6 step guide to ordering bubble tea in SA

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6 step guide to ordering bubble tea in SA

Friday, August 12th, 2022 by Bianca Jones

Bubble tea, or boba tea, is typically creamy and satisfyingly sweet, and loaded with a few fun slurpy chewy bits. Refreshingly tasty and entertaining, what’s not to love about bubble tea? The iconic tall, thick-strawed drink comes in a variety of different flavours and toppings and can be enjoyed as a snack or as a liquid dessert.

Here’s what you need to know about ordering bubble tea and where to get some of the best in SA.

6 steps to follow for the perfect tailor-made bubble tea:

Select the base. Boba drinks all start with a base, either tea- or fruit-based. Teas can range from black, to green, oolong or matcha. You can also flavour your base with a range of custom syrups, powders, or even an array of fresh ingredients. Taro is one of the most popular boba tea flavours. It’s purple in colour and super creamy with a starchy texture, which makes for a unique, rich boba tea flavour combo. Each boba tea shop will have its own list of uniquely curated flavours.
Select the milk. If you love milky tea, you’ll love bubble tea, because any type of milk goes! From dairy milk, to soy, almond or coconut milk, there’s bound to be a variety to choose from.
Select the boba. Tapioca pearls are probably the most popular and iconic topping for bubble tea. Cooked until chewy and tender, the tapioca is then soaked in brown or white sugar, or honey, to form pearls. They’re subtly sweet, a little chewy, and absolute perfection when served fresh in bubble tea! You can also add crystal boba (translucent agar pearls that have a soft jellylike texture) or popping boba (juice-filled popping pearls that burst when chewed), both of which add texture and a unique flavour to any bubble tea.
Add toppings. Boba tea shops will often have a variety of toppings: flavoured jellies, grass jelly (made from a plant from the mint family, super refreshing and slightly sweet), red bean (adzuki beans simmered until tender with sugar until chewy and fragrant, giving milky teas a wonderfully earthy, sweet chew), puddings (a sweet, flavoured jiggly custard that’s creamy and soft and adds a bit of luxurious chew) and whipped foam toppings (often cream based), which add a unique creaminess, as well as extra flavour. You can add as many or as few toppings as you like, there’s no limit! Toppings may vary at each different boba tea store, but they’re guaranteed to add both texture and a unique flavour.
Select the sweetness level. Anything from zero added sugar to super sweet goes! This depends on your own preferences. If it’s your first time tasting bubble tea, don’t go too sweet, it’s recommended that you start off with 50% sweetness and then experiment from there.
Select the temperature. This depends on how you’d like your boba served. Hot, cold or on ice.

Every bubble tea establishment will have ready-made flavour combos on offer. So, if ordering your own custom-made bubble tea seems way too intimidating at first, look for a menu with the establishment’s most popular drink combinations. They’re bound to have a few that tickle your fancy.

Bubble tea shops to visit:

Johannesburg

MoMo Fresh Tea and Juice

Figgy’s Bubble Tea shop

Ben’s Bubble Tea

Boba Tea Café