Melbourne, VIC

cafe

CHA CO.

Tried the limited edition Fresh Peach Jasmine Tea at 50% ice and less sugar. It was still relatively sweet, but very refreshing. A nice tea flavour and the peach was fresh and fragrant. Chunks of fresh peach flesh float at the top too. A delightful drink on a hot summer night.

Maribyrnong, VIC

cafe

The Alley LuJiaoXiang

The Alley is a premium bubble tea joint that’s Instagram famous all over Asia. Their most popular drinks are the Signature Brown Sugar Deerioca Series, and it’s a MUST TRY! The brown sugar syrup is served warm with the cold milk, and it pairs perfectly together. It’s recommended not to mix it, so you can taste the enhanced flavour and aroma of the brown sugar syrup which is heavenly. The pearls are by far some of the best I’ve had. They’re the perfect consistency - soft, chewy and so satisfyingly warm. The pearls absorb the brown sugar syrup so it’s also sweet. Sometimes, you have to be careful to portion out the brown sugar to milk when your drinking - as it’s easy to drink all the syrup before the milk (and then you’re left with plain milk which isn’t that pleasant). Furthermore, a regular size (500mL) will cost you $6.6, which is quite pricey for a drink. Of course, its reflected in the quality and flavour - but it’s not something I’d get on a regular basis.

Melbourne, VIC

cafe

Sharetea Swanston

Sharetea is one of my favourite affordable bubble tea joints. I always get their POG with pearls and jelly at 30% sugar and ice. It’s so refreshing and light, and I love the combination of chewy toppings with the tropical tea. I’d definitely recommend getting their membership card as you can get a free upsize or a free topping every time you go! I mean, who can say no to that?

Melbourne, VIC

cafe

Chatime 289 Flinders Lane

Always a long line every time I pass Chatime in Highpoint. This branch has pretty quick service and it wasn’t a long wait before we got our drink. The frozen guava grapefruit is one of my favourite when I’m craving for something icy.

Melbourne, VIC

cafe

CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice Swanston Street Store

Footscray has recently received a plethora of bubble tea places all at once! From Gong Cha to ChaTime to ShareTea and now CoCo! We decided to get the fresh taro milk tea w/ sago, and the new dragonfruit yogurt drink. The taro one tasted delicious with the fresh, real taro chunks to chew on. The colour is white, not purple, as that’s the true colour of taro. The dragonfruit yogurt one was quite nice - I loved the addition of yogurt with the fruit as it added a nice tartness. There‘s chunks of dragonfruit inside and even fresh orange slices at the bottom! Will definitely be coming back to CoCo for my bubble tea fix!

Melbourne, VIC

cafe • shopping

Gong Cha QV

Gong Cha is one of the best, affordable bubble tea joints around - and you can definitely tell by the long queue at their stores that never seems to leave. I can’t go past their taro milk tea - there’s a very prominent taro flavour and it’s not too milky nor bland. The fresh cooked taro pieces add a delightful soft texture and a light sweetness - with that, it doesn’t even need any extra toppings! By far one of the better taro milk teas I’ve had.

Melbourne, VIC

cafe

HappyLemon

Tried the Green Tea with Rock Salted Cheese and it was pretty good! The cheese was nice, creamy and salty which balanced out the cool, refreshing tea. Also as you walk into the shop you get a waft the delicious bubble waffle aroma. Definitely need to return to try that too!

Melbourne, VIC

cafe

Ghislaine Milk Tea Shop

A really cute and dainty bubble tea shop hidden in The Causeway Lane. I came for the Groupon voucher which was $4.5 for your choice of Dear Eiffel, GhisCaramel, GhisCoco or British Milk Tea. I opted for the GhisCoco, a coconut milk tea (only served warm), with less sugar. The drink was quite nice but I would’ve preferred if the tea was stronger. The coconut flavour was prominent and it was very creamy and well-balanced with the sweetness. Service was a bit slow, however the lady at the counter was very friendly.