If you are looking towards starting a bubble tea business (open a bubble tea shop), then you need to put things in place that will help you get the business off on the right footing. Coming up with a strategy that will make the business work is one thing and buying the required equipment to operate the business is yet another thing and you cannot leave one for another.
But one thing is certain, if you get things right, you will sure make good returns from your investment in the bubble tea business.
Interestingly, in the United States, bubble tea is finding increasing acceptance with a trend-seeking millennial audience, particularly in university settings. Among its many other names, bubble tea is sometimes called boba tea or boba juice, pearl milk, or bobi.
Some of the most essential bubble tea machines are a Sealer Machine, Shaker Machine and Fructose Dispenser, a tea blender/extractor and automatic tea brewers. Having said that, here are some of the basic equipment you would need if you want to operate a fully – functional bubble tea shop;
List of Equipment You Need to Start a Bubble Tea Shop
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Bubble Tea Sealer Machine
Sealer Machines are used to put a plastic seal on your plastic or paper cup which the customer then breaks open with their fat straw. This creates part of the bubble tea experience and adds to the fun of drinking bubble tea. Sealer machines can seal PP, PET and Paper cups.
Just make sure that you order the correct size sealer machine and sealer film. For example, for PP cups you will need to use a 95mm Sealer Machine with PP sealer film. While with PET cups you will need to use a 98mm Universal Sealer Machine with PET sealer film.
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Bubble Tea Shaker Machine
Bubble tea Shaker Machines as the name implies are used to shake and properly mix the bubble tea. Shaker Machines make shaking your bubble tea easy and fun. The most popular model is the SK300 table top model which is easy to use. All you need to do operate this machine is to plug it in, place your shaker cups in the machine and press start.
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Bubble Tea Fructose Dispenser
Bubble tea Fructose Dispenser is yet another essential equipment that is needed in a bubble tea shop. Fructose Dispensers are used to keep your drink quality consistent and reduce employee costs. Adding the correct amount of sugar (fructose) to your drinks will be hard without a lot of training.
This equipment is easy to use and interestingly, with automatic fructose dispenser, all you need to do is press a button and the exact amount of sugar will be dispensed into your drink.
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Bubble Tea Blender and Extractor
Some tea shop owners are making the switch between shaking their tea to blending it. For example, the T122 is a 3 in 1 tea blender, extractor and milk frother. With one machine you can brew tea, blend it with ice and top it off with a delicious milk foam topping.
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Bubble Tea Automatic Tea Brewer
Bubble Tea Automatic Tea Brewers is yet another essential equipment you will find in a Bubble Tea shop. Actually, when brewing tea there are two basic options. Using the traditional method which is basically boiling water in a tea pot, manually putting in the tea leaves and then straining them and putting them into a tea dispenser.
Automatic tea brewers will do most of this work for you. For example, the Bunn ITCB has 3 settings so you can pre – set 3 different types of tea. This helps improve drink consistency / quality and makes it easier for your employees as well.
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Automatic Tapioca Pearl Maker
If you are going into Bubble Tea business with the intention of making your own bubble tea flavors and colors, then you would need an Automatic Tapioca Pearl Maker. In bubble tea business, you have the options of either buying boba from a supplier or you can make your own.
With an Automatic Tapioca Pearl Maker, not only will you have the freshest boba in town but you will also be able to make your own flavors and colors.
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Automatic Tapioca Pearl Cooker
Automatic Tapioca Pearl Cookers are machines that are used to boil your water, stir your boba and has an easy to use spout to drain out all of your boba once they are done cooking. Automatic Tapioca Pearl Cooker makes sure that your boba doesn’t get stuck to the bottom or burn like when cooking on a stove.
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Boba Tea Shaker Cups
Shaker Cups come in two main types, either PC Plastic or Stainless Steel. It is recommended to use PC plastic ones for two reasons. The first is that the stainless steel ones will get really hot when you add hot water or tea to them while the plastic ones handle heat better.
The second reason is that the plastic shaker cups are clear so you will be able to see your ingredients more clearly and this will help when adding different ingredients and getting the ratios right.
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Insulated Tea Dispenser
In actual sense, you can operate a bubble tea shop without having Insulated Tea Dispensers in place. Tea Dispenser will make sure that your tea is kept hot until your customer orders. This is the most economical way to serve tea and most insulated tea dispensers are available in either 5L or 8L dispensers. You can use the 5L dispensers to make sure that your tea is fresh.
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Kitchen Equipment Supplies List
Operating a bubble tea shop means that you should have a kitchen and you need to make sure that there are enough sinks to comply with health regulations. You will also need enough power outlets so that you can operate your machinery.
Another important aspect is deciding if you want to use an electric stove top or a traditional natural gas stove top. One final considerations is using a water filtration system. Great tasting tea starts with fresh water so make sure that your tap water tastes good and consider getting a filter if it doesn’t.
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Electric or Gas Stove
Electric or Gas Stove are some of the equipment that must not be missing from a bubble tea shop. Electric and gas stoves have certain advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage of a gas stove is that it will heat up your water and bring it to a boil a lot faster than an electric stove.
Electric stoves will take a little bit longer but produce a more consistent heat supply (especially induction heaters). This will make cooking tapioca pearls easier and less likely to burn.
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Syrup Pump
Syrup pump can be used to quickly and easily create delicious caramel macchiatos and flavored frappes. With a simple push of the pump, you can add any flavor to your Italian sodas, teas, and lemonades. Some of our sauce pumps even have a removable tip that makes it simple to dispense your chunkier and thicker sauces and purees for ice cream sundaes.
These pumps are available in gold and white, so you can easily distinguish between your standard and sugar free syrups. For example, Torani syrup pumps are crafted to fit securely around your bottles, eliminating any drips, leaks, and spills.
These products are also designed to dispense a consistent amount of sauce into each of your delicious beverages, so they’re great for portion control. Some of the sauce pumps can be pulled apart, making it easy for your employees to clean them at the end of the night.
In conclusion,
Aside from the above listed bubble tea equipment, you would also need Metal Stirrers, Measuring Cups, Plastic Scoops for Powders and Tapioca Pearl Scoopers et al.