Bubble Tea - Instant or Traditional Pearls Is there any evidence that instant or traditional tapioca pearls - for bubble tea - are a better choice if I'm looking for a pearl that is very soft with just a little bit of chew?  I've tried traditional pearls and always have okay results - but I've had better from some (not all) bubble tea stores.  I haven't tried quick/instant pearls yet, but I'm tempted to.  However, I still have a lot of traditional pearls that I don't want to go to waste if they're no better or worse than quick cooking ones.

Also, is there some way to keep the bubbles from getting harder when you add the cold drink to it (be it a smoothie, blended coffee, etc...)?
The moist ones are the semi cooked ones

Dry is something like this (really quick Google)
Dry Pearls

Semi moist is something like this (again, really quick Google search)  - I think we might be talking about the same thing with the instant ones you are talking about
Moist Pearls

From dry, have you experimented with the times and ratios?  I find that depending on which versions you buy, the cooking times and ratios change.  (I have no idea if it's from the composition of pearls or what)  Not sure where your current pearls are falling short, but try going to 8-1 ratio of water-pearls.   Other techniques to try is to before  turning the heat off for your post boil time, let it simmer instead for another 20-30 mins and then cool off in the water afterwords.  The problem I find is that there is no hard and fast techniques that work on all pearls!

The way I do it is

8-1 ratio boil

40 min simmer

20 min cooldown