking, when placed in water, tapioca pearls will turn hard and then finally
become too soft and mushy. This is the nature of starch.
The way to slow down the process is by cooking the tapioca pearls
well (see #2 point) -- but the process is inevitable, and there is no way we can reverse this process.
Nature of starch.
Fourth, because bubble teas are usually served cold and tapioca pearls are added to a cold
drink, it happens that tapioca pearls turn hard in the drink quite fast.
Cooking the tapioca pearls well will help a bit, as well as not leaving the tapioca pearls sitting out too long after
cooking. If serving tapioca pearls for a commercial purpose, we do not recommend keeping
the tapioca pearls overnight. Generally, the tapioca pearls are only good for the day. We
also recommend cooking them in small batches, only enough for about 4 to 6 hours, as this
is when the tapioca pearls will be at their optimum condition.
Fifth, it is important that the cooked tapioca pearls be well-kept.
Once tapioca pearls have finished cooking, they should be put in a sugar
syrup solution and stirred every hour to prevent lumping. Again, lumping
is part of the nature of starch, and there is no way we can fight this natural tendency. For the sugar syrup solution, it will be better if
a little honey is added to the mixture. Honey will form a coating around
the tapioca pearls and protect them better.
Sixth, it is imperative that the tapioca pearls be of the highest quality possible.
Lower quality tapioca pearls are cheaper, but in the long run, a bubble teashop will end up paying
more eventually in lost sales and revenues.
