Gong Cha Bubble Tea
If you go around asking people, "What comes to mind when you think of Gong Cha Bubble Tea?", chances are you’ll get a description of its signature Gong Cha Milk Tea (pictured left) and how "light" this drink is. With frothy fresh milk blended with freshly brewed tea, this fluffy drink leaves a sweet, creamy aftertaste in your mouth. With more than 60 drinks on the menu, other than this must-try, give the Earl Grey Milk Tea range a go. Choose either Earl Grey Milk Tea or Earl Grey Milk Tea w 3JS (3JS refers to '3 jellies'; pudding jelly, herbal jelly and pearl jelly).
Average price range: $1.90 – $4.20
Sharetea
Since it was first brought here from Taiwan in 2010, Sharetea has established itself as one of Singapore’s premium bubble tea brands. From hot milk teas to cream beverages, there’s bound to be something for you at Sharetea. For a unique belly-warming treat, try the Handmade Taro Fresh Milk – enjoy traditional yam paste dessert in a cup, complete with bite-sized pieces of Taiwan yam. Other noteworthy flavours include the sweet or salty cream teas, like French Vanilla de Crème and Sea Salt de Crème, and the refreshing Lime Green Tea with Yakult.
Average price range: $1.90 – S$6.30
SOD Café
Is there such a thing as healthy bubble tea? Why, yes, of course… with SOD Café! Named after a toxin-removing, immune system-boosting antioxidant, Super Oxide Dismutase, SOD Café’s organic drinks contain natural extracts and are caffeine and preservative-free. Choices such as Fresh Greek Yogurt Milk Tea, Ginseng Tea, Brown Rice Tea come highly recommended. All you health freaks, you can now rejoice with SOD Café!
Average price range: $2.00 – $6.50
Woobbee Bubble Tea
Another believer in healthy living is Woobbee Bubble Tea – the only shop in Singapore which uses natural, superior raw sugar, absolutely unbleached and unprocessed. Unique flavours not to missed include Herbal Mint Milk Tea, which is essentially “pi pa kao”, and Guava Plum Green Tea, made purely from guava juice and white plums (no syrups at all).
Average price range: $2.30 – $5.60
Each A Cup
What sets Each A Cup apart from the rest is its revolutionary Each-a-Brew series, where each bubble tea drink is brewed cup by cup via a tea brewer machine using high quality tea sachets imported from Taiwan so it’s always freshness guaranteed. What’s more – if you’re up for it, you can select sugar level 120% instead of the usual 100%! All-time favourites include Chocolate & Strawberry Oreo, Mocha Ice Blended, Green Apple Smoothie and Peach Sunrise.
Average price range: $1.90 – $4.50
Artease Café
It’s whimsical, it’s arsty, and it’s tasty. Artease Café seems to attract the younger bunch of us who need our bubble tea fix by throwing art and all things funky into its branding equation. And don’t worry if you’re a java or snack addict, Artease Café also serves great coffee and bites such as waffles, salads, pudding and jelly. Salted Caramel Milk Tea, Chocolate Mint Milk Tea, Cinnamon Milk Tea, Yuzu Green Tea and Vinegar Tea are just some well-loved flavours for your taste buds to experiment with.
Average price range: $3.00 – $4.00
Eskimo Café and Dessert Bar
Eskimo Café and Dessert Bar was established in 2008 – one of the early players in the bubble tea market. In fact, they claim to be the first shop to introduce Yakult Green Tea to bubble tea lovers, a flavour that shot to fame only recently thanks to an increasing number of stores serving up this refreshing beverage. Enjoy their signature drinks such as Mini Bubble Milk Tea, Pudding Milk Tea and the Yakult Booster (made from Yakult and fresh fruit juice) together with desserts like shaved ice when it’s hot out!
Average price range: $2.40 – $3.50
Chatime
What’s impressive about Chatime is the fact that it has found success locally as well as overseas, from Los Angeles to Japan to China. It’s good to know that you can slurp on a lovely cup of bubble tea even when you’re a thousand miles away from home. Highly recommended are their mellow milk teas (Chatime Red Bean Milk Tea), drinks from the smoothie series (various choices of fruit) and flavours from the QQ Jelly (Chatime Grass Jelly Roasted Milk Tea) range.
Average price range: $2.00 – $5.00
KOI Café
If you haven’t heard of KOI Café, which rock have you been hiding under? Many know KOI for reviving the bubble tea craze and long, snaking queues at the counter are a fairly common sight. Stars of the store include the Hazelnut Milk Tea and Ovaltine Milk Tea… with sinful ice cream! Some say the secret’s in the creamer/type of milk used… we can’t figure it out either but there’s something very satisfying about KOI’s bubble teas that makes the waiting time so worth it.
Average price range: $2.00 – $5.00
Photo courtesy of Julia Khoo / Aroma Cookery
