The Ultimate Guide to Bubble Tea Toppings

A quick run-down of the usual suspects, and my recommendations on drink pairings and texture tips – which toppings are best for your favourite drink?

Pearls

The humble tapioca pearl comes in more variants than you might think – besides the usual black pearl most of us are accustomed to, there are also white pearls and golden pearls. There are also flavoured/handmade pearls, but those are less prevalent than the others, so we won’t be talking about them here.

Black tapioca pearls are made of – no prizes for guessing this right – tapioca flour. Add some brown sugar or molasses to that, and you’ve got what puts the ‘pearl’ in pearl milk tea. Well, it’s actually a little harder than that, but you get the gist. Braise the pearls in brown sugar, and you’ve got brown sugar pearls! Black pearls are just so versatile, and it has prevailed since its creation to be by far the most popular and recognisable – and I daresay integral – ingredient in bubble tea. Golden pearls are essentially the same thing as black pearls, but without the colouring. Personally, I never liked golden pearls as much as black pearls, but hey, it’s worth a try.

White pearls are something (as far as I know) specific to Taiwanese franchise Gong Cha. They are the same size as black pearls, with an uneven surface compared to the smooth surfaces of black pearls. They’re made from seaweed extract, giving it a sort of ‘crisp’ chewiness reminiscent of konjac but firmer, which makes them texturally distinct from black pearls, which have a softer and gummier chewiness to them.

Drink pairings: black/golden pearls – any kind of milk tea or milk-based drinks, white pearls – any kind of milk tea or fruit-flavoured tea

Texture tip: black pearls + white pearls

Pudding

The most common flavour of pudding used as a topping in bubble tea is egg pudding. Taste-wise, it tastes like a less milky, more eggy panna cotta, which is reflected in its yellow colouring. There isn’t much chew to it, so it brings a nice contrast to any other toppings you might want to pair it with. Its creamy flavour makes it ideal for adding into milk-based drinks, while making it less so for simple iced teas. Some bubble tea stores also put their own spin on egg pudding flavours by adding things like matcha into it, which is a nice touch as it takes away from the eggy flavour that can put some people off.

Drink pairings: anything milk-based, especially milk tea

Texture tip: pudding + black pearls

Jelly

Types of jelly you might see on a bubble tea store menu include coconut jelly, rainbow jelly, herbal or grass jelly, and aiyu (爱玉) jelly.

If you’re from South East Asia, there’s a high chance you know what coconut jelly is. Coconut jelly, also known as nata de coco, is made from the fermentation of coconut water and is a common ingredient in many Asian desserts, shaved ices and drinks. Cut into small long cubes (cuboids then?), coconut jelly truly tastes like a tropical island in your mouth, with its unique chewy texture that really doesn’t resemble anything else on this list, and subtly sweet coconut taste.

Unfortunately, the colours of rainbow jelly are limited to white, yellow, orange and red, which belies its colourful name. Rainbow jelly is, again, made from coconut, but its texture is quite different to coconut jelly. It is chewy, but has more of a bounce to it, making it the perfect accompaniment to pretty much anything you can think of.

Herbal/grass jelly, or more known as ‘cincau’ in certain parts of the world, is made from a herb called the Chinese mesona, and has a grassy, sweet, slightly bitter flavour. Similar to pudding in consistency and the way that it is scooped up in large chunks, it is classified as a jelly simply because of the lack of dairy that goes into its production. Don’t be put off by its herbal flavour, however, it’s exactly that that makes it complementary to the milk in milk tea.

Aiyu jelly is, perhaps, the less talked about jelly when it comes to bubble tea toppings. It is made from a plant called the awkeotsang creeping fig and has a light herbal flavour – in contrast to the slightly bitter taste of grass jelly – that makes it go well in tea-based drinks. It is sweet and has a very subtle fruity aroma. Basically, it’s semi-solid, wobbly sweet tea.

Drink pairings: pretty much any jelly can go in either milk-based or tea-based drinks, however my personal view is that coconut jelly, rainbow jelly and grass jelly go better with milk-based, and aiyu jelly in tea-based

Texture tip: rainbow jelly goes with anything, trust me

Basil seeds

While I’ve always thought these tiny little things looked a lot like tadpoles, apparently, they have several health benefits, including diabetes management, weight management, and bone health. These seeds produced by the sweet basil plant are small, round seeds with a slimy translucent coating and a hard, black centre. I must admit, while I have tried basil seeds before, they are not necessarily my go-to topping when I’m deciding what bubble tea I should drink, but I have always seen it in fruit teas.

Drink pairings: fruit/fruit-flavoured teas

Texture tip: no comment.

Sago

Sago are small, round balls that are made from the starch that is extracted from the sago palm tree. They are used in a variety of puddings and desserts and are largely tasteless unless soaked in sugar syrup. While the starch used to make pearl sago is similar to tapioca starch, they are not springy like tapioca pearls, are much smaller, and have a softer (read: mushier) mouthfeel.

Drink pairings: milk-based drinks

Texture tip: sago + larger pearls (e.g. black/white pearls)

Foam

Milk foam is basically aerated milk so light and fluffy it sits perfectly on top of your drink until you stir it vigorously enough that it incorporates into the liquid underneath. I’ve never seen the point of milk foam because to me it’s just as if all the milk in your drink suddenly stuck together and floated up to the surface only for you to have to stir it in again. Cheese foam on the other hand, brings an identifiable edge to the table. Some people find cheese and tea to be too offensive of a flavour combination, but the ones that get past the initial mental impediment discover a whole new world. It’s like hazing, but with bubble tea. Fluffy, creamy, cheesy, and sweet and savoury at the same time, cheese foam ticks all of my taste bud boxes. However, this has also made me extremely fussy in that I only like cheese foam from particular places that get the sweet-salty balance just right.

Drink pairings: foam goes well with anything, but I am partial to tea-based drinks, especially lighter teas such as jasmine or green tea, as the added dairy in milk-based drinks can be cloying for some people .

Texture tip: not really a texture tip but some stores will tell you to tilt the cup 45 degrees as the optimal angle to get a mouthful of both the cheese foam and whatever drink you have underneath .

Bonus texture-tip-that’s-not-really-a-texture-tip: if your teas are usually on the lower end of the sugar syrup spectrum, get a higher sugar level if you’re getting salted cheese foam on plain tea (the sweetness of the tea is a lovely complement to the savoury flavour of the foam) .

Like any other bubble tea enthusiast, I have my own preferences for what goes into my drink of choice, and my own opinions on what topping is best for what type of drink, so it’s best to take this article with a pinch of salt (or sugar) and use it as a rough guide rather than the be-all-and-end-all of bubble tea drinking habits.

Obviously, this is just my personal take on things, but I hope you’ve gotten something out of this article to make the most of your next bubble tea adventure!