Where To Find: Good Bubble Tea in London

About the Author: Eutonne runs one of our favourite halal instagram pages: @etfoodvoyage. She’s always creating the most mouth-watering dishes, finding the best desserts and rounding up secret halal gems around the city. You can visit her website here: https://www.etfoodvoyage.com/

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The London bubble tea scene has been booming over the last two years as Taiwanese names came into the market to really up the boba game. It’s about getting the perfect quality of tea and recipe, and cooking the tapioca pearls to this chewy but al dente texture with a brown sugar fragrance seeping through at each bite. Here we have some of our favourite bubble tea spots around London, serving the best bubble teas in town.

London’s Best Bubble Tea

The Alley, Holborn and Mayfair

The Alley has always been an immensely popular name in East Asia. Now with two branches across London – one in Holborn and the other in Mayfair – they’re undoubtedly one of the most highly rated and popular places for a bubble tea stop. Their Crème Brulee Deerioca series is a massive hit, not just in London but globally. In addition, they’ve also just recently become HMC certified – more reason to pay them a visit!

Address: Holborn: Unit 3, 272 High Holborn, London WC1V 7EY | Mayfair: 10 Maddox St, London W1S 1PF
Website: http://www.the-alley.uk/

Machi Machi, Piccadilly Circus

Known as the cheese tea specialist in Taiwan, Machi Machi is one of the first to introduce the sensation into the London market. Yes, cheese – a thick frothy cream cheese foam that adds a velvety touch to your milk tea with a subtle savoury edge. It’s delicious, don’t knock it till you try it.

Address: 59 Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 6LF
Website: https://www.instagram.com/machimachi_uk/

The Whale Tea, Various Locations

Not necessarily a Taiwanese name but one that certainly serves boba up to par. The Whale Tea first opened in Queensway and gained popularity among locals. Their Flaming Whale, which is essentially a classic brown sugar milk boba, has been a great hit, as well as some other unique creations such as Matcha Dalgona, sweet potato, creamy avocado, blue crystal, etc. They now also have branches in Stratford and Colindale.

Address: Various locations
Website: https://thewhaletea.co.uk/

Xing Fu Tang, Soho

Xing Fu Tang is a big name from Taiwan, most well-known for its unrivalled quality of tapioca pearls. Their tapioca pearls are handmade using caramelised brown sugar to give that signature sweetness and freshly cooked in a wok on site. The Caramelised Brown Sugar Boba is what they’re most renowned for. It’s a little bit watered-down in London compared to their Asia stores but still a decent pick.

Address: 29 Frith St, London W1D 5LG
Website: https://xing-fu-tang.business.site/

Yunique “The Bear” Bubble Tea, Chinatown

Yunique Tea offers an extensive menu of bubble teas, including quirkier options such as Oreo Milk, Lychee Milk Tea, fruity yoghurt shakes, as well as their very Instagrammable rainbow soda, and many more. They’re certainly a consistent one in Chinatown that would not disappoint!

Address: 10 Little Newport St, London, WC2H 7JJ
Website: https://www.instagram.com/yuniquetealondon

Yifang, Various Locations

If you’re into fruity options, then Yifang is a good pick as they’re known in the East as the fruit tea specialist. Using their secret family fruit jam recipe, mixed with cane sugar and fresh fruit slices, you can expect a burst of refreshing flavours from their fruit boba series. 

Address: Various locations
Website: https://www.yifangtea.co.uk/

Jen Tea, Liverpool Street

From Taipei to London, Jen Tea is one of the few around town to make their tapioca pearls freshly on-site. You can find all the boba classics from their menu, as well as fruit teas, slushies, Yakult, etc. Fancy just tea? They have pure teas to choose from as well. For matcha lovers, they now offer matcha pearls as well which could be interesting!

Address: 16 Artillery Passage, London, E1 7LJ
Website: https://www.jentealondon.com/

Other Bubble Tea Places in London Worth Checking Out:

• CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice
• Happy Lemon
• Chatime