Premium Back Tapioca Pearl, 6-Pound

I have ordered boba many times before and understand that the product contains some moisture. This package arrived in a sturdy cardboard box securely within the outer box, and all the pearls looked intact. The scent was amazing. I was so excited about cooking up some pearls and making bubble tea for my guests. However, when I opened the package I noticed that the inside of the package was covered with quite a lot of water. There was water dripping down all sides. There was a moisture absorber present, but it was so soaked with water it was bulging. The smell was still good but I was concerned about the safety of the product because it was not in sterile packaging, and it had been mailed to Hawaii in the summer. It must have been exposed to high temperatures. I didn't want to take the chance of serving and eating something that might make us sick. So it was with GREAT reluctance that I returned the product. Amazon paid for return shipping and promptly provided a refund. I have high confidence in ordering items that are fulfilled by Amazon because I know they will take care of any problems.

I followed the directions listed above, in the description on this product page, exactly and they turned out just like the boba or bubbles I've had at restaurants. They firmed, congealed, and goo-ified during the cooking process, so that they were reminiscent of large fish or frog eggs, as one would expect.This is not the hard-shell tapioca typically used for puddings in the US. They won't work for cooking along with the custard for a typical tapioca pudding, especially since they purportedly disintegrate in cold fluids. I added some that I had cooked to a separately cooked tapioca pudding and they added a fun texture and subtle caramel--ish flavor. I wish I had tried that when my kids were younger.The uncooked balls are soft and powdery and will disintegrate into powder if pinched between your thumb and finger. There was some powdery material in the bag, indicating that some balls had become powdered during transit, which is understandable, given their texture and fragility, and also quite normal, based on reviews of similar products and online discussions about boba. It's difficult to be exact, but I would estimate that maybe 1% to 3% of the boba had disintegrated, a negligible amount, and it was obvious the company had made an effort to minimize this through their packaging in a box.After following steps 1 through 5, I put the resulting boba in a jar, covered them with about 1/4 cup of simple syrup (see instructions below), and put them in the refrigerator.In case you overlooked it, here are the cooking directions, from the product description:1. Boil 8 cups of water.2. Slowly stir in 1 cup of tapioca pearls.3. Turn heat to medium and boil for 25 minutes without lid (stir occasionally).4. Turn off heat, put on lid, and let sit for 30 minutes.5. Rinse with cool water until tapioca pearls cool down.Several recipes on the internet say not to rinse the finished boba with cold water. The goop the boba are in after cooking was too much for me, so I rinsed and strained them a couple of times before depositing just the boba in simple sugar syrup for storage.Simple sugar syrup:1. Combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in a microwave-safe container2. Cook on high in microwave until sugar is dissolved (a couple of minutes, usually)3. Cool before useUpdate: The photo I included was taken within an hour of boiling the boba. They continued to expand and absorb the simple sugar syrup over the next couple of days and we continued adding them to drinks.

It arrived earlier than the expected date so that's a plus. It also came in a box that was inside another box and surrounded by big bubble wrap so my bag of pearls were not damaged at all. I, however, would say I damaged some trying to get a cup of them out of the bag, EXTREMELY FRAGILE. I ended up having to gently pick some up with my hand and transfer them to the measuring cup. Although the process was a tad tedious, I believe it was well worth the wait. I used them with a Thai tea that I found on Pinterest and the end result was fabulous. Definitely will buy them again once this bag is empty.

Some of the pearls in my package were crushed, making it difficult to boil them. The powdered pieces made a thick soup around the pearls, requiring me to break up hunks of boba with a spoon. The process was pretty laborious and rendered pearls that were not quite round.That said, they were extremely delicious and the whole thing was worthwhile. Here is a link on how to prepare the pearls. http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-boba-and-bubble-tea-98067

I bought two brands of boba and this is my least favorite due to the cooking process. In the Amazon product description there are cooking instruction which tell you to slowly add the Boba. You really have to spend time adding them and stirring so you don't get a huge clump of goo. The bobas even stick to the back of the stirring spoon. In shipping some of the Boba also break which creates a sticky mess in the pan when you cook them. If you are patient then they taste great and have a nice texture.