Quick comparison
All figures are per 700ml cup, the standard serve size we use for every dosing calculation. Topping serve is shown at both 30g and 60g. Prices are ex GST, based on current carton pricing.
| Taro balls | Coconut jelly | Agar pearls | Tapioca (reference) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking needed | Yes, heat from frozen | None | None | Yes, 40 min cycle |
| Usable weight per pack | 600g | 2.964kg drained, of 3.728kg net | 2kg | 3kg raw → 6kg cooked |
| Cost per cup at 30g | $0.47 | $0.18 | $0.15–$0.22 | $0.06 |
| Cost per cup at 60g | $0.94 | $0.35 | $0.30–$0.44 | $0.12 |
| Storage | Frozen | Ambient unopened | Ambient unopened | Ambient, dry |
| Flavours stocked | 7 | 7 plus 2 shaped | 6 | 2 formats |
A 3.85kg tub of coconut jelly is not 3.85kg of topping. Weighed out, a tub is 3.728kg net of the container, of which 2.964kg is solid nata de coco and 0.764kg is syrup. So the usable weight is 2.964kg and the real cost is $5.89 per kilo rather than the $4.53 the pack weight suggests, a difference of 30%. Cost your menu on drained weight, and do not take the percentage off a specification sheet either, because the nata absorbs syrup during processing and ends up heavier than the input ratio.
Taro balls
Taro balls are made from taro, and in some lines sweet potato, formed into chewy pieces with a texture closer to mochi than to tapioca. They arrive frozen, so they take freezer space but they do not go off on the counter. Seven variants, all 600g per bag and 20 bags per carton.
Big or small?
Big suits dessert bowls and anything eaten with a spoon. Small passes through a jumbo straw, so it works in drinks. If you are running one SKU across both a drink menu and a dessert menu, small is the safer choice.
Reheating leftover stock
Cook from frozen following the method on each product page. If you have cooked stock left from the day before, reheat it once in the microwave and never a second time. Repeated reheating breaks the texture down and it will not come back.
The freight catch
Taro balls ship frozen. We deliver frozen stock to metropolitan Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane only. Adelaide, Perth, Hobart and Darwin are not serviced for frozen, and regional areas outside those three metro zones are not either. Pickup is still available. Check your postcode before you build a menu around frozen lines.
Coconut jelly
Coconut jelly, or nata de coco, is made from fermented coconut water. It arrives ready to eat in syrup, so there is no cooking, no cooling and nothing to throw out at close. Each tub is 3.85kg and cartons are 4 tubs.
Shaped lines
Heart and star shapes run at $80 per carton against $69.80 for the standard shapes. They photograph well and justify a topping surcharge, which is the main reason to carry them.
Agar pearls
Agar pearls are made from konjac and agar rather than starch. They hold their shape instead of bursting, and because they are pre-cooked you open the bag and serve. 2kg per bag, 6 bags per carton, and unlike coconut jelly the whole pack is usable.
Value and Premium
Every agar line comes in two grades. Value is $60 per carton, Premium is $88 to $93. The formulation is the same. The difference is production origin, which is what lets the Value grade come in lower. If you are running agar pearls as a texture topping rather than a hero ingredient, Value does the same job.
The practical use case
Agar pearls are the backup when tapioca runs out mid service. You cannot cook a fresh pot in under 40 minutes, but you can open a bag of agar pearls in ten seconds. Most shops that carry them carry them for this reason first and as a menu item second.
Which one should you add?
| If you are... | Start with |
|---|---|
| Watching cost per cup above everything | Agar pearls Value at $0.15, or coconut jelly at $0.18. Close enough that flavour range should decide it |
| Adding texture without changing your workflow | Coconut jelly or agar pearls. Neither needs cooking |
| Running a dessert or shaved ice menu | Taro balls, big size |
| Short staffed or running single operator shifts | Agar pearls. No cook cycle at all |
| Building a signature drink you can charge more for | Shaped coconut jelly or taro balls |
How these compare to tapioca pearls
Tapioca pearls are still the lowest raw cost per kilo of anything on this page, but the cost that matters is the cost per cup you actually serve, and that includes the pot you throw away.
The cook cycle is 1 cup of pearls to 6 cups of water, boil 20 minutes, rest covered 20 minutes, then rinse. Cooked pearls are best served the same day. If you are cooking a 3kg pot and discarding half of it at close, your real cost per cup is double what the invoice says.
Here is the break-even. Raw pearls cost $3.83 per kilo. Single-serve Quick Tapioca in carton quantity works out at $16.67 per kilo, roughly 4.3 times more. A 3kg bag cooks out to about 6kg, which is around 200 cups at 30g. So the two cost the same once you are discarding about 77% of the pot, which is what happens when you sell fewer than roughly 45 bubble teas a day off one cook. Below that, single serves are cheaper. Above it, the 3kg bag wins easily.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to cook agar pearls or coconut jelly?
No. Both are ready to eat. Open, drain and serve.
Which topping fits through a standard straw?
Coconut jelly, agar pearls and small taro balls all pass through a jumbo straw. Big taro balls are intended for spoons.
How long do these keep once opened?
It depends on your storage environment and on whether the product is exposed to cross contamination from scoops, hands or other ingredients. As a working guide, plan on two weeks from opening when the product is kept covered, refrigerated and handled with a dedicated scoop. Unopened shelf life is printed on the pack.
Can I order a sample before committing to a carton?
We suggest buying the smallest available unit and trialling that instead of requesting a sample. We do not decant and repack internally, because transferring product out of its sealed pack affects the flavour, and a sample that does not taste like the product you would receive is worse than no sample at all.
What is the minimum order?
There is no minimum order. You can buy a single bag or tub.
