Most people know tapioca as the black pearls in bubble tea. Yet tapioca is first and foremost a starch – one of the most important staple foods of the tropics: gluten-free, neutral in taste and astonishingly versatile in the kitchen. In this guide you will learn what tapioca actually is, how it differs from cassava and tapioca starch, what its nutritional values are, what you can use it for and how to cook and buy tapioca pearls properly.
What is tapioca?
Tapioca is the starch obtained from the root tuber of cassava (Manihot esculenta). The plant originally comes from the Amazon region and is grown today in Brazil, Nigeria, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. The name goes back to the Tupi word «tipi'óka» and describes the production process: the tubers are peeled, grated and pressed; the starch milk settles, is washed, dried and then processed further into flour, flakes or pearls depending on its intended use.
Important for everyday cooking: tapioca is a pure starch. It contains hardly any protein, no fat and no significant micronutrients – but it is naturally gluten-free, lactose-free, vegan and very easy to digest. That is exactly why it is so popular in gluten-free cooking and for people with intolerances.
One safety note that often gets overlooked: raw cassava roots contain cyanogenic glycosides and must never be eaten raw. During starch production these substances are removed by washing, pressing and drying – which is why commercially available tapioca is perfectly safe.
Tapioca, cassava and tapioca starch – the differences
- Cassava / manioc: the whole root tuber. It is boiled, fried or milled into flour like a potato. It contains the fibre and nutrients of the entire root.
- Tapioca starch (tapioca flour): the fine white powder made from the isolated starch. It thickens powerfully, turns clear as it sets and is the basis of gluten-free baking.
- Tapioca pearls (boba): little spheres formed from tapioca starch, usually coloured dark with caramel or brown sugar. Pearls of 6 to 8 mm in their raw state are standard for bubble tea; they swell to 8 to 10 mm during cooking.
- Tapioca flakes/granules: irregular fragments, classically used for puddings and soups.
If a recipe calls for «tapioca starch» and all you have at home are pearls, you cannot simply swap them – the pearls are pre-formed and behave completely differently when thickening. You can read how tapioca pearls differ from juice-filled popping boba in the article tapioca vs. fruit pearls.
Nutritional values: what is in it?
100 g of dry tapioca starch provide around 350 kcal and consist of roughly 88 g of carbohydrates, with practically 0 g of fat and less than 0.5 g of protein. That sounds like a lot, but it looks different per serving: for one bubble tea you reckon on 25 to 30 g of dry pearls, so about 90 to 105 kcal. Cooked pearls absorb water and come to roughly 130 to 150 kcal per 100 g.
The bigger lever is the sugar anyway: if the pearls are steeped in syrup after cooking, the figure rises noticeably. If you are watching calories, leave the syrup out or reach for our selection of sugar-free bubble tea.
Using tapioca: 6 applications
1. Bubble tea
The best-known use. The cooked pearls go into the glass first, then ice, tea and milk on top. You will find recipe ideas in our recipe collection.
2. Thickening sauces and soups
Stir 10 g of tapioca starch into 2 tbsp of cold water and pour the mixture into 250 ml of simmering liquid. The sauce thickens immediately and stays clear – unlike a roux. Do not let it boil for long, or the thickening turns stringy.
3. Gluten-free baking
In gluten-free flour blends, 10 to 25 % tapioca starch provides elasticity, a crisp crust and better browning. It replaces part of the binding that gluten would otherwise take care of.
4. Tapioca pudding
Let small pearls or flakes swell for 30 minutes in coconut or cow's milk, then simmer them gently until they turn translucent. A classic of Brazilian and Southeast Asian cooking.
5. Beiju / tapioca crêpe
In Brazil, moistened tapioca starch is baked in a dry pan without any fat into a flatbread that holds together on its own. Ready within minutes, gluten-free and filled either sweet or savoury.
6. The crunch effect
Used as a coating or as part of a batter, tapioca starch makes fried food particularly crisp and keeps it crisp for longer – which is why it turns up in so many Asian recipes.
Cooking tapioca pearls properly – the short guide
- Bring water to a rolling boil in a ratio of 1 part pearls to 8 parts water.
- Scatter in the pearls and stir briefly until they float to the surface.
- As soon as they float, put the lid on and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat.
- Turn off the heat, put the lid on and let them stand for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Rinse with cold water and steep in sugar syrup or honey water.
Cooked pearls taste best within 4 hours; they harden in the fridge. You will find the detailed version with all the pitfalls in our guide to cooking tapioca pearls.
Buying and storing tapioca
When buying, look for evenly coloured, non-brittle grains and a best-before date with at least six months left – older pearls cook unevenly and stay hard on the inside. Stored dry, dark and airtight, unopened packs keep for one to two years without any trouble. Once opened, a pack is best transferred into a screw-top jar.
From us you can get bubble tea tapioca pearls 250 g as well as the whole selection under tapioca pearls. Since tapioca is purely plant-based, it also fits into our range for vegan bubble tea; for cafés and events there are bulk packs, and a complete bubble tea set contains pearls, tea and accessories in one package. We ship from Dreispitz Basel with DPD in 1–3 working days, free of shipping costs from an order value of CHF 79.
Frequently asked questions about tapioca
What exactly is tapioca?
Tapioca is the pure starch from the cassava root. It is processed into flour, flakes or pearls and is gluten-free, neutral in taste and vegan.
Is tapioca healthy?
Tapioca is a pure source of carbohydrates with around 350 kcal per 100 g of dry weight and hardly any protein, fat or micronutrients. It is easy to digest and gluten-free, but it is no nutritional miracle.
What is the difference between tapioca and tapioca starch?
Tapioca is the umbrella term for all products made from cassava starch. Tapioca starch – also called tapioca flour – is the fine powder used for thickening and baking, while tapioca pearls are the little spheres formed from it for bubble tea.
How long do you have to cook tapioca pearls?
Our black tapioca pearls: simmer for 2 to 3 minutes with the lid on, turn off the heat, let them stand for 2 to 3 minutes – around 5 minutes. Other varieties may take considerably longer; the packaging instructions apply. After that, rinse them with cold water and steep them in syrup.
Can you replace tapioca starch with cornflour?
For thickening, yes, although you need about 25 per cent more cornflour and the sauce turns cloudy rather than clear. For tapioca pearls and beiju there is no equivalent substitute.