A Guide to Vancouver's Bubble Tea
- Angelica T
- Apr 15, 2020
- 8 min read
There seems to be anything but a shortage of bubble tea shops in Vancouver and if anything, the numbers are only growing. Especially with the recent hype around brown sugar bubble tea, the attention and demand for bubble tea has risen drastically. As an avid bubble tea consumer, I definitely struggle to decide where to go sometimes because there are just too many options! Hence, this guide will hopefully help make your bubble tea adventures a little bit easier!
My Go-to Bubble Tea Cafes (local)
1. Passion Tea Room
This is personally one of my favourite cafes to study at because their store is clean and cozy and service is always spot on! I definitely find myself turning towards local bubble tea shops more often now instead of large bubble tea chains. This shop makes their bubble teas with fresh milk which I really enjoy and they also have vegan options (coconut milk and soy milk), as well as lactose free milk! My favourite drinks here are the Kurozato milk tea which is a Japanese roasted tea, as well as their hojicha! I find that their milk teas are on the creamier and milkier side of things. They also have a lot of fresh fruit smoothies if you're looking for something fruitier and my favourite is the strawberry taro shake! I also like how they have a "build your own drink" section if you're feeling adventurous and creative! PS: bring your own cup and get free toppings!
2. Paragon Tea Room
This place is by far one of the ones with the strongest tea flavour and the best pearls! They use a technique where they basically make a "teapresso" which is a strong shot of tea so that it really stands out in their drinks! I personally love love love their hojicha and also their jasmine milk tea because I've yet to find another place that has such strong bold tea flavours. Their drinks are also vegan and they carry oat milk which is probably my favourite plant based milk! If I'm looking for something that is stronger on the tea side of boba then I'll go here and if I'm looking for something milkier, I'll go to passion tea room so it just depends on my mood but both of these are my favourites! If you plan on studying here, I recommend going earlier because it fills up quite fast especially since they share a space with Porto Cafe. They are known for their teas and tea lattes though so definitely give those a try before you get the boba since that's their specialty!
Brown Sugar Boba
So I'm no brown sugar boba guru since I'm usually that person that gets 0% sugar in her bubble tea so my list below is just based on what I've tried (which is pretty limited) so don't mind me too much here if you have your own go to brown sugar places!
1. Jenjudan
I would have to say out of all the brown sugar places i tried, I quite like Jenjudan especially since they have their brown sugar pearls with milk teas (and not just as a latte like some other places do). Personally, I'm not a big fan of the brown sugar latte since it kind of just tastes like sweetened milk to me which in some ways, I don't think is worth the hype (but that's just my opinion)! I tried both the Thai milk tea as well as the earl grey latte with brown sugar pearls from Jenjudan! Because I got the Thai milk tea hot, I think it turned out a bit too sweet for my liking but it was very creamy and rich which I loved. The earl grey has a strong tea flavour which is nice and it paired well with the brown sugar pearls. I believe they also have a soy milk substitute option for anyone who is lactose intolerant or vegan, and they also give you a discount if your bring your own cup!
2. Onezo
This picture is obviously not the brown sugar drink because I didn't get a picture of that but this is also from Onezo! They are known for their super chewy handmade pearls that comes in various flavours such as black sesame (the one above), caramel, original, matcha, and I believe cactus? Anyways, I had a chance to try their matcha brown sugar boba before and for their brown sugar pearls, the pearls themselves had a caramelly brown sugar taste to it (instead of some other places which just coat the pearls with a brown sugar syrup) so that was pretty neat. If you visit Onezo, I would recommend getting their fresh milk drinks since I find that their regular milk teas are a bit heavy on the creamer. Nonetheless, if you bring your own cup, you get a free upsize which is super nice!
3. Chunyang
Chunyang also offers the brown sugar latte along with a variety of other drinks. I actually got this with soy milk since they had that option! Again, since there was no tea to this, it kind of tastes like sweetened milk to me which was nothing too special. Either way though, I liked how chewy their pearls are!
4. Coco
My first time getting the brown sugar boba was actually at Coco and I think back then, they didn't have a milk tea option so it was just the brown sugar latte. Again, I didn't get the hype because this was just sweetened milk and maybe it was because I brought my own cup, but it seemed like I had a lot less brown sugar pearls than if you got it in the plastic cup. Anyways, the sweetness didn't really come through for me here so I basically drank slightly sweetened milk with pearls which was a little underwhelming.
4. Taan Char
I remember trying this place because I really wanted the cute cup! I thought at first it was a brown sugar milk tea until I realized it was just brown sugar and milk. However, their pearls were really soft and they definitely coated the drink with brown sugar so it was a bit better than some of my past brown sugar latte experiences.
6. Milksha
So Milksha actually takes brown sugar quite differently because they actually infuse it into the milk so instead of just coating the pearls in brown sugar, their pearls are actually honey pearls, and they turn their milk into this caramelly roasted flavoured milk which was pretty neat! Their orange green tea is also pretty refreshing and feels like a cup of vitamin C if you're feeling fruity!
I know that there are some other places known for their brown sugar boba such as Xing Fu Tang and Tiger Sugar which I have yet to try so maybe my thoughts about brown sugar drinks will change but as of right now, I think I'll just stick to my local bubble tea shops because a classic milk tea never disappoints.
Good pearls
So I already mentioned some places with really good pearls such as Paragon Tea Room or Onezo but here is another shop around the greater Vancouver area that I believe has decent pearls!
1. Tea 18
Tea 18 is a bit like Onezo when it comes to their pearls since they have flavoured ones! I was quite impressed by the rose flavoured pearls since I usually find that with flavoured pearls, it's hard to actually taste the flavour in them. However, the rose was pretty prominent and went well with their milk teas! They also have soy milk as an option which is always nice and they let you bring your own cup!
Fruit teas
I'm usually a milk tea kind of person so fruit teas are definitely not my go to and hence, I don't have a lot of experience with them. Nonetheless, I'll comment on some of the ones I have tried just in case you decide to visit one day!
1. Weekend Tea
So I actually quite like the pink lychee green tea (the one on top) at Weekend Tea since they are the only place I know that uses real lychee in their lychee fruit teas. I think the reason I shy away from fruity drinks is because a lot of places use fruit syrup which I really don't like. This is actually a super refreshing drink for the summer or a hot day and I usually get it with no sugar because I feel like the lychee itself is already sweet enough.
2. 24K
24K is located in Richmond near the Bridgeport Skytrain Station. They did have a pretty nice fruit tea deal back in the day and their fruit teas came with watermelon which I never saw before but that was pretty neat. I haven't really tried any other things from here though so I can't comment on much!
3. Comebuy
Comebuy also had some pretty sweet deals last year and this was their Passion Fruit Blast. It was light and came with 3 toppings which is nice if you're looking for something with lots to chew. They also have pretty strong tea flavours here since I believe they also do something similar with the teapresso.
More local shops
1. Perchance
This is a really cozy cute cafe to study at if you're in the Dunbar area. I definitely find that it is a bit on the pricier end but I had a nice experience here and they had good customer service! I didn't actually try any of their bubble teas since I just got the strawberry matcha which was decent but could have used a bit more matcha (but again I have high standards for how strong my matcha is so...). I think they had a lavender milk tea that I might check out in the future!
2. Buns and Boba
This is a hipster cafe near Main and Broadway. Personally, their bubble teas were way too watered down and the pearls were not good either. I think they were the first place to offer a wide range of vegan milk options which I appreciate but flavours wise, it was lacking. However, their buns are quite decent and there are a few different types ranging from matcha to taro to red bean! The shop is also spacious and bright if you're looking for a place to study!
3. Cafe Sweets n Beans
Personally, I would go here more for their food since their pastas and pizzas are not bad. However, I found that their bubble teas aren't really your traditional take on milk teas since it's more like milk smoothies or flavoured milk? Their pearls were also quite hard so I would shy away from them. Nonetheless, they have bingsoo or cakes if you're looking for something sweet!
Other chains
1. Happy Lemon
So Happy Lemon actually had these taro mochi pearl toppings a while back that was pretty good but I'm not sure if they carry it anymore. It's basically a mini version of the taro mochi that you get at Meet Fresh!
2. YiFang
YiFang is just one of those big chains that I guess popped up since they are definitely a pioneer of the brown sugar revolution. I personally never tried the brown sugar from them before because again, I just don't find it too exciting. However, I do appreciate that they use fresh milk unlike most of the other chains, and their fruit tea is quite decent. Their pearls are a bit smaller than your usual pearls though but they are still really chewy.
3. Gongcha
I know Gongcha is insanely popular in Asia especially in places like Korea but personally, I don't think it deserves the hype. Everytime I drink their drinks, I find it too powdery or heavy so it's definitely not for me. I personally feel like Chatime does a better job than Gongcha if you're looking for a big chain.
So there you have it, my extensive list of bubble teas! I only realized how much I consumed after writing this blog post and technically I consumed even more than this since there are many times when I didn't take photos of it. I hope this list was helpful for anybody who is looking for a bubble tea option!
If you guys are interested in the reusable bubble tea cup that I featured in some of my photos above, please feel free to check out my promos/giveaways tab for a discount off your order!
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