I know it’s chilly out and winter is quickly approaching, but that doesn’t mean the cold should hold you back from fulfilling your bubble tea cravings.
Here are the top five closest spots that serve bubble tea, but also other Asian styled drinks that you need to try! These places aren’t in any particular order, but I will begin with the most popular.
Real Fruit Bubble Tea
Real Fruit Bubble Tea is a franchise, the closest store recently opened inside the Eaton Centre right outside the Dundas Station entrance. They’re open every day from 10:00AM and are most known for their smoothies and slushies because they blend real fruits. My go to drink is the mango pineapple slush with lychee jelly. I’d also recommend the strawberry banana smoothie and yes, for an extra dollar they even add protein! A medium size in both drinks is $6.49, with toppings like lychee jelly or tapioca being an extra $0.50. My only complaint would be that sometimes they make the drinks a little bit watery at this location.
Chatime
Chatime located at 132 Dundss Street West is a bit further from campus than some of the other options, but is worth the walk. My go to drink here is the large brown rice green milk tea for $6.40, with grass jelly that is an additional $0.50. Another great option is the QQ Taiwan Mango juice, which comes with tapioca pearls and coconut jelly, all for $6.40 in a large. Chatime opens at 11:00AM and is most known for their milk teas. Become a royalty rewards member (for free!) and get their tea of the month for a cheaper price and earn points towards free drinks! The only downside is sometimes the line gets extremely long.
CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice
CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice is a short distance from the SLC. They open at 11:30AM and are located at 372 Yonge Street. One of my favourite drinks here, before they added pulp to it, is the Bubble Gaga. This is a passionfruit tea with tapioca and coconut jelly, for $5.20 in a large. If you’re a fan of the Netflix hit To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, then you have to try the Mango or Green Tea Yakult drink! The yogurt drink they mention in the movie is mixed in and it is a great combination. They only offer it in a large size for $5.70 and I would recommend adding tapioca to the order for an extra $0.50. CoCo does their fruit drinks and milk tea very well.
Yang Teashop
Yang Teashop just opened up at 183 Dundas Street West and people are loving their milk tea. One thing that is really great about this place is their milk tea taste more like tea than just milk like other shops. I got the medium size Yang Iced Tea Latte for $5.50. Although my drink was enjoyable, the common complaint is that they are not sweet enough, so I wouldn’t recommend requesting less sugar. Since tea is in the name of the store, they clearly specialize in their tea based drinks, over slush, but it’s still worth a try! The downside is the shop is tiny and they only had two staff working, so it took a while to get through the line.
The Tika Tea House
Tika Tea House is the furthest place on this list, at 675 Yonge Street, but if you’re into fruit based drinks and feeling healthy while treating yourself, this is the place for you. They open at 11:30 and have a spacious interior with tables that are perfect for studying. The first time I came here, I got the signature fruit tea for $6.79, which includes a mix of chopped up fruits like watermelon, grapefruit, and lemon. Best part, they give you a fork so you can snack on the fruit after you’re done with your tea. I would definitely recommend the Golden Pineapple drink too, for $5.99, the texture and flavour are great.
Post by:
Paolina Loseto
