Which tea is for me?
There you are, standing in front of the menu at your favorite bubble tea shop and your eyes are swimming with flavors and toppings. Where to begin? What’s the best seller? Should you get the usual? What if it’s your first bubble tea ever?
Most of the people who come with questions like these want clarity on the menu or don’t know how to build the perfect cup of tea as it’s their first time ordering. A seasoned bobarista will be able to help you through the decision making with questions to lead your preferences. But sometimes you want to decide all on your own! Here are some great tips on how to order.
Tea: if there is a choice between types of tea, you might want to go with a caffeine level. Usually green tea has less caffeine than black tea does so you might want to request a green tea as your base. Most tea bases can go with most tea flavors, but true bubble tea is made with fresh tea, so be sure to ask.
Flavor: If it’s your first time, try something simple. We always suggest you begin where you feel comfortable. If you know you love chai tea, try that. If you know you love peach tea, go with something familiar. If you’re feeling adventurous and you want to make that first bubble tea memorable, maybe give some of the SE Asian favorites a try: taro, honeydew, passion fruit, kumquat… you won’t be disappointed!
Topping: Many bubble tea shops have more toppings than the typical customer knows what to do with. You’ll be glad of that when you’re working your way through the menu as a connoisseur, but for your first cup, try the OG boba. It’s chewy, it says a lot about the shop as per quality and you can differentiate your bubble tea shops by the boba they serve. It’s a great start! If you don’t love the idea of chewing something at the end of your sip, try popping boba or a simple sweet cream cap. Nothing wrong with easing your way in to your best bubble tea lifestyle!
Sweetness: Something many people forget is to choose the sweetness. Most shops have a standard sweetness level that they will apply to your beverage unless you ask otherwise. If you love an indulgent treat, try the full sweet option or ask to lower the sweetness to 75% but add sweet cream on top for a desserty drink. If you want to keep the sugar out of your drink, ask for 0%-25% but realize that fruit teas are naturally sweeter than the milk teas and might not need but a small amount of added sweetness to be perfect. Whatever your level is, you can always adjust it for next time.
Ice level: Hot day? Feel like a freezing cold Pineapple fruit tea? Order like a local and ask for extra cold, no ice! Most bubble tea shops use a shaker machine or hand shake every drink to ice it down. Shaking it longer will make it colder, but then straining the ice out will give you more drink for your money. On the other hand, some people like to make the cold last and last…so ask for extra ice.
However you drink it, remember that bubble tea should be as customizable as your morning coffee. Get creative and try new flavors/topping/sweetness levels or try your favorite flavor with a different tea. You can’t go wrong!
