DIY Boba Bar or Professional Catering?

DIY boba bar or professional catering, which should I do?

Under about 30 guests, DIY usually wins. Over 50, catering usually wins. In between, it comes down to whether you want to be at your own party.

We only do full service, so we are not selling you a kit either way. Here is where the line actually sits.

When is DIY genuinely the better call?

When the group is small, the event is casual, and somebody actually wants to make the drinks.

• Small groups. Under about 30 people it is hard to justify a caterer, and most caterers including us have a 50 guest minimum anyway.
• Casual, low stakes gatherings where a hiccup does not matter.
• When someone in the group enjoys the project. Making boba is fun if making boba is the point.
• Total control over timing and menu, with no vendor to coordinate.

What does DIY actually cost me beyond the ingredients?

It costs you the evening, because somebody has to run it and that somebody is usually the host.

At your own graduation party or your kid's celebration, the person behind the drink table is not at the party. That is the real price and nobody puts it on a spreadsheet.

Cooking tapioca pearls is fiddly. Undercooked leaves a hard center, overcooked turns to mush, and cooked pearls only hold for about four hours before they harden. Most people making boba at home cook in the morning for an evening event and serve something disappointing without ever knowing why.

Volume is the part people underestimate. Making 20 drinks by hand is fun. Making 100 is a job. You also buy bulk quantities of syrups, powders and toppings you will never finish, and then you clean it all up at the end of a night you also hosted.

When does professional catering earn its cost?

When the guest count, the stakes or the venue make hand making every drink a bad idea.

• Guest counts where hand making every drink stops being fun.
• Events that matter, where consistent quality is worth paying for.
• Venues that require a certificate of insurance from any vendor, which many do. You cannot provide one for yourself.
• When the host should be a guest.
• Cleanup and teardown are somebody else's problem.

What does catering cost me?

Money, minimums and a little spontaneity.

• Minimums. Ours is 50 guests, and most caterers have one.
• More money for a small group, plainly.
• Less spontaneity. Dates get booked ahead.

For reference, our pricing is $5 a guest for Double Sip, $6 for Triple Sip and $7 for Quad Sip, plus $125 setup and delivery and $225 per bobarista, with two hours of service included. All before tax.

Where is the honest dividing line?

If the event is small, casual, and somebody actually wants to make the drinks, do it yourself and have fun.

If the guest list is over 50, the event matters, or the person who would be running the bar is someone who should be enjoying the party, hire it out. If you land in the middle, ask one question: at the end of the night, do you want to have hosted this or worked it?

Do you sell DIY kits?

No. We only do full service, and we do not sell DIY kits or self serve setups.

So take the DIY case above at face value. This is not us talking anyone out of doing it themselves to sell a package. It is us telling you where the line actually is, whether or not you ever book a wedding or a school event with us.

What to do next

Count the guest list, then decide. Under 30 and casual, buy the pearls and give yourself four hours. Over 50 or a day that matters, get a quote and see the real number before you commit to a Saturday behind a folding table.