Good Bubble Tea – How To Spot It

Whether bright colours and sharp contrasts or traditional milky tea and chewy bobas are your thing, you want to know how to spot a good bubble tea. But how?

Have you ever been craving a sweet treat and spotted a bubble tea shop? We have, and we know that this tasty treat is irresistible. With a wide range of flavours and toppings available, you can tailor the sweetness and texture to your preference and then maybe snap a picture for Instagram.

But how do you know how to spot a good bubble tea? How can you choose between good and bad boba to ensure your sweet treat isn't a disappointment?

Good Bubble Tea – The Considerations

There are a wide number of considerations when it comes to good bubble tea. And as with everything, everyone's tastes are different. So this guide doesn't seek to impose preferences but gives you some good general indicators of what makes good pearl tea.

1 – Visible Pearls

The pearls are synonymous with the tea and are in fact, what makes a bubble tea stand out. These little pearls of tasty goodness are a key ingredient and the first thing you will likely notice. The pearls should be visible and should be approximately 30% of the volume of the drink. Any less and you will not get the benefits of the tasty tapioca or flavourful popping boba, and any more and you'll be missing out on the taste of the tea.

2 – Properly Sealed

With the rise of Deliveroo and other delivery providers, proper cup sealing is key. Good cup seals are an indicator of a high-quality process and good-quality ingredients. While not a guarantee, we find that having the right equipment usually leads to great flavours.

3 – Ice Content

Ice is a key ingredient to bubble tea and is harder to spot in the drink than the pearls. But drinks should be no more than 20% ice by volume. Any less and the desired impact of the ice will not be met, but any more and the taste is diluted.

4 – Sweetness

Sweetness is a matter of personal preference, and bubble tea shop owners need to understand how sweet their products are. You should also be able to suggest flavour combinations across the spectrum of sweetness from your menu. Being able to vary the sweetness of the drinks to a customer's palette is a hallmark of a great bubble tea shop.

5 – Aroma

The final consideration we have listed here is the one that is most often missed. Bubble tea is, after all, tea! The flavours, toppings, pearls and syrups should not detract from the fact that bubble tea is tea. You should be able to detect a distinct aroma of tea in your drink.

What Do You Look For?

These are the considerations we take when eying up a boba. What do you look for? If you're a boba fan, then check out our blog post on the Instagram hashtags to follow and if you're interested in setting up your own bubble tea shop, contact us here.