We’re not quite sure if it’s the creamy sweetness of the drink, the bursts of flavours from the popping bubbles, the delightful chewiness of the tapioca pearls, or the aesthetically pleasing vibes it effortlessly emits that make bubble tea (or boba) one of our all-time favourite drinks.
Picture: RDNE Stock Project / Pexels
Cape Town offers a multitude of places to grab these iconic, thick-strawed drinks in a plethora of flavours and toppings that can be enjoyed as a refreshing drink or a liquid dessert – appropriate at any time of the day.
Here are six places in and around Cape Town for when you’re craving your daily dose of bubbles:
Susu Bubble Tea
Susu Bubble Tea popped onto the food scene and has been deemed a bubble tea lover hotspot. Beyond the fact that bubble tea (a gem of the 2010s) has made a huge comeback as a force to be reckoned with in the beverage department, Susu’s location is the epitome of quirky creativity. Colourful and playful in design, it’s the café that anyone who would love to live in a colouring book has to try. From ‘Susu slush’ to ‘milk teas’ and macchiato tasties, Susu’s menu is both expansive and niche to all your bubble tea dreams.
The trick to serving the perfect bubble tea is getting the ratio between tea and bubbles just right. If you enter from the street side, you’ll pass their window that says ‘Bring on the bubbles’ and best believe, that’s exactly what they do.
Picture: @kosvraat / Instagram
- Locations: 72 Waterkant Street, Green Point | The Pumphouse, 6 Dock Road, V&A Waterfront | Tygervalley Centre, Willie Van Schoor, Bill Bezuidenhout Avenue | Cavendish Square | Tygervalley Centre | 277 Main Road, Sea Point
- Times: Monday to Saturday 9am to 8pm | Sunday 10am to 7pm
Royal Tea
The fictional ‘Princess Téa’ from the kingdom of Cha (Chinese term for tea) and her very real Royal Tea team have spread to over 600 locations across Asia, Canada, the USA and South Africa with the single mission of bringing the elite quality and joys of contemporary Chinese tea drinking culture.
From Fruit teas to ‘smooteas’ and milk teas, Royal Tea uses only natural ingredients and premium teas straight from China, Japan and India that make for a bubble tea that will keep you coming back for more.
Have you heard of the cheese tea trend? And no we’re not talking about gouda and cheddar cheese, don’t worry. Think of an already perfect-tasting oolong-based tea…then add a cream cheese topping to it. The ultimate liquid dessert? Yes, we think so too. Royal Tea offers an entire selection of cheese teas ranging from Creamy Lime, the Royal Green, to Rose and Shine and a few more.
You could also simply add it as a topping to any bubble tea on their menu.
- Locations: Level one, V&A Waterfront | WE ARE EGG, Cavendish Square, 1 Dreyer Street | Shop G40, Riverlands Mall, 51 Gogosoa Street
- Times: Monday to Sunday 9am to 9pm
Booba Beautea
If you’re yearning for some pink aesthetics and picturesque bubble teas, look no further than Booba Beautea. Its iconic flower wall and cute pink accents will make you giddy before even getting your bubble tea. With a choice of UJI matcha, ocean nectar, black tea latte and strawberry lover being just a few of the options on the menu, deciding which drink to order will be no easy feat.
But once you’ve conquered your indecisiveness, we guarantee it’ll well be worth it. And that’s not all. Customers looking to grab a bite to eat can also order a healthy, tasty and filling poké bowl and those with a sweet tooth can choose from the variety of desserts available. It’s not just a pretty spot, it’s an Asian-inspired trifecta: Bubble tea, poké, and mochidesserts.
Picture: @bikerbeth_h / Instagram
- Location: 112 Dorp Street, Stellenbosch (temporarily closed) | Upper level, Canal Walk
- Times: Monday to Sunday 9am to 9pm
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4Tea
Also in the Stellenbosch region, four former Stellies students from China banded together to bring us good vibes, good food, and most importantly, great boba!
A large assortment of deliciously sweet teas and snacks are available at 4Tea, located at the Neelsie Student Centre and at the De Wet Centre.
If you’re looking for something healthier, no need to shy away from this aesthetic gem, 4Tea also offers sugar alternatives such as agave, honey or stevia as well as milk variations to accommodate different dietary requirements, meaning you get to satisfy your bubble tea cravings guilt-free.
- Location: G3/4, Main Shop De Wet Centre, 5 Plein Street, Stellenbosch Central
- Times: Monday to Saturday 9am to 8pm | Sunday 10am to 3pm
TeAwesome
Amid the usual hubbub one finds within the Mojo Market on a busy Friday night when live music performances serenade the ears, or the crowd’s cheers from the live-streamed sports game synergise your own excitement, a bubble tea oasis can be found in the heart of it all.
TeAwesome, a traditional Taiwanese Tea (otherwise known as bubble tea) and Juice bar was founded in 2012 and has been flourishing ever since. Their teas are brewed freshly in store to ensure that we bubble tea lovers can be guaranteed flavours and fragrances that will our noses, tummies and souls all at once.
Since it’s a build-a-drink kind of format, they have a list of top bubble tea options to help guide any fellow indecisives (try the taro milk tea, one can never go wrong with taro).
And if you’re feeling peckish, there’s a range of pokébowls to choose from too.
Picture: @teawesomesa / Instagram
- Location: Shop 43 Mojo Market, 30 Regent Road, Sea Point
- Times: Monday to Sunday 8am to midnight
Bobalicious
Bobalicious is another bubble tea establishment that’s recently found a place of its own to call home after rooming it alongside Kaprinos Tikka Grill (affectionately referred to as KTG for short) that makes some killer burgers, wraps and toasties as well as mouth-watering chicken/meaty/prawns grills using basting sauces from honey and lime, to bbq, tikka, and lemon butter tikka.
But we digress. With an extensive menu ranging from the usual milk teas like taro and matcha, the fruit teas like mango, peach, and mixed berries, to more unique bubble ice coffees and gassy lemonade refreshers (talk about double bubbly), bubble tea lovers in the southern suburbs don’t have to look very far when those boba cravings rise.
Speaking of cravings, bubble tea lovers with an extra sweet tooth can opt for macarons, boba-shaped biscuits and other treats while soaking in all the good vibes that come with Bobalicious’ aesthetic decor. And if you’re in the mood for a food truck affair, you’re more than likely to find their mobile station there too.
- Location: 350 Imam Haron Road, Lansdowne
- Times: Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday 11am to 5pm | Friday 2:30pm to 9:30pm | Saturday 11am to 9:30pm
- Instagram: @bobalicious_cpt
Article originally published by Cape Town ETC
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