The Whale Tea

Canberra has a decent selection of bubble tea, including a few independent stores. This one looked pretty authentic and also had good Google reviews. Store: The Whale TeaLocation: Canberra, AustraliaDrink: Milk Tea Rating: C-. Did not live up to its Google review. It was watery and had little tea presence. Instagram – thatbubbleteablog

Chagee (Visit #2)

Given the immense popularity of this brand, I decided I had to try it again in case my first drink selection did not do it justice. This time I picked a recommendation from a friend, along with having the opportunity to try two other drinks (Jasmine Milk Tea and Rose Pu'er Milk Tea. This should...

Rose Yak Milk Tea

This store was in an old town-style tourist district about 30 minutes out of the city. When I saw they used yak milk, I was very curious to try. It was also quite popular. We had picked the non-cream version but they accidentally gave us cream. Store: Rose Yak Milk TeaLocation: Lijiang, ChinaDrink: Princess NaXi...

Auntea Jenny

I picked this store because of its amusing name. It was in between two other stores and seemed to be the least popular. Store: Aunty JennyLocation: Lijiang, ChinaDrink: Jasmine Milk Tea Placing: C+. It felt like the ingredients were good enough for a B but the combination was not done well enough. The milk lacked...

AiYao

We were waiting for an inter-city train trip and I spotted a bubble tea store in the train station. It looked no-frills, a good opportunity to test the possible bubble tea floor of China. Store: AiYaoLocation: Kunming, ChinaDrink: Grass Jelly Pearl Milk Tea Placing: C+. Decent consistency but lacking in tea presence. It was also...

DaKoTea

Another brand that has its origins in Yunnan, it only sells one drink - a lemon-based drink. Store: DaKoTeaLocation: Kunming, ChinaDrink: Lemon Tea Placing: Not quite a milk tea so I won't give it a rating. It is a unique drink, with a balanced blend of flavours. The citrus flavour takes the main stage, being...

Chagee

Yunnan is well known for its tea, especially its pu'er. This brand is one of the most popular, having originated from this province and then doing well enough to expand to other provinces. The design is nice, it has shades of Dior. I wonder if I can target one bubble tea a day. The average...

Naixue

We are going international again - this time to home of tea, China! I have high hopes for the bubble teas I'll get to sample. Most of the teas I'll try will be in Yunnan, but my first was in my stopover destination, Guangzhou. This was based on a suggestion from a friend, which also...

Milk Flower

I have reviewed a 'Milk Flower' before but it had different branding - perhaps the brand split. This version seems to specialise in mango drinks. Store: Milk FlowerLocation: CBD, MelbourneDrink: Mango Peach Oolong Tea Placing: B. The tea had a pleasant floral taste which matched and was balanced well with the mango and peach flavours....

Mixue Bingcheng – 蜜雪冰城

From what I gather, it is probably the biggest dessert chain in China and I finally have the chance to try it in Melbourne. The line was very long at opening so I thought I'd wait for the hype to die down. However a few weeks later, there was still a substantial line. One of...