Where to Buy Tapioca Pearls for Bubble Tea in Australia

Tapioca pearls are the one topping almost every bubble tea menu starts with. The choice is not really where to buy them, most wholesalers carry them, it is which size and format suits how your shop actually runs, and whether you need something that skips cooking altogether.

What sizes are available, and which should you use?

• Standard — the default black pearl in almost every menu. 20 minutes boiling, 20 minutes resting.
• 2.5mm large — a firmer bite. 25 minutes boiling, 25 minutes resting, five minutes longer each way than standard.
• 1.2mm mini — for lighter drinks and dessert bowls where a smaller pearl suits the portion.
• 50g single-serve — no cooking at all. Hot water and 30 seconds in the microwave, one pack makes one drink.

Do you have to cook them?

Only the 3kg bags. If you would rather not run a pot and a timer, two things get you out of it.

50g single-serve packs — squeeze the sachet, cover with hot water, 30 seconds in the microwave. Cost per serve is higher than the 3kg bag, but nothing goes to waste and there is no cooked batch sitting in a tray.

Agar pearls — a different product, ready to eat straight from the bag. No pot, no timer, no four-hour window before they go hard. Clear and neutral in flavour, so they add texture without changing the drink. Agar Pearls Brown Sugar is the closest swap for a shop wanting the look of a classic pearl without the cook cycle.

How much does a bag make, and what does it cost per drink?

• 3kg bag — about 100 drinks at 30g of dry pearls per 700ml cup, or 50 drinks at 60g. Pearls roughly double in weight once cooked. A 6-bag carton, 18kg, makes roughly 600 drinks at 30g.
• 2kg agar pearls — about 66 drinks at 30g, or 33 at 60g. A 6-bag carton, 12kg, makes roughly 400 drinks.
• 50g single-serve — one pack makes one drink. A carton holds 240 packs, sold as 60-pack bags.

What is the shelf life, and how should you store them?

3kg bags and agar pearls: 12 months unopened, from the production date on the bag. 50g single-serve: 18 months. Store dry and cool when unopened, refrigerate once opened.

Can you buy a single bag, or do you need a carton?

No minimum order. Buy a single bag to trial a size, or a carton once you know what sells. Single-serve packs suit low-volume sites, catering and anywhere the four-hour cook window does not fit the trade.

Which one should a new shop start with?

The standard 3kg bag. It is the pearl on almost every menu, it costs the least per drink, and everything else on this page is a variation you add once you know your volume.

Why buy from an Australian supplier instead of importing directly?

Tapioca pearls have a working shelf life measured in months, not years, and a bag that spends weeks in transit before it reaches you has already used up part of that window. Buying from a supplier with stock already in Australia means the pearls on your shelf are closer to their production date, not further from it.

We dispatch from warehouses in Melbourne and Sydney, with freight calculated on delivery zone and weight rather than a flat international shipping charge. There is more on how stock, freight and ordering work in our supplier guide.

Getting tapioca pearls from Sunwide

We stock all four tapioca formats plus agar pearls, dispatched from Melbourne and Sydney. See the full range in Tapioca Pearls, or read how ordering works if you are setting up an account.