What’s The Best Bubble Tea In London?

Morning!

Today, for the first time in the history of this Blog, I am sharing a review of the different Bubble Tea Shops I had the opportunity to try in London and my opinion about each of them.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I downloaded the Phone App “Ritual” and got a couple of discounts with the first 2 orders that I spent in 2 different Boba Tea drinks.

After that, a heating desire started growing in my heart (and my tummy). The feeling of those tapioca spheres was a whole new experience for me. Almost every day after 3pm, my gut was sending me the signal that it was time to be fed by my new forbidden snack.

I bought the drink a few more times and decided to compare a few shops in the city and expand my knowledge on the field of fresh tea with tapioca pearls. In order to rate the different places, I took into account the coziness of the shop, the freedom to choose the amount of sugar and ice, the consistency of the tapioca pearls and the packaging.

The first Bubble Tea Shop where I got my first Taiwanese bubble tea was: Yi Fang.

Yi Fang is an individual stand located in Jubilee Place, one of the shopping centres you can have access to from Canary Wharf tube station. The stand consists of an island near the escalators that connect you to the South Quay Footbridge.

There aren’t too many seats and due to the shop’s structure, there is not a lot of privacy. However, the service was excellent. You have the option to decide the amount of sugar and ice you want in your drink.

The tapioca balls were amazing. If there is a world I would like to use to describe them is “chewy-chewy”. In order to prepare these pearls, you need to boil them at a certain temperature. After boiling, it’s extremely easy for them to stick to each other and create groups of glued balls, that’s why it’s recommended to not leaving them in the fridge for more than a few hours.

I think to remember that the pearls were enormous, making the munching experience extra enjoyable for me.

4.5/5

My second fresh tea experience was in Canada Place, only a few minutes away from Yi Fang. The name is T4.

As well as with Yi Fang, T4 allows you to choose the quantity of sugar and ice you want. The place is quite small and, due to the location, you can often find a decent amount of people queuing for their orders.

There are a few seats and tables for the clients that want to enjoy their beverage on site. The packaging was the same, a plastic cup sealed with a plastic layer to avoid spilling the liquid.

The balls were also perfect, even though in this case I got them as black and white. The black ones being tapioca pearls and the white ones are still an absolute mistery as of this day.

4/5

A few days later, I did some professional research and found a Bubble Tea shop that offered a juicy discount with your first drink. 50% discount if you order from their app. This place is Chatime.

I didn’t last until I downloaded it and ordered the same type of drink, but this time, instead of cold, I decided to adventure myself one more time and try it hot. Same flavour, and the same amount of sugar (no sugar).

The chain has different shops around the city, but you can order it through the app and decide if you want to pick it up or get it delivered home.

I was curious about the packaging. As a hot drink, I didn’t expect them to use the same plastic cup that they use for the ice drinks. This time it was a paper cup, which seems pretty obvious.

The drink stayed warm and safe until it got home. The flavour was the exact same, but warm… After I felt the slightly sweet liquid, I drank and chewed all of it. I believe the balls felt even nicer mixed with the warm tea. In the case you want to take your drink home (or to the office), you can request a small bag in order to bring your fresh tea safely.

If you have a Chatime nearby, you probably still can enjoy the first drink with the same discount.

ChaTime total score: 4/5

And last, Quaker Street. This coffee and bubble tea shop is located within the street of the same name, in the area of Shoreditch.

The place was fairly small. At this point, I haven’t been able to find a place with more than 4 tables. Most stands look like they are made for takeaway. That could also be the reason why they seal your drinks without asking you the “eat in or takeaway” question.

Their offer is wider as they also sell coffees, cakes and a few sandwiches.

The packaging was slightly different though. Most Bubble Teas drinks come in a plastic cup (or paper if the drink is hot), sealed with plastic. On this occasion, the plastic cup included a double cap that allowed the closure of the drink.

That is very functional, considering the size of these drinks, some clients may prefer splitting the joy into two drinking sessions. However, and for the reasons I mentioned before, I wouldn’t recommend leaving it in the fridge if your tea includes some tapioca pearls: its consistency will change from one day to another!

The drink was the same as the two first places: “a fresh milk tea with pearls”. Unfortunately, this time I didn’t have the possibility to chose the amount of sugar and ice in my drink.

The tea was very fresh, but too sweet to me, especially now that I have stopped adding sugar on my drinks. That said, the pearls were different than the previous stands. Not soft enough and slightly “jelly”.

Not “chewy-chewy” approved.

Also, the pearls were often glued, creating groups of up to four balls. That’s a major turn off in my relationship with Pearl Milk Teas.

Total Score: 2/5

The last time I walk past a Yi Fang stand, the Ritual promotion was still active. If you want to try it, you can still use the discounts to get some drinks! (This is not a collaboration by the way!!).

That’s it for today! What’s your favourite tea place?