Bubble Tea in Victoria
It is no secret that I love bubble tea/milk tea so much – from its chewy and sweet pearls, the tea based drinks and the right amount of ice and sugar, it is considered as my most favorite drinks of all time.
Since everyone is advised to stay home and practice social distancing during these times, I took the opportunity to write and share some of the places here in Victoria that you may want to consider to try once this quarantine is over. Thank you to Tasting Victoria for allowing and encouraging me to write about this.
Here are some of the bubble tea spots on my list:
1.SH 91 formerly called Partea
@ 1026 Blanshard Street
Brown sugar series and fruit tea drinks are always a must when you visit SH 91. They even made their White Rabbit Milk Tea and Ovaltine Jelly Ball as part of their staples, which tasted exactly like childhood. Plus you can doodle on their wall!
2.Chatime
@ 1306 Douglas Street
Chatime is known worldwide. This bubble tea joint allows you to choose your ice and sugar percentage and select from their toppings such as pearls, coffee jelly, grass jelly, pudding and red bean. My ultimate favorite is Winter Melon Milk Tea with pearls, 100% on both ice and sugar. You should consider adding grass jelly too!
3. Ding Tea
@ 3749 Shelbourne Street + #109 2854 Peatt Road
For a high quality and strong flavor of tea drinks, Ding Tea is the place to be. The two locations above can cater your ice, sugar and toppings preference. In addition, they have more than 10 toppings to choose from. There are endless possibilities with Ding Tea!
4. Loyaltea
@ 1609 Douglas Street
One of the coolest ambiance for a bubble tea place along Downtown can be found at Loyaltea. Besides recommending their Emerald Pearl Milk Tea, this Vietnamese owned business serves Vietnamese coffee drip for the win!
5.Shake It Victoria
@ 132B 2945 Jacklin Road Unit
Shake It Victoria opened last September and I have only been twice. One of their staff suggested Taro Milk Tea with fresh taro and pearls, and it was a glorious experience! They offer a variety of drinks such as milk tea, fresh fruit, fruit tea, yakult, macchiato and slush. If you are along Westshore Mall in Langford, try it and say hello to Mr. Panda!
6.Bubble Love
@ 732 Broughton Street
Bubble Love can be found right in front of Victoria Public Library at Downtown. This is a small spot that can provide you a huge list of tea drinks and toppings. You can even get a twin’s cup and enjoy two flavors at one time!
7.Xing Fu Tang
@ 608 Broughton Street
The recently opened bubble tea place in Downtown Victoria. I attempted to try this in Vancouver, but failed to do so and waited for their opening here on the island. When they recently opened, I brought my friends with me and we have nailed 7 drinks in total. Their brown sugar milk tea was outstanding and you get to see them make and stir their in-house pearls. It was quite a show!
@xingfutang_canada xingfutang.ca
8.Chimoto
@ 1108 Blanshard Street
Chimoto is known for their matcha desserts creations. Last 2019, they added brown sugar and matcha pearl milk. Their pearls are soft and warm. Since it can be time consuming to prepare their pearls, these drinks are only limited to 50 cups a day!
9.The Bubble Tea Place
@ 532 Fisgard Street
The Bubble Tea Place can be found in Chinatown. This brick-walled spot provides unique combinations and flavors. They have a massive selection of hot and cold drinks, and if it happens that you are still uncertain, ask for the bartender’s choice!
10.Fortea
@ #101 1551 Cedar Hill Cross Road
Fortea is a perfect place to grab a good combination of bubble tea and food. They have a pool table, karaoke and a large selection of board games!
11.Le Tea @
1644 Hillside Avenue
Le Tea is located in the Hillside Mall’s food court. Great portion size and good selection of tea and fruit drinks. They have matcha and red bean matcha ice cream for less than $5!
12. Chi Cha Tea House
@ 1805 Fort Street
Chi Cha Tea House opened in May 2018 and owned by two UVIC graduates. This is an excellent place to snatch a bubble tea or fruit tea drink post school or work, or even a post Hong Kong West dinner treat!
13. As Usual Café
@ #7 3960 Shelbourne Street
My taro slush minus the pearls, which I may totally forgot to ask about, can be discovered from As Usual Café. They specialize bubble teas, bubble waffles and thick toast desserts. They also serve savoury dishes including mini hot pot and rice bowls!
14.Milkcow
@ 762 Yates Street
IF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW that I have indulged on at least 90% of Milkcow’s menu. Milkcow is recognized for their creamy and milky soft-serve ice cream. It is basically created from organic milk and tasted like perfection. Recently, they expanded their menu and added brown sugar ice cream and upgraded their bubble tea drinks to larger cups!
@milkcow_victoria milkcowcafe.ca
15.Yates Coffee Bar
@ 733 Yates Street
Another bubble tea dessert location that has a soft spot in my heart is the Yates Coffee Bar. I know this is not a drink, but this is bubble tea related. I could not emphasize enough how much this dessert can change your life forever!
After all, I can only speak for my experience. If I missed something, please feel free to shoot me a DM @dinewithfrancine on either facebook or instagram, and I would be willing to give it a shot. You’ve made it this far, thank you for your support. 😊
