A tapioca ball and a process for preparing the tapioca ball are provided. In one embodiment, the process includes mixing starch, sugar, and sodium hydroxymethyl cellulose. Water is added to the mixture. The mixture is rolled in a rolling cylinder to bond the ingredients and to form spherical tapioca balls. The tapioca balls are quickly boiled for two to fifteen minutes. After drip-drying, the tapioca balls are vibrated on a first oscillating screen, while being sprayed uniformly with a drying powder. Then, the tapioca balls are shaken on a second oscillating screen to shake excess drying powder off the tapioca balls. The tapioca balls are then polished in a polishing cylinder and packaged. The tapioca balls may comprise, by weight, 60% to 80% tapioca powder, 5% to 35% starch, 1% to 10% sugar, 1% to 10% hydroxymethyl cellulose, and 10% to 45% water.
