How To Order Bubble Tea (Like You Know What You’re Doing)

Waiting in line for a bubble tea, you’ll notice that the menu overhead is long, varied and replete with customizations. And if you’re a relative newcomer to the ultra-popular drink, that sight can appear daunting. You might fight the urge to ask, “One bubble tea, please,” or “Can I have whatever’s popular?” 

And while that’ll probably get you something amazing (let’s face it: bubble tea is delicious across the board), you’ll miss out on the fun of ordering boba. Part of the thrill is putting your personal spin on the drink. 

To help you order bubble tea like a seasoned pro, let’s review the steps involved. Using the menu for Chatime bubble tea in Mississauga, we’ll walk through bases, flavours, toppings and tweaks to help you up your bubble tea game. 

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Pick Your General Base 

Your first step is to choose a general base – the type of beverage to serve as the foundation for your boba. Think of it as the canvas for your new masterpiece. At Chatime, you’ll find four fundamental bases: 

• Milk Tea: The classic Taiwanese choice, a perfectly balanced mix of high-quality tea, milk (or milk alternatives) and sweetening. 
• Fruit Tea: A refreshing alternative to the classic, fruit teas have soared in popularity recently. Expect a mix of tea and fruit flavours. 
• Slush: This blended ice base is the ideal cool-off treat, available in various fun flavours (as we’ll note below). 
• Smoothie: Creamier than its slush cousin, the smoothie is a comforting yet cooling alternative to your standard bases. 

With a general type in mind, you can start defining your creation with bold flavours.

 

Follow Your Taste to Discover Your Favourite Base Flavours

Here’s where the fun really begins. Under the menu subheading of whichever base you chose, pick the flavour that appeals most to you. Some examples, based on the four base types, include: 

• Roasted Milk Tea
• Chocolate Malt Milk Tea
• Taro Smoothie
• Honeydew Slush
• Peachy Lychee Fruit Tea

It’s at this point that you might start giddily dancing in anticipation. It’s cool – the “tearistas” have seen it all before! But you still have a couple of important choices to make. 

 

Get Creative with the Toppings

At Chatime, you can typically order up to three toppings. Some people opt for a minimalist single topping, while others max out the order with all three, hungry for variation. It’s entirely up to you. Here are the toppings you’ll encounter: 

• Pearls
• Pudding
• Grass Jelly 
• Passion Fruit Jelly 
• Lychee or Mango Popping Boba
• Coconut Jelly
• QQ, and more

As above, let your taste buds guide the way. For a first-timer, consider multiple toppings to determine what you like best. Next time, you can experiment by selecting different toppings, and eventually land on your favourites. 

 

Fine-Tune Your Masterpiece: Heat, Sweetness, Milk, and More

Lastly, you can fine-tune your creation to put a signature spin on things. Choose between hot or cold milk tea. Make it full-sweet, half-sweet, no-sugar, or substitute honey. Choose between regular milk or oat milk. Opt for a caffeine-free base, if that’s how you’re feeling. And finally, choose a size: regular or large. 

Having walked through the steps above, you are now certified as a Bubble Tea Expert. Use your training wisely (i.e., go enjoy a bubble tea)! 

 

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