The three toppings that go into bubble tea, how they differ, and how to use each. A plain-language guide for first-timers and a stocking guide for café operators — from India's first boba manufacturer.
This is the single most useful thing to understand about bubble tea, and it trips up almost everyone the first time. A bubble tea premix or syrup makes the drink — the milk tea or fruit tea base, the flavour, the sweetness. The chewy or popping bits at the bottom of the cup are a separate topping you add on top of that drink.
In other words, a premix and a topping are bought separately. That is why almost every bubble tea menu stocks a premix plus one or more toppings. The four toppings below are the ones you will actually choose between, and they behave very differently — both on the palate and in the kitchen.
Premix or syrup = the drink. Tapioca, popping boba, nata de coco and konjac pearls = the toppings you add to it. New to the category? Start with what is bubble tea.
Scroll the table sideways on a phone. The fourth column adds konjac pearls — a bouncy, low-calorie option for health-positioned menus.
| Tapioca Pearls | Popping Boba | Nata de Coco | Konjac Pearls | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Chewy cassava-starch pearls — the classic "boba". | Juice-filled spheres with a thin skin that bursts. | Firm, chewy coconut jelly. | Bouncy, low-calorie plant-fibre pearls. |
| Texture | Soft & chewy. | Bursts with juice. | Firm, crunchy-chewy. | Bouncy & jelly-like. |
| Flavour | Neutral — takes on brown sugar or syrup. | Fruity — the juice held inside. | Lightly sweet / neutral, or fruit. | Neutral or fruit. |
| Preparation | Cooked Boil then steep. Tea Planet's ratio is 1:10 pearls to water, served within about 8 hours. An Instant version is ready in minutes. |
Drain & add No cooking. |
Drain & add No cooking. |
Drain & add No cooking. |
| Best for | Classic milk teas & brown-sugar drinks. | Fruit teas, sodas, mocktails, yogurt & ice-cream. | Milk teas, falooda & desserts. | Health-positioned menus. |
The original chewy boba, made from cassava starch and neutral in flavour so it soaks up brown sugar and syrup. It is the only topping here that is cooked — boil then steep, or use the Instant version for minutes-not-hours service.
Shop tapioca pearls →Juice-filled spheres with a delicate skin that bursts on the bite, releasing a fruity rush. No cooking — just drain and add. The go-to topping for fruit teas, sodas, mocktails and frozen desserts.
Shop popping boba →Firm, crunchy-chewy coconut jelly that holds its bite in the cup. Lightly sweet and neutral, or fruit-flavoured. Drain and add — a classic in milk teas, falooda and layered desserts.
Shop nata de coco →Bouncy, jelly-like pearls made from plant fibre and naturally low in calories. Neutral or fruit. Drain and add — a smart fit for health-positioned drinks and lighter menus.
Shop konjac pearls →For an operator just adding bubble tea to the menu, the simplest, proven starting point is to pair a milk-tea premix with tapioca — or the Instant tapioca if you want speed — and add one fruit topping such as popping boba to cover the fruit-tea side of the menu. That single pairing already lets you build a classic milk tea and a fruit tea, the two formats that carry most boba menus.
From there you expand to taste: nata de coco for desserts and falooda-style drinks, konjac pearls for a lighter, health-positioned line, and more flavours of each as your menu grows. There is no fixed number to stock — start lean with the pairing above and add depth as your customers tell you what sells.
Building out a boba menu? See what is popping boba for the topping that made bubble tea go viral, or talk to us about wholesale pricing on premixes and toppings together.
No. Tapioca pearls are chewy spheres made from cassava starch — the classic boba you cook by boiling and steeping. Popping boba is completely different: thin-skinned spheres filled with juice that burst in the mouth, and they need no cooking — you simply drain and add them to the drink.
No. Popping boba, nata de coco and konjac pearls are all drain-and-add toppings — no cooking required. Only tapioca pearls are cooked, by boiling and then steeping. Tea Planet's tapioca ratio is 1:10 pearls to water, served within about 8 hours, while the Instant tapioca version is ready in minutes.
Popping boba is the natural match for fruit teas, sodas, mocktails and yogurt or ice-cream, because its juice-filled burst adds a fruity flavour. Tapioca and nata de coco suit classic milk teas and brown-sugar drinks, while konjac pearls work well on health-positioned menus.
Tapioca pearls are made from cassava starch, nata de coco is a coconut-based jelly and konjac pearls are made from plant fibre. For confirmed dietary, allergen and ingredient details on any specific product, see its product page or contact our team.
Tell us the drinks you want to serve and your volumes — we'll put together pricing tiers and case packs that cover the premix and the toppings together.
Or email sales@theteaplanet.com · New to toppings? Read what is popping boba.