Popping Boba Recipe (+Video) with / without Sodium Alginate

Popping boba is a jelly-like ball with a thin skin that bursts with fruity deliciousness. It's a fun bubble tea topping similar in shape to tapioca pearls, typically made of colourful fruit juice. However, using our recipe, you can make them with fruit juice, puree, tea, coffee, and even soda.

We'll show you how to make popping boba using sodium alginate and calcium lactate. Alternatively we'll show you how to make them using oil and agar agar powder. Check out our YouTube video tutorial to watch us make these in real-time.

Moreover, making them at home is fun for kids and adults. So, as you experience the world of food science, you also enjoy sweet popping boba at the end.

Jump to:

• What Is Popping Boba Made Out Of?
• Popping Boba Ingredients
• Tools
• Popping Boba Recipe (Video Step by Step)
• Cooking Tips
• Flavours
• How To Make Popping Boba Without Sodium Alginate
• How Long Does Popping Boba Last?
• What's The Difference Between Boba And Popping Boba?
• The science behind popping boba
• Calories

What Is Popping Boba Made Out Of?

Popping boba is made of sodium alginate and calcium salt, which help form the ball and texture. These food additives are vital in achieving that perfectly poppable mouthfeel.

They are perfectly safe and are commonly used by chefs in the lesser-known cooking discipline of molecular gastronomy. For example, sodium alginate is used by chefs for many other things, from ice cream to cheese to even instant noodles.

We typically buy these online. However, if you can't find any food additives, you can try our method using agar-agar powder. You will make crystal boba, which is an excellent substitute if you're uncomfortable using food additives in powder form.

Popping Boba Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you'll need to make popping boba.

• fruit juice, puree, tea, coffee or soda of choice
• sodium alginate
• distilled water
• calcium salt (we use calcium lactate in our recipe)
• regular water
• sugar (optional)
• You can add 1-2 drops of artificial food colouring if you want a vivid colour.

Distilled water

Distilled water is essential to our recipe for the best popping boba results. Calcium in regular tap water will cause the sodium alginate solution to form big clumps and set. 

A lot of countries have hard tap water with high amounts of calcium. Our recipe will not work if it has over 200 mg/litre of calcium. Therefore, we recommend using distilled water.

If you can't find distilled water, your next best option is bottled mineral water. Try to pick one with low calcium content. While it still contains some calcium, the amount is lower. Some of the sodium alginate may clump but overall your popping pearls have a nice shape.

To demonstrate this, we use mineral water with a low calcium content in our recipe. The mineral water we used has 12 mg/litre of calcium.

Regular water

You can use regular tap water to dissolve calcium lactate. Even if your tap water is hard, the calcium content inside it won't interfere with the calcium lactate. Mix until most of the calcium lactate particles have dissolved. If there is a little bit left, don't worry; it will dissolve over time.

Sugar (optional)

The amount of sugar you add depends on how sweet you want your pearls to be. We don't add sugar since we enjoy the popping pearls as a topping in our bubble tea.

The contrast in sweetness level will make the bursting pearls even more obvious and surprising. If you decide to add sugar, ensure the sugar granules are fully dissolved. This goes for mixing it with juice, tea, or coffee.

Tools

To make our popping boba recipe, you'll need:

• ¼ teaspoon measuring spoon
• a teaspoon
• syringe or pipette (optional)
• 2 bowls

Measuring spoon

We found that using a ¼ teaspoon measuring spoon gave us the nicest size of popping boba that would fit through a boba straw. You can use a syringe or pipette for small caviar-like popping boba.

Pipette

Using a pipette instead of a teaspoon gives you more control over how much liquid you put into your measuring spoon. We recommend this if you're making a large batch.

Cooking Tips

The trick to making perfectly round popping boba is control. Don't pour too much liquid at a time onto your measuring spoon. 

You also don't want to drop the liquid mixture in the calcium lactate solution as you'll get a little tail. Instead, follow our method of gently submerging the liquid with the measuring spoon into the liquid.

Dipping your measuring spoon into distilled calcium lactate will give it a coating and help form the shape. However, it's important that you empty out any excess calcium lactate solution before adding your liquid. Otherwise, some liquid might start to form an uneven shape when you add more.

Flavours

Mango, lychee and strawberry are popular popping boba flavours, but you can also make coffee, tea or soda flavours.

While the majority of the recipe is the same, here are a few more details on how to make popping boba using different liquids.

How to make strawberry popping pearls

To make strawberry-popping pearls, you can blend fresh fruit and sieve through the bits. You'll need about 150ml of this. To make it less thick, you can add more distilled water.

• 150 ml strawberry puree
• 5 g sodium alginate
• 100 ml distilled or low-calcium water
• Sugar (optional)
• Pink food colouring (optional)

Solution to drop the pearls into:

• 6 g calcium lactate
• 1 litre water
• 2 cups clean water for rinsing

How to make mango popping pearls

To make mango-popping pearls, you can use mango juice. Alternatively, using the measurements and method notes above, you can use fresh mango and make a puree.

• 150 ml mango juice
• 5 g sodium alginate
• 100 ml distilled or low-calcium water
• Sugar (optional)
• Yellow or orange food colouring (optional)

Solution to drop the pearls into:

• 6 g calcium lactate
• 1 litre water
• 2 cups clean water for rinsing

In theory, you can use most juices to create fruit-popping boba. However, we would avoid high-calcium fruit juices, which might react with the sodium alginate. Some high-calcium fruit juices we would avoid using are orange, kiwi, and rhubarb.

How to make coffee popping pearls

To make coffee-popping pearls, you should brew your coffee in 150ml of distilled or low-calcium water. However, as the liquid is relatively thinner, you should use only 50ml of distilled water to mix with the sodium alginate.

• 150 ml coffee brewed in distilled or low calcium water
• 5 g sodium alginate
• 50 ml distilled or low-calcium water
• Sugar (optional)

Solution to drop the pearls into:

• 6 g calcium lactate
• 1 litre water
• 2 cups clean water for rinsing

When we made coffee-popping pearls, we noticed a lot of foam, which appeared from vigorously whisking the mixture. Make sure to remove this using a spoon before making your popping pearls.

How to make peach tea popping pearls

To make tea-flavoured popping pearls, you should brew your tea bags or loose leaves in 150ml of distilled or low-calcium water. However, as the liquid is relatively thinner, you should use only 50ml of distilled water to mix with the sodium alginate.

• 150 ml tea brewed in distilled or low calcium water
• 5 g sodium alginate
• 50 ml distilled or low-calcium water
• Sugar (optional)

Solution to drop the pearls into:

• 6 g calcium lactate
• 1 litre water
• 2 cups clean water for rinsing

How to make soda-popping pearls

To make soda-flavoured popping pearls, you can use most sodas, like Coke or Sprite. However, we would avoid using too much Fanta due to the orange juice inside. Similarly, as the liquid is relatively thinner, you should use only 50ml of distilled water to mix with the sodium alginate.

• 150 ml tea brewed in distilled or low calcium water
• 5 g sodium alginate
• 50 ml distilled or low-calcium water
• Sugar (optional)

Solution to drop the pearls into:

• 6 g calcium lactate
• 1 litre water
• 2 cups clean water for rinsing

The science behind spherification ensures that virtually any liquid—even water itself—can be made into pearls. However, since calcium causes the sodium to clump, the liquid must be low in calcium.

How To Make Popping Boba Without Sodium Alginate

If you cannot get sodium alginate, we have an alternate recipe you could try. By using agar agar powder and vegetable oil, you can also make popping boba.

Just a note that the texture of these pearls is not the same as that of authentic popping pearls, but they make a convincing substitute and are also much easier to make.

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup fruit juice
• ½ teaspoon agar agar powder
• 2 cups cold, clean drinking water

Method

1. Add the vegetable oil into a container and put it in the freezer for 1 hour.
2. Combine juice and agar powder in a saucepan. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil while stirring continuously.
3. Turn off the heat and let it cool for ten minutes. Transfer to a different heatproof bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.
4. Fill a dropper with this juice mixture and remove the oil from the fridge. Drop by drop, add the juice mixture to the oil. The drops will freeze into popping boba and sink to the bottom.
5. Remove the pearls from the oil using a strainer or a slotted spoon. Transfer the pearls to a bowl of cold, clean drinking water and rinse them repeatedly.
6. Drain the pearls and let them air dry for a few minutes. Serve and enjoy.

How Long Does Popping Boba Last?

You can store these pearls overnight in the fridge once prepared. Unlike tapioca pearls, there is very little change in texture. They can safely last for up to three days in the refrigerator. However, do not freeze the pearls since they can burst as the liquid expands.

What's The Difference Between Boba And Popping Boba?

Of course, the most important and noticeable difference is that the former uses tapioca flour and the latter uses mainly fruit juices. However, there are also other differences. 

Tapioca pearls have a heavier, chewier texture. On the other hand, popping boba is less heavy and less tough. The latter bursts when bitten, adding a sudden burst of refreshing liquid to the mouthful of the drink.

Tapioca pearls are in almost every bubble tea drink and other desserts. For example cold puddings, ice creams, cakes, pastries, etc. In addition, if you buy a bubble tea home kit, shops usually include tapioca pearls as the default topping choice. 

Fruit pearls, on the other hand, are less versatile and more specialized. They help to contrast or complement the drink's flavour or frozen dessert. For example, you can pair mango pearls with mango milk or plain milk and strawberry pearls in a cheese tea drink. The possibilities are endless.

However, fewer people use them in tea-based drinks. Most people will prefer using them in milky or fizzy drinks.

The science behind popping boba

Popping boba uses a technique called spherification, which is a technique of molecular gastronomy, the 'science of the chemical reactions of cooking'. Fine-dining restaurants pioneered the method in the 1950s. 

Chefs use sodium alginate, calcium lactate, or other calcium salts, such as calcium chloride, to catalyze spherification. These ingredients help form the liquid into delectable spheres with a thin skin that bursts when pressure is applied.

You achieve this process at home with a syringe or dropper to form pearl shapes. However, the ratios of the salts must be precise for the textures to be perfect. So follow our recipe to ensure you get the ideal fruit boba.

Calories

Compared to regular boba pearls, these are relatively much lower in calories since fruit juice is the only contributing ingredient. Therefore, each serving (of 30 grams) contains only 30 calories. 

This makes homemade popping boba made with tea or black coffee the perfect choice to enjoy boba drinks at a fraction of the caloric cost.

We hope our popping boba recipe helped you learn something new about the science behind what goes into making your food. It's a great project with family and friends and much healthier to make at home.

How did your colourful pearls turn out? Leave us a comment on our YouTube video and let us know. Next up, check out our complete guide on how to make tapioca black pearls from scratch.