Sophie holding 38 Milk King from Kung Fu Tea. Right: Chatime Pearl Milk Tea.
This Opinion article is part of a Narcity Media series. The views expressed are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
As a former bubble tea barista in Toronto, I've had my fair share of milk tea and tapioca.
But with tons of bubble tea franchises popping up in the 6ix over the years, I decided that now would be a good time to go neck deep in milk teas again and check if some of them are worth the hype.
Now, everybody has their own personal preferences on the type of teas they like, the sugar level they prefer, and the toppings they want with their milk tea.
In my opinion though, I found that some uber-popular chains scattered across the city just aren't living up to their name and price.
So whether you want to try milk tea for the first time or you want to explore a new bubble tea chain, here are six places that I tried in Toronto and some, I definitely won't be visiting again anytime soon.
Real Fruit Bubble Tea
Original Milk Tea from Real Fruit Bubble Tea.
Sophie Chong | Narcity
What I Had: Original Milk Tea
Rating: 4/10
Would I Order It Again: NO (maybe never)
The Mango Diamond Slush at this spot is pretty popular, but I was excited to try some of their milk teas to see if they measured up to the other chains in the area.
The barista working there at the time said the Original Milk Tea was one of their popular offerings, and that I should get it with half sugar.
Maybe it was because I ordered it with less sugar, but the drink didn't have much of a tea flavour to it.
It just tasted like milk and cream. But the boba, which was half housemade and half pre-ordered, had a hint of sweetness to it and wasn't too stiff or soft, which I liked.
With the titular "fruit" as part of their brand, I think it's pretty clear which drinks on their menu are the shiners and which ones aren't.
Sun Tea
Ovaltine Crunch Boba Milk Tea and Brulee Boba Milk Tea.
Sophie Chong | Narcity
What I Ordered: Brûlée Boba Milk Tea
Rating: 5/10
Would I Order It Again: Only if I'm craving creme brûlée.
I was intrigued by the name of one of their "top picks", Brulee Boba Milk Tea.
I ordered it with half sugar, and it came with boba pearls that weren't sweet at all and a creamy sauce inside that tasted very similar to creme brûlée.
The added flavouring gave the drink a tanginess that did bring out the flavour of the tea, but I still feel like it could've been stronger.
Even though the pearls weren't very sugary, it was a nice added texture to what tasted like creme brûlée-flavoured milk tea.
Kung Fu Tea
Sophie drinking the 38 Milk King at Kung Fu Tea.
Sophie Chong | Narcity
What I Ordered: 38 Milk King
Rating: 8/10
Would I Order It Again: Heck Yeah
I tried the 38 Milk King from Kung Fu Tea, and it's a fighting contender on my personal 'best milk teas in Toronto' list.
According to the barista, it's one of their more popular milk teas, which are all sweetened with honey, and it comes with toppings like agar jelly, grass jelly, and boba.
I asked for the highest sugar levels, fully expecting it to be too sweet because many places I'd been to recommended their milk teas with less sugar.
But I was pleasantly surprised that the drink tasted much richer in sweetness than the previous ones, and it didn't overpower the flavour of the tea or the creaminess of the drink.
Coco Fresh Tea & Juice
Pearl Milk Tea from Coco Fresh Tea & Juice.
Sophie Chong | Narcity
What I Ordered: Pearl Milk Tea
Rating: 4/10
Would I Order It Again: Nah, I'm good
I'm no stranger to Coco's; I'd always ordered their milk teas when I was in high school.
But I recently tried one of their "classics", the Pearl Milk Tea, and it reminded me why I haven't ordered from Coco's in a long time.
I got the drink with 100% sugar, which was a huge mistake in retrospect.
To me, it tasted like the super sugary milk that's left over at the bottom of your cereal bowl. The tea did have a smooth nuttiness to it though, which was nice.
I've never been a fan of slurping cereal leftovers, but if you're into that stuff then you might like this.
Chatime
Sophie sipping on Chatime.
Sophie Chong | Narcity
What I Ordered: Chatime Pearl Milk Tea
Rating: 6/10
Would I Order It Again: Nope (Only if The Alley and Kung Fu Tea were closed tbh)
Now at this point, I was starting to get queasy from all the bubble tea I was drinking. But there's no way I could write this article without visiting this cult favourite, a go-to bubble tea spot for the masses.
And yet, one of their signature drinks, the Chatime Pearl Milk Tea, was in my opinion, just a very generic black milk tea.
The barista at Chatime recommended I get the drink with only half the normal sugar levels, but I got it with at least 80% sweetness just to see if it would taste as good as Kung Fu Tea's 38 Milk King did..which wasn't a great decision.
The Alley
Royal No.9 Milk Tea from The Alley.
Sophie Chong | Narcity
What I Ordered: Royal No.9 Milk Tea
Rating: 9/10
Would I Order It Again: YES and some more
It's, by far, my favourite drink out of the six places I tried for this article! Their Royal No.9 Milk Tea, which the barista had told me was their most popular milk tea, knocked the other chains (except for Kung Fu Tea) out of the park.
The barista told me that they used black tea leaves infused with blueberry flavouring for this drink, which in my opinion is a damn good combination. It tasted like a sophisticated and rich milk tea without artificial flavouring.
The boba was chewy and not too sweet, which was fine because it really let the milk tea be the star of the show.
