Over the past few years or you can say a decade, boba tea or bubble tea has made its way across countries. Credit the pastel colors and pearls at the bottom making it an absolute Instagram-worthy treat, but bubble tea has attracted people across the world. Originally from Taiwan, Boba is essentially a milk tea with tapioca balls. They were traditionally seen as more of a dessert drink for teenagers because of its sweetness and “chewing” texture, eventually the drink took on more forms like coffee drinks, fruit teas, smoothies and even cocktails as it garnered more popularity. While its exact time of origin isn’t much known but it gained immense popularity around 1980s and made its way over to America from Taiwanese immigrants, as per experts. While it came to America around the '90s, but truly took off once social media got involved in the mid 2000s. Around 2011-2013, there was a new wave of bubble tea, wherein special bubble tea shops started to open across the countries with their own spins to the classic tea. So, while the classic boba recipe involves tapioca balls, tea (usually black tea), milk and a sweetener, like a syrup, there are multiple other versions that one can find at restaurants.
So do you also think that the name bubble tea is because of the tapioca balls in the drink. Well, not really. Bubble tea” is just another name for boba. The bubbles however, refers to the foam that is generated from shaking the milk tea. People usually think it's referring to the balls, but it's not.
India is no stranger to the craze of bubble tea and social media is proof of that. More than that, multiple restaurants with the Taiwanese beverage on the menu are proof to that. Are you a bubble tea fan but don’t know the best places in Delhi NCR for it? We’ve got you covered. Here are 5 places serving some amazing bubble tea options.
1. Burma Burma
A casual dining restaurant that serves splendid Burmese cuisine in all its authenticity, Burma Burma was one of the first places to serve bubble tea in the city. Over time they’ve experimented and today besides common flavuors of bubble tea, they also serve an Oreo bubble tea which comes with oreo sprinkled on the tip of the bottle. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? While this place only serves vegetarian but is truly a paradise for even a strictly non-vegetarian diner too, thanks to a burst of flavours in all their delicacies. vivid palette of dishes alongside a vast spread of aromatic tea varieties.
2. Harajuku Tokyo Café
A fairly new place that opened in Saket right before the pandemic hit India, Harajuku has definitely made its presence felt. And their second outlet in Gurgaon is a proof to that. Besides delish sushis, katsu curry and baos, the place is a heaven for bubble tea fans as they have everything from passion fruit, pomegranate and lychee to mango and strawberry.
3. Dr. Bubbles
If you’ve loved bubble tea after having it in another Asian country, Dr. Bubbles is sure to remind you of just that. Specializing in over 20 variants of bubble teas, this place in Gurgaon serves some classic ones like kiwi, passion fruit, pineapple and more. Along with this they also serve Bubble Waffles-Kit Kat, Red Velvet, and Oreo Cream. Don’t miss out on flavours like kala khatta and mint mojito.
4. Cha Bar
We know Cha Bar as those places where one can simply sit, relax with friends over long conversations or simply work while sipping on a variety of teas from various parts of the world. Well, the vibe is such! but did you know they had a huge variety of bubble tea too? Yes, you can choose from flavours like passion fruit, blueberry, raspberry, green apple and more. So next time you are here, choose your best bet.
5. Pop Chai
Pop Chai is one of the best places for bubble tea where you can also customise your cuppa as per your liking. Love a warm drink with a pop of mint? Or are you more about cold beverages with a punch of fruit? No matter what your preference might be, at Pop Chai you can mix and match it all. You can also go for their in-house specials like chocolate kulfi, spinach mint, coffeelicious, and classic Assam.
So where are you trying bubble tea next?
