Bubble tea/boba/bubble milk tea has taken the world by storm, particularly in the greater Asian population. The drink originated in Taiwan in the 80’s and since as seen growth around the world like no other. It is essentially a sweetened tea with or without milk with optional tapioca pearls and a range of optional jellies and other toppings. The name ‘bubble’ or ‘boba’ comes from the tapioca pearls resembling little black bubbles in the base of the tea. Before you shy away, you have to try it first!

With tonnes of bubble tea places opening up around Melbourne, we’ve listed the 5 most popular in Melbourne CBD (that isn’t Gong Cha or Cha Time)

The Alley LuJiaoXiang

192B Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC
Apparently the pearls + brown sugar + fresh milk flavour here is AMAZING! The line can get long, but it’s definitely worth the wait!

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[BEST SELLING DRINK]⭐️Brown Sugar Deerioca & Fresh Milk ⭐️ . Our best selling drink, Brown Sugar Deerioca & Fresh Milk is one of the best drinks to get for a chilling weather.🤗 . The warm, chewy and exquisite taste of Brown Sugar Deerioca will warm up your day in no time.💥 . Have you ordered it yet today? . 🌱It's time for tea🌱 — #thealleylujiaoxiang #thealleylujiaoxiangau #lujiaoxiang #thealley #thealleyau #thealleymelbourne #thealleytea #itstimefortea #zomato #brownsugardeerioca #freshmilk #freshlymadedaily #exquisite #snowvelvet #grandopening #cremebrulee #aesthetics #milktea #creative #design #life #bsdmatchalatte #originalbrand #realbrand #kiwislush #deerrewardcard #gifts — THE ALLEY LUJIAOXIANG MELBOURNE 🦌 QV Melbourne 🦌 Highpoint Shoppingr Centre

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[POST GRAND OPENING WEEKEND]❤️Thank You for Your Support❤️ . The 3 day Grand Opening Event has been amazing and worthwhile all thanks to everyone’s support and love. 🤗 . We hope everyone had a good time and has had great experience during the whole event. 😊 . Our goal is to work harder to serve quality drinks and bring the best of the best customer service to our customers. . Love our 🦌 Fans!!! . 🌱It's time for tea🌱 — #thealleylujiaoxiang #thealleylujiaoxiangau #lujiaoxiang #thealley #thealleyau #thealleymelbourne #thealleytea #itstimefortea #zomato #melbournedelivery #brownsugardeerioca #freshmilk #freshlymadedaily #exquisite #snowvelvet #grandopening #cremebrulee #aesthetics #milktea #creative #design #life #bsdmatchalatte #originalbrand #realbrand — THE ALLEY LUJIAOXIANG MELBOURNE 🦌 QV Melbourne 🦌 Highpoint Shoppingr Centre

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Coco Tea

250 Swanston Street, CBD, Melbourne
There’s actually 3 outlets within the CBD- there’s another at 101 Swanston St and the other at Tivoli Arcade! They are a popular chain with almost 10 open across Melbourne

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Black Tea Latte with Pearls from Coco – Price: $6.70 – Rating: 8/10 – Thoughts: While CoCo's standard Pearl Milk Tea will always have a place in my heart given its unmistakably "authentic" Taiwanese flavours given the blend of sweetener, Tea and creamer, it is my opinion that their Black Tea Latte with Pearls is of an undeniably higher standard, the result an excellent interaction between fresh Dairy Milk and a smooth Red (black) Tea base. – For those of you wondering what the difference between Black Tea Lattes and Black Milk Teas, there is much grey area surrounding the use if these terms, however the term Milk Tea is used as an umbrella term to describe Tea blended with either creamer or fresh Milk whilst Latte is used more strictly to denote beverages made with fresh Milk. – The difference in terminology in CoCo's series of beverages is palpable, and in the case of their Black Tea Latte, leads to a more relaxed, polished product as compared to their traditional Pearl Milk Tea. Drinking this Milk and Tea amalgamation, I am impressed by the transparency, replicability and nostalgic factors of the flavours and ingredients used in production. This Black Tea Latte has a rather simplistic, sweet flavour profile that begins as a heavily sugary (this tastes like white sugar as opposed to sweetener which is probably a characteristic of CoCo's syrup) taste mirrored by an easy to drink black tea base (this has the airy, leafy characteristics of Chinese Red Tea paired with the distinct smoothness of a Sri Lankan Ceylon) that ends on a sweet and light yet still distinctly dairy flourish that reminds me of my childhood attempts at making Milk Tea using Dilmah's Ceylon Tea, Milk and plain sugar. – CoCo's Pearls as to be expected are at their usual high standards, possessive of very typical if muted sweet and earthy Tapioca characteristics, excellent "QQ" (chewy) characteristics whilst being on the harder side of the spectrum. – The excellence of this beverage stems from it's light, engaging, transparent and less than serious flavour profile coupled with the addition of enviable pearls.

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Ori Tea

128 Little Bourke Street, CBD, Melbourne
You you can sit in and enjoy your tea here- the vibe is lovely! Oh, and their matcha flavour is awesome!

Top Tea

242, Swanston Street, CBD, Melbourne
They are popular for their unique toppings and flavours such as brûlée topping and a dragon fruit cheese tea flavour! They also sell baked goods here too! There’s generally a line here too but again, worth it!

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Bake up that brown sugar~ Yummy Crème Brûlée.

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Oreo Momo Milk Tea 🤪 #TwoPaperPen #TPPmelbourne

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One Zo

265 Little Lonsdale Street, CBD, Melbourne
They’re absolute selling point isn’t their wacky flavours – in fact that have very much just the basics when it comes to flavours- but rather the fact that they hand-make their pearls! They’re hand-making buckwheat, beetroot and even black current pearls on the daily. It’s a must try!

A fan of matcha? Have a look at our top 8 matcha cafes in the world!

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