12 best bubble tea & most popular boba tea flavours you have to try.
There are many different types of boba tea flavours out there, and each type offers its own unique taste and aroma. One of the most popular teas worldwide is called bubble tea, also known as milk tea or pearl tea or pearl milk tea.
This beverage is similar to coffee or green tea because it contains caffeine, but instead of being brewed, bubble tea is simply mixed together with milk and sugar. Then, it’s stirred until frothy before drinking. Popular boba flavour options include strawberry, mango, chocolate, vanilla, coffee, taro, and matcha green tea. Following are some best bubble tea flavours according to the orders we receive.
1. Taro milk tea
It may sound weird to drink a purple root vegetable, but there are a few things that taro has going for it. Taro’s natural sweetness, and the fact that’s it’s a visually striking tuber, makes it the perfect boba beverage. The starchy, high fiber vegetable is inherently sweet like yams, and combined with tea the result is a drink that is hearty and enriching without being excessively indulgent.
The subtle sweetness of the taro, balanced with a whisper of earthiness and nuttiness, and rounded out by the simple striking color of the drink, make this a boba worth slurping to the last drop.
2. Brown sugar or Tiger Milk tea
One of the buzziest flavors out there right now, brown sugar tea has been exploding in worldwide popularity as of late. Known for its creamy brown sugar flavour and unique tiger stripe pattern, the boba shop has been on a tear in India, expanding from country to country. Also known as Tiger Milk tea due to the stripe design.
Made with brown sugar and milk, it’s definitely richer and more decadent than most boba, but brown sugar tea tastes far fresher and more pure than other sweeter flavours; it isn’t nearly as treacly as, say, strawberry. The tapioca pearls are actually cooked in brown sugar syrup to help absorb the flavour and enhance the drink with notes of molasses.
This one has boomed in popularity thanks in part to how wildly photogenic it is. The drink became an Instagram sensation for the unique tiger strip pattern that emerges in the drink when brown sugar syrup is added. But it’s the tremendous flavour which ultimately earns brown sugar boba such high marks.
3. Matcha Milk tea
Matcha boba is another prime example of two trendy, buzzy drinks joining forces for one fragrant, refreshing, and photo-ready creation. The combination of the Japanese green tea powder and dairy (or a plant-based milk) is now omnipresent in cafes and coffee shops around the country, and adding tapioca pearls to the equation only makes things better.
Another example of a flavour that doesn’t do subtlety, the matcha really comes through in this one. If you normally find the powder too overwhelming, keep in mind that since its tempered with sugar, it’s not as herbal and earthy as straight-up matcha, and the flavour isn’t as blunt as it would be if you ordered a matcha latte. Rather, this is a lighter, refreshing option that’s at once milky and creamy, without being too heavy. The notes of green tea comes through without overwhelming. All in all, it’s a solid middle-of-the-road option that should please matcha enthusiasts and boba-lovers alike.
4. Thai milk tea
Even without boba, Thai tea is a treat for the senses. It’s a beautiful, vibrant, sweet drink made with black tea, spices like star anise and cardamom, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk, giving it a silky-smooth creaminess. It’s also usually a fun orange colour milk tea made with Thai powder. Yes, it’s super sweet, but Thai tea is delicious on its own, and turning it into a milk tea only enhances it.
The boba version is essentially the same as your standard Thai milk tea, but with the addition of tapioca pearls and occasionally other syrups and flavors (via Full Coffee Roast). Despite the fact that the sweetened condensed milk takes this fully into drinkable dessert territory, the medley of spices and the black tea base help to balance things out. This fusion of Thailand and Taiwan is a huge success.
5. Black milk tea
A classic for a reason, black milk tea is as basic as it gets — in the best way possible. An ideal gateway flavour for boba newbies, it’s a straightforward mix of black tea, milk, ice, and tapioca pearls, hitting all the right middle-of-the-road notes of balanced sweetness, chewy tapioca balls, and slight creaminess without being too rich or dessert-y.
The texture is on point, and while the flavour of the black tea is distinctive, its not too intense, which works just fine for u. This one ends up being more of a showcase for the tapioca pearls than the drink itself. And really, when a lot of folks order boba, they’re really just looking for an excuse to slurp up those tapioca pearls anyway, right? In terms of timeless, people-pleasing treats, black milk tea boba deserves to rank up there with red velvet cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies.
6. Honeydew milk tea
One of the more underrated melons finally gets its chance to shine in this pretty, luscious boba option. Often the last pick on a fruit plate, honeydew’s mild, subtle flavour lends itself particularly well here, as it’s pureed with green tea, ice, and creamer or milk to help enrich the drink and enhance the natural sugars in the green melon.
Like lychee, this one is super refreshing, but the added richness from the milk helps smooth things out, and the honeydew has a more pronounced flavour that carries through to the last slurp. Despite the fact that dairy is typically blended in, it’s on the lighter side, making this a good summertime sipper. If you’re looking for an excuse to drink a pretty, thirst quenching, light, and mildly sweet drink with chewy tapioca pearls, here you go. Even honeydew detractors are bound to enjoy this one.
7. Lychee Iced tea
For the ultimate boba quencher, lychee fruit goes down smooth, making it an ideal beverage to combat those warm weather days. One of the lighter boba flavours, it’s lightly tart and floral, with just a hint of grape. The addition of lychee also lends a sweet and lovely fragrance to the bubble tea. Depending on what you’re thirsting for, though, this might be a tad too tame, like an unsweetened — and dare we say, boring — iced tea. Of the multiple fruit varieties out there, this one is on the extremely mild side. It’s basically the opposite of strawberry, lacking excess sugar.
Lychee is a subtle fruit to begin with, so it takes a lot to get the dainty ingredient to shine. If it’s something cool and refreshing on a hot day that you’re after, this’ll scratch that itch, but that’s likely the only itch it’ll be scratching.
8. Coffee Milk Tea
Coffee and tea sounds like a sensible boba combination — two café icons joining forces in one slurpable snack. But rather than work together harmoniously, the two flavours clash. Again, this is one drink that looks appealing (it resembles a creamy iced latte), but one sip in, though, and you’ll wish you had ordered an actual iced latte instead.
On one hand, it’s got the refreshing, quenching aspect of iced tea. Unfortunately, that sensation is utterly negated by the stark bitterness of the coffee. Those dark, earthy undertones offer a jarring juxtaposition to the relatively tame iced tea addition. It’s also a lot heavier and richer than most java orders, so this is by no means a suitable caffeine replacement in the morning — unless you want to come crashing down off a sugar high. Coffee works in a lot of different drinks (espresso martini, anyone?), but this isn’t one of them.
9. Mango Milk Tea
This is for those with a fruity palate (and have a love for mangoes). Mangoes are rich in Vitamin C, fiber, iron, and potassium. These fruits are packed full of nutrition and make a tasty snack. Mangoes are native to India and South America.
Mango milk tea, this one is super refreshing, but the added richness from the milk helps smooth things out, and the mango has a more pronounced flavour that carries through to the last slurp. Despite the fact that dairy is typically blended in, it’s on the lighter side, making this a good summertime sipper. If you’re looking for an excuse to drink a pretty, thirst quenching, light, and mildly sweet drink with chewy tapioca pearls, here you go.
10. Strawberry milk tea
If we’re ranking boba based on aesthetics alone, strawberry boba, typically served as a milk tea, would be near the top. The drink is pretty in pink, and great for a social media share, but there’s a lot going on beneath the surface.
It sounds like this one would be refreshing and fruity. It’ll likely be a hit with kids, whose palates are more accustomed to fruity drinks like strawberry milkshake with boba.
11. Rose Iced Tea
The cool, eye-catching look of this rose bubble tea may get your attention, but the delicious taste will ensure you want to order this drink again and again. The taste is pretty much what you would guess from the name—a sweet, floral essence that will make you feel like you are lounging in a serene garden.
If it’s something cool and refreshing on a hot day that you’re after, this’ll scratch that itch, but that’s likely the only itch it’ll be scratching.
12. Chocolate Milk Tea
Chocolate bubbles tea is a delicious combination of cocoa butter and coconut oil. Both of these ingredients provide numerous health benefits. Cocoa butter promotes skin elasticity while coconut oil eases digestion. When combined, both of these oils offer a wide range of anti-aging benefits.
While it tastes like a grown-up and cultured chocolate milk that toes the line between sweet and savoury, it also might be a little too subtle. Low on sweetness, the flavour of red bean can get overwhelmed by even the mildest flavour, like milk. Then there’s the fact that it’s not the prettiest beverage either, with a dark-brownish.
Can be made in dark and white chocolate flavours, various other chocolates like ferrero rocher, kit kat, maltesers, lindt, snicker, nutella and many more.
If the bubble tea isn’t to your liking the first time around, don’t be discouraged; you should take a look online (or order it from Boba Time). Each place can have a different style of making these or can use different ingredients. Either way, there are plenty of other flavours to try if you weren’t 100% satisfied with your first choice.
If you’re ready to go on a best bubble tea run, it’s always better going with a friend or two or three—mainly to tell them to get different bubble tea flavours so you can be THAT friend who snags a sip of what they get.
Which of these popular boba tea flavours will you try? Which one according to you are the best bubble tea? Please share your views and write back to us.
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