Taiwanese are infatuated with bubble tea. The amount of tea shops selling this magical drink is astounding. But is bubble tea the only drink at those tea shops?
I published an article a few years ago now, back when I spent more time in tea shops than I do now, that highlights some of the differences in some of Taiwan’s greatest teas. I used to go to tea shops to practice my Chinese speaking, whittling away the hours and drinking delicious tea. It’s certainly an ingrained part of Taiwanese culture, but what is it about the insatiable desire to drink different tea, especially bubble tea?
A quick guide of Taiwanese Tea
There definitely feels like there's somewhat of a stigma attached to some tea shops as just being a haven for sugar addicts. But, really, they don't have to be, it's entirely your choice!
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Bubble tea
Certainly one of the favourite tea combinations of many taiwanese is the 珍珠奶茶 zhēn zhū nǎi chá bubble tea. Made by mixing in potato starch with brown sugar (and, in some instances, food colouring), separating the mixture into small balls, then boiling them to give it the chewiness it is so famed for. Most tea shops take a big scoop of those bubbles, then lash it with tea, milk, a spoonful of sugar (or fructose, in some instances) and shaking it up with some ice.
But is bubble milk tea any good?
It's all pretty much down to personal preference, so this question will largely divide opinion. One of my favourite spot for bubble tea, though, is True Dan. However, in reality there are so many shops available with some excellent bubble tea offerings. Leave some of your favourites in the comments section below, and I will definitely go and try them out.
Seasonal, fruit based tea
Stores like Guiji offer up some amazing fruit-based options for tea. They do a lot of seasonal specials, and for that reason it is one of my go-to's on a sunny day!
Dayungs also do some quality fruit-based tea offerings, with some delicious seasonal classics involving both mango (in summer) and strawberry (in winter).
Tea pride
Soma pride themselves on sourcing quality ingredients with top quality tea, to boot.
Take-away tea drinks should not just be simple beverages but a refined life attitude
Soma
Uno cha are definitely in a similar boat to Soma, in that they pride themselves on the best, most natural ingredients, providing you with unadulterated Taiwanese classics other than just bubble tea.
Which toppings should you get?
What the?! Strawberry smoothie with tiramisu? Strawberry cheese smoothie? Macu really go for it on the inventive toppings for their drinks. Check out their Taipei menu here, but here are also some snippets of what you can get at their shops:
- Tea jelly
- Oreo
- Agar
- Tiramisu
- Coconut jelly
- Grass jelly
- Yakult
- Cheese foam
Woo tea also do a pretty delicious almond jelly addition which you should not overlook.
Taroboba have taro in the name, and they really smash it out of the park with taro everything in their shop. I mean, one look at their menu should give you an idea about, if you're craving taro, where to go. My picks would be:
- 紫芋波波沙
- Taro smoothie with purple sweet potato balls
- 芋見泥珍好
- Nice to meet you (small taro balls, bubble, red bean, sago)
But, in reality, there's lots here that you could quite easily try out. The really good thing about Taroboba as well, is that they do some really good shaved ice options (my favourite is the 芋頭紅豆牛奶冰 yù tou hóng dòu niú nǎi bīng - Taro and red bean with condensed milk shaved ice).
If any Instagram picture could ever sum up Taipei's love affair with bubble tea, it would be that one just above - bubble tea porn at its best. Mounds upon mounds of bubbles, with a cheeky little creme caramel pudding nestled in their for good measure, on top of some strong black tea. Seriously though, what is not to love about this?
The great thing about Who's tea, is that they largely keep their toppings and fillings quite basic in terms of only really one per cup. There's a focus on the tea, but also simply just pairing that tea with one topping or filling, and making sure that that one is perfect for the cup. Just like the coconut jelly above ^.
粉條 fěn tiáo is one of those things that is literally just all about texture. Similar to bubbles, it is a potato starch based topping aimed at bringing texture to a dessert. It also often shows up at shaved ice stores. However, don't knock it, it is a popular addition for a reason - it's good!
Let's get creative!
I touched on Macu slightly earlier when talking about toppings, and it's pretty clear that their inventiveness is what makes them such a staple among the tea shops around the city. Matcha tiramisu with oreo, grape smoothie with cheese foam, tomato, honey and plum smoothie are just some of the more adventurous drinks that they have to offer. They really do go for it with their inventiveness.
I wish you could see my face as I write this. I mean, c'mon, Milk foam oolong tea with mullet roe? It sounds vile. Dadaochen are clearly on a mission to stretch the boundaries with their drinks. Some other different flavours they go for are Oolong rice milk, Taro oolong rice milk, and Milk foam strawberry juice. But, of all of their flavours, definitely the most outrageous of all is the milk foam oolong tea with mullet roe. Would you try it, though?
But how do we order it?
Ordering at drinks shops, for me, is like ordering at McDonalds - I don't do it often enough, but the regular consumers out there already know what they want because they have their standard order already memorized. Here are some things that you need to think about before you start your order:
- The name of the drink you want.
- The amount of sugar you want.
- The amount of ice you want.
- Any additional extras you want.
It sounds pretty simple, but let's walk through a potential conversation you could have when ordering bubble tea at a drink shop:
- Vendor: 你好，想要喝什麽呢？Nǐ hǎo, xiǎng yào hē shén mó ne?
- Hi, what would you like to drink?
- Customer: 你好，我要一杯珍珠奶茶 Nǐ hǎo, wǒ yào yī bēi zhēn zhū nǎi chá
- Hi, I'd like a cup of bubble milk tea.
- Vendor: 好的，大杯小杯？hǎo de, dà bēi xiǎo bēi?
- OK, would you like that large or small?
- Customer: 大杯 dà bēi
- Large (the please is inferred).
- Vendor: 甜度冰塊呢？tián dù bīng kuài ne?
- What about the sugar and ice levels?
- Customer: 無糖，少冰 wú táng, shǎo bīng (my standard order)
- No sugar, less ice.
- Vendor: 想要加什麽呢？xiǎng yào jiā shí mó ne?
- Would you like to add anything else to it?
- Customer: 加布丁，謝謝 jiā bùd īng, xiè xiè
- I'd like to add a creme caramel pudding, thanks (you'll thank me for this revelation!)
- Vendor: 好的，這樣$85. hǎo de, zhèyàng $85
- OK, that will be $85.
OK, so that's roughly how you would order a bubble tea at your average drink shop, and you should definitely give the addition of a creme caramel pudding into your bubble tea a go. Let me know what you think in the comments section below!
The bottom line
Bubble tea is awesome, of course, but there's so much else out there. If you're feeling fruity, craving caffeine, wanting some savoury mixed in with your tea, or just wanted to test out your taste buds, there's something out there for you at any tea shop around Taipei. Go find your best bubble tea in Taipei!
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