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Doking Canada · 盾皇

Guides for café & bubble tea shop owners

Ingredient economics, sourcing, and storage — written for the people running the shop, using real by-the-case numbers from our Ontario and Québec warehouses.

Sourcing

How to Choose a Bubble Tea Supplier in Canada: a 7-Point Checklist for ON & QC Shops

Local stock beats self-importing, published prices beat gated ones, and certificates should be verifiable on request. The 7-point checklist to vet any Canadian supplier.

Updated Jul 17, 2026
For restaurants

Add a Beverage Bar to Your Restaurant: 5 Drinks, About 8 Shelf-Stable Ingredients, No Barista

A small drinks station lifts your average check at high margin — run five bubble-tea-style drinks off about eight shelf-stable Doking SKUs, no barista, no espresso machine.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Sourcing

Boba toppings menu: which pearls, jellies and popping boba to stock, and case costs

A starter topping basket — crystal ball, coconut jelly and mango popping boba — runs $14.70 by the case in Ontario ($14.20 in Québec). Costs, handling and when to reorder.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Recipes & SOPs

Brown Sugar Boba Milk for Your Shop: Build It on Powder, Not the Sold-Out Syrup

Run brown sugar (tiger) boba milk on brown sugar powder, in stock at $9.50/kg in Ontario and Québec, not the sold-out syrup SKU. The powder method and the cost baseline.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Cost & margins

What Does a Cup of Bubble Tea Cost to Make? Ingredient Cost & Margin by Drink (2026)

Using Doking's own recipe cost cards, a classic pearl milk tea runs ~$0.70 in ingredients, a lemonade ~$0.30. The by-drink breakdown and by-the-case prices behind it.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Getting started

The Starter Ingredient Order for a New Bubble Tea Shop: What to Buy by the Case

The first-order checklist most guides skip, priced from Doking's ON/QC case list: black tapioca from $3.75/kg, non-dairy creamer $7.95, fructose $7.75. What to buy and why.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Cost & margins

Building a fruit tea menu: syrups, real fruit bits, and margin per cup

A fruit tea section starts with about six syrups at one case price plus real fruit on top. Doking's passion fruit double blast costs ~$1.00 a cup at ~83% margin.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Sourcing

Where to Buy Bubble Tea Ingredients Wholesale in Toronto & Montréal (2026 Guide)

Doking Canada supplies bubble tea and dessert ingredients by the case from Toronto and Montréal warehouses, with per-province wholesale pricing and free samples.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Recipes

Cheese foam that holds: making a milk cap with cheese powder instead of a cream-cheese station

Run a cheese foam milk cap from one shelf-stable SKU — Doking Cheese Form Powder at $26/kg by the case in Ontario ($25 in Québec). Here's the build and the batch hold.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Cost & margins

Culinary vs Ceremonial Matcha for Cafes: Which Grade to Buy and Cost per Latte

Culinary-grade matcha is ~$25 per 454 g by the case in Ontario vs ~$75 per 500 g for ceremonial. For a milk latte, culinary is the right grade — here's the per-drink math.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
For restaurants

Self-Serve Drink Station for Korean BBQ and Hotpot: $0.70 a Cup, 88% Margin

A self-serve sweet-drink station suits Korean BBQ and hotpot. Pearl milk tea runs ~$0.70 in ingredients (~88% margin), and the lineup runs off five shelf-stable SKUs.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
For restaurants

What drinks should a sushi restaurant add to raise the check

Matcha fits a Japanese menu, and Doking's matcha latte prices out at $0.80 in ingredients per cup (87% margin). Three low-labour drinks, the SKUs, and ON/QC by-case pricing.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Cost & margins

The Two-Ingredient Drink With a 95% Margin (and Why Every Menu Should Have One)

A shop lemonade is two ingredients — Doking lemon syrup and a fresh slice — at about $0.30 a cup, roughly 95% ingredient margin. The build, the numbers and how to grow it.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Cost & margins

How Much Tapioca Per Bubble Tea? Cost Per Cup for Café Owners (2026)

A typical bubble tea uses about 20–30 g of dry tapioca pearls — at Doking's by-the-case price, roughly 9–11¢ of pearls per cup in Ontario and Québec. The full breakdown.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Recipes

How to Make Classic Pearl Milk Tea for Your Shop: Ratios, Cost Per Cup, and the Case List

Doking's ratio for a 500 ml classic pearl milk tea: 30 ml fructose, 70 ml milk base, 150 ml Assam tea, 80 g cooked pearls — about $0.70 a cup. Recipe, steps and case list.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Cost & margins

How to Price a Bubble Tea or Add-On Drink on Your Restaurant Menu

A $5–6 menu price keeps ingredient margin above 80% on every drink on Doking's cost cards, from a $0.30 lemonade to a $1.00 fruit tea. Ingredient cost to menu price, four SKUs.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Recipes & SOPs

Tapioca Pearls Too Hard? A Cook-and-Hold SOP That Keeps Boba Soft Through Service

Hard pearls are almost always a holding problem, not a cooking one. Keep cooked black tapioca submerged in warm brown-sugar syrup, not dry — the cook, rest and hold SOP.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Industry trends

The 2026 Matcha Shortage, Explained, and How Cafés Can Protect Their Margins

Matcha demand has outrun Japan's supply and café-grade prices have climbed. Why culinary-grade is more insulated than ceremonial, and how to keep your latte margin steady.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Recipes & SOPs

Passion fruit green tea: a layered fruit tea SOP with popping boba and case math

Doking's passion fruit double blast runs ~$1.00 in ingredients per 500 ml cup, ~83% margin. The layered build over jasmine green tea, plus batch-and-hold notes.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Cost & margins

Popping boba vs tapioca pearls: cost, prep time, and margin for your shop

A head-to-head on run cost: black tapioca pearl at $3.75/kg (ON) plus cook-and-hold labour versus ready-to-use mango popping boba at $6.75 per 1.25kg case with zero cook loss.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Sourcing

Popping boba wholesale in Ontario and Quebec: flavours and case pricing shops actually pay

Mango popping boba is $6.75 per 1.25 kg by the case in Ontario, $6.50 in Québec, from Doking Canada — full flavour lineup, no-cook handling, pickup and free samples.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Seasonal menus

Strawberry Matcha: Building 2026's Most-Searched Drink for Your Menu

The strawberry matcha latte is one of the most talked-about drinks heading into 2026, and the base build is almost pure margin. The layered recipe and real cost per cup.

Updated Jul 16, 2026
Cost & margins

Taro Milk Tea for Your Shop: Powder vs Fresh Root, Cost, and Colour

Taro milk tea powder beats fresh on labour and consistency. Doking taro powder is $8.95/kg by the case in Ontario ($8.75 Québec) — powder-vs-fresh, with the cup build.

Updated Jul 16, 2026