Bubble Tea: Calgary's Best & Wildest Boba Cafes To Try While It's Still Summer

This summer's a scorcher — what better way is there to cool down than with some delicious bubble tea? Calgary has so many shops to choose from, ranging anywhere from giant chains to tiny cafes tucked in unseen corners. You can drink from these places every day for a year and probably still crave more. Bubble tea making is an art, but these places have it down to a tee. From hand-crafted pearls that take four hours to make to freshly squeezed fruit juices and unusual flavours, you truly haven't experienced the drink until you pay these guys a visit. Editor's Choice: This Lake In Alberta Has A Hidden Ghost Town Beneath Its Waves (VIDEO) Trust us, these taste just as good as they look. Your tastebuds are in for a wild ride with flavours ranging from cream cheese to matcha with salted milk foam. You'll be dazzled by multicoloured drinks and adorable bottles. That doesn't mean they've forsaken the basics either — whatever flavour you get, whether you go for pearls, grass jelly, pudding, or all three, you'll be in for a delicious drink that beats out all others. So get out there and explore your city. Your stomach will thank you. Gong Cha Price: 💸💸 Cuisine: Bubble tea Address: 106A 303 Centre St., Calgary, AB Why You Need To Go: This Taiwanese cafe has so many customization options, with everything from the strength of your tea to how sweet you'd like it. View this post on Instagram -Ｇｏｎｇ Ｃｈａ- ᴘʀɪᴄᴇ: $ ⭐: 9.5/10 Gong cha is probably my favourite bubble tea franchise. Their tea flavour are strong, they use fresh ingredients, and their pearls are my favourite (perfectly chewy). I find their prices to be the most justifiable for the quality. I always get 50% sugar and less ice here :) . 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐬: this is one of my two favourite drinks to get. The tea is super refreshing and the fresh mango is what makes this drink so good imo🥭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞: this drink reminds me of mango sago dessert but with pearls instead 😋 brought me right back to my childhood 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐚 & 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐠𝐠 𝐖𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬: both of these flavours were so good. The original flavour was the perfect sweetness. I recommend you don't get the matcha flavour though if your drink is super sweet, because you might find them bitter. But since I had green tea, I didn't find them bitter at all :) 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 𝐓𝐞𝐚 (not pictured): this drink comes with black and white pearls. The tea and milk are well balanced, and I really enjoy the textures of the 2 different pearls. If I don't get the mango green tea, I'd most likely order this! -> I also recommend the earl grey milk tea (with 2J or 3J) and the winter melon milk tea! I know that they are known for their milk foam series, but I don't particularly enjoy it 😅 . 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: look at how sexy my bubble tea straw is 😍 thank you @reusablebbtcup! I actually own another reusable bbt straw, but it was less portable as it isn't retractable like this one. Also, with this straw I don't have to poke at my drink mulktiple times like I had to do with my last straw. If you drink bbt often, PLEASE get a reusable straw! 🌎 . I'd love to know what your favourite drink is so I can try it out :) . 📍𝟸𝟸𝟸 𝟺𝟶 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝙷𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝙻𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙽𝚆 A post shared by Erica (@erica.eatss) on Jul 5, 2020 at 8:43pm PDT Menu Yifang Price: 💸💸 Cuisine: Bubble tea Address: 606 5 Ave., Calgary, AB Why You Need To Go: Another Taiwanese shop, this place is family owned and uses all-natural ingredients. Their fruit tea is to die for. View this post on Instagram Hey, it's me. being fruitea✌🏼#feelingcutemightdeletelater . . . • Yifang Fruit Tea x2 A post shared by calgary | yyc (@y.viiieats) on Jul 14, 2019 at 5:13pm PDT Menu Thé Moon Price: 💸💸 Cuisine: Bubble tea Address: 212 14th Ave., Calgary, AB Why You Need To Go: A stylish local tea shop with quality drinks made with real fruit. Try their unique toppings like "cloud foam." View this post on Instagram Fly me to the moon🌑 A post shared by Lexi Willis (@lexiwilliss) on Aug 4, 2020 at 4:06pm PDT Menu Royal Tea House Price: 💸💸 Cuisine: Bubble tea Address: #123 328 Centre St., Calgary, AB Why You Need To Go: This place has got so many unique ingredients ranging between everything from cream cheese to brown sugar pearls that take four hours to make perfectly. View this post on Instagram What do you call a fruit with 1 ear that likes to paint? Vincent Mango 🖌️🥭 _______________________________ 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: Royal Tea House 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱: Mango Sago in Coconut Milk _______________________________ Got the chance to try the new mango sago in coconut drink from @royalteahouseyyc & it was amazing! I love any mango sago drink/dessert, but what I liked about this one is how generous they are with the fresh mango pieces! It was super loaded up & the mango was extremely fresh & naturally sweet! This is definitely my new favourite drink from here & they are still running their promo until tomorrow! Buy this drink & get 50% off any fruit tea! (Better hurry!!) Thank you to my friend @sarakt for letting me borrow her phone to take this shot. (Can't wait to fix mine..) #gifted A post shared by 𝙺𝚒𝚔𝚒 🐻 𝚈𝚈𝙲 𝙵𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝙱𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛 (@hungry.yyc) on Jul 21, 2020 at 11:24am PDT Menu Presotea Price: 💸💸 Cuisine: Bubble tea Address: 614b 17 Ave., Calgary, AB Why You Need To Go: A minimalistic store dishing up tasty and unique combos. Try the Earl Grey Trio which includes the holy trinity of pudding, pearls, and grass jelly. View this post on Instagram “The plastic is breathing”-Ben A post shared by Skie❤️ (@skie.bowkett) on Mar 5, 2020 at 6:05pm PST Menu Bubblemania Cafe Price: 💸💸 Cuisine: Bubble tea Address: 455 16 Ave., Calgary, AB Why You Need To Go: This super chill cafe serves up not just bubble tea but all manner of sharable plates from pineapple fried rice to Thai fish cakes. View this post on Instagram Welcome backkkk ~~~ @binzento #latenight #bubble #reunion #teatime #just #moment A post shared by GarMi.L (@garmi.l) on Feb 22, 2018 at 11:09pm PST Menu Happy Cup Price: 💸💸 Cuisine: Bubble tea Address: #201 2525 Woodview Dr., Calgary, AB Why You Need To Go: This local gem makes amazing teas with real, fresh fruit, not syrups or flavourings like some other places. View this post on Instagram Everyone NEEDS to check out Happy Cup! It’s extremely far in the south but their fresh fruit #bbt is SO GOOD. They even got JUMBO size for only $7! Believe me it’s worth it. I’ve never seen such a big cup for bbt hahaha. Strongly recommend the mango for first time customers 😆 #fresh #freshfruit #yycfood #yyceats #yyc #yycdessert #yycdrinks #boba A post shared by Gargantuan Grump (@zoomhahaa) on Aug 8, 2018 at 3:18pm PDT Menu 6A Snack bAr Price: 💸 Cuisine: Bubble tea Address: #10B 6219 Centre St., Calgary, Alberta Why You Need To Go: This unique shop serves up delicious tea in lightbulbs and other whimsical containers. Most items are also under $5. View this post on Instagram ‼️GRAND OPENING‼️ Head on over to @6a.snackbar.yyc today, July 11th, and tomorrow, July 12th. They will be giving away 300 FREE drinks in cute cups/bags. They'll also have a $3 food menu! • • • • 🙆🏻♀️ So happy we were able to attend the @6a.snackbar.yyc media event! Had such a fun time meeting other foodies and was so nice to try all the great stuff on their menu. Since the soft opening they've added many items and lots of new drinks! • • • 📸 Pictured here: Strawberry + Yakult, Panda Pearls Milk Tea, Deep Fried Spring Rolls, Imitation Shark Fin Soup, Assorted Beef Organs W/ Daikon, Windy Sand Chicken Wings, Deep Fried Buns, Yakult Butterfly • • • 🤔 SO many new things to try since the soft opening. We love that everything is a snack portion so you can get a bunch and share with your friends. We've already tried a couple things on their menu, so look for our previous post for a review on that! We really liked the Assorted Beef Organs W/Daikon, the broth had a great taste, and we also liked the Imitation Shark Fin Soup! Seems like we were in a soupy mood yesterday. The drinks were so yums! We especially liked the Yakult butterfly, tasted delicious plus it's so pretty! • • • • 💭 6A is based off a HK style school theme and we love how cutely decorated the place is! They have a cafeteria vibe for the food and an adorable window to pick up all your drinks. They also have their menu done up in chalk by @calgarychalkartist and it's sooo pretty! • • • ❗️Thank you so much for having us and congrats again on the grand opening! 🤗🙆🏻♀️ • • • . . . . . . . . . . — — — ————— #yycfoodie #eatlocal #yum #foodinsta #dishedyyc #yycrestaurants #yyc #calgary #yycfood #yyceats #foodporn #foodie #yummy #foodgasm #instafood #foodstagram #getinmybelly #foodbeast #dailyfoodfeed #eeeeeats #feastonthese #foody #delicious #foodblogger #grubbedyyc #tasty #forkyeah #instafoodpic #boba A post shared by Lynne En | YYC Foodie (@lynneishungry) on Jul 11, 2019 at 1:32pm PDT Menu