The Best Bubble Tea in Toronto

The best bubble tea in Toronto has advanced to impressive standards, with this popular Taiwanese beverage taking over the city thanks to many design-forward chains from Asia featuring unique offerings and interesting flavour combinations. Things have definitely gotten fancy. Here is the best bubble tea in Toronto. 4 - Chatime Toronto

This global brand has practically become synonymous with bubble tea in Toronto, with a whole slew of locations throughout the GTA and in the city. Zippy drink names like “MMMaple,” “Salted Caramel Yum” and “Oh (Ginger) Snap!” milk teas keep things intriguing, while faves like roasted grass jelly milk tea and the light, refreshing and ombre (IG-ready) Starry Lemon, made with all-natural butterfly pea flower tea, keep regulars returning.
6 - Gong Cha Tea

Known for its “Milk Foam” drinks, this Taiwanese chain has a location each in Markham, Scarborough, North York and downtown. Refreshing teas (or coffee) are topped with a salty cream that makes for a nice taste and texture contrast to the sweet beverages.
8 - Sharetea (Yonge & Dundas)

Over 50 flavours of Black, Oolong, Green, Milk and Fruit teas are available at the branches of this popular bubble tea chain from Taiwan. Well-made, sweet and salty Creama drinks are a highlight here, as is the Handmade Taro Fresh Milk, with real bits of taro in it.
5 - CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice (Yonge St.)

High-quality ingredients make this large, international Taiwanese chain – with two locations downtown and more in the GTA – really stand out. Popular orders include the Two Ladies milk tea, with tapioca pearls and pudding, the Three Guys tea, which adds grass jelly to the previous drink, along with the Lemon King (similar to lemonade) and Bubble Gaga (a mix of green tea and passionfruit juice topped with coconut jelly and pearls).
10 - Royaltea

Responsible for the drink-in-a-lightbulb trend, this smaller Chinese bubble tea chain with a location in Scarborough and another in Chinatown downtown also features intriguing beverages like the Osmanthus Oolong with Durian Mousse, where the mousse is made from a combination of cheese, milk, fresh cream and fresh blended durian, a divisive fruit if there ever was one.
9 - Happy Lemon

With a cheerful-sounding name and cutesy marketing, this bubble tea shop found on the ground floor of Markham’s Pacific Mall is Toronto’s first for this franchise hailing from Shanghai. Salted cheese drinks are topped with cheese-flavoured foam and Japanese pink rock salt, while its Lemon Series beverages and green teas mixed with Yakult are also signature offerings.
11 - Latea Era

This Scarborough cafe is the first overseas location of a fast-growing Chinese bubble tea chain. All its tea leaves come directly from China while matcha is sourced from Japan. Known for its “crown” topping, a signature cheese-like salted foam that sits atop many of the shop’s drinks, those who want a break from it should try the Oreo Puff Cream Milk Tea that’s topped with crumbled Oreos instead.
3 - The Alley

Relaxed vibes in inviting spaces that favour exposed brick and wood accents can be found at the handful of locations of this Taiwanese chain around the city. With most cafes found in the GTA and one downtown, its many fans admire the care put into its creative drinks, from the fresh, handcrafted-in-house “deerioca” (tapioca balls named to reflect the chain’s deer imagery) with flavours that change from strawberry to black sesame, to the high-quality tea used.
7 - Funky Munky

The rustic and retro feel of this coffee and bubble tea house is surprising, since it's located in a Markham strip mall. This lively yet comfortable space offers hot and cold bubble teas along with its signature FM Style Tea, which is similar to Hong Kong-style tea but with a mix of evaporated and steamed milks, plus Coftea, FM’s twist on Yuan Yang, combining tea with freshly ground and pressed coffee.

by Christina Cheung via blogTO