The Definitive Ranking Of Australia’s Best Bubble Tea
Bubble tea is a worldwide phenomenon taking over faster than people from Aussie rural areas flocking to Krispy Kreme at the airport.
Originating in Taiwan, bubble tea is a milk or fruit-based beverage that’s sweetened and doused with tapioca pearls, before being served chilled and generating orgasmic tendencies (it’s true).
Nowadays, a new bubble tea shop is opening on every corner of every street, and Aussies are divided as to which BT chain they’re going to pledge their allegiance to.
With some bubble tea queues stretching out for hours, it seems only fair that we finally put the beef to bed and declare which bubble tea chain is the greatest.
I scoured the COUNTRY…no, the GLOBE (actually, just the country), drinking every single tea and swallowing every single pearl, in the hopes to decipher which chain did it the best.
So after careful statistical judgement (me drinking teas alone in my car), here it is.
This is the official ranking of the best bubble teas in Australia, and no, we’re not taking opinions.
7. EasyWay
Honestly, I’m surprised EasyWay is still even open tbh. Does anyone else remember when EasyWay was the sh*t? Legit it would be the only bubble tea place in the mall and was probably where you had your first tea.
Besides the fact that EasyWay’s entire market are white people, the drinks are actually not that bad. I ordered the Lychee Milk Tea With Rainbow Jelly, and the rainbow jelly itself was f*ckin mint!
The actual drink gave me minor Lipton vibes, but I still drank like 60% of it so clearly it got me feeling some type of way. Also… CHEAP AS CHIPS! They asked me if I was a student and I said yes (I’m not), and it ended up costing me $5.50 for a large!
TASTE: 6/10
PACKAGING: 8/10
MENU RANGE: 4/10
PRICE: $
6. Chatime
WHITE PEOPLE, PLEASE DON’T ATTACK ME.
Look, nobody loves Chatime more than me. But I can be honest with myself, and I know that deep, deep down, I am a 15-year-old white girl, and that literally is Chatime’s demographic.
Every time I go to Chatime, I’m always standing behind a Private-School-Stacey-type, who won’t shut up about how Dan asked her out via TikTok and she doesn’t know if she should DM him on her priv. She orders the Peach Green Tea with Pearls, and then starts walking towards Kookai.
Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked. I ordered the Premium Pearl Milk Tea With Popping Pearls, and holy fkn shit it was good. They also do soy milk which was a happy surprise for me and my bowels, so shoutout to y’all. The popping pearls were kind of bland tbh, but the drink itself was everything you want in milk tea + more.
Let’s face it tho, Chatime’s packaging isn’t the greatest, and they’re like $8 for a large which isn’t really part of my destiny.
TASTE: 7/10
PACKAGING: 4/10
MENU RANGE: 7/10
PRICE: $$$
5. YiFang Taiwan Fruit Tea
YiFang is huge around the world. It’s blown up in places like the USA and UK and has more recently landed in Aus to give us some of that good good.
Because YiFang’s clientele is 99% Asian, you pretty much know it’s going to be that authentic shit. If you’re uncultured like me, you will seriously struggle with their menu as it does not cater to us bogans. They’ve got flavours like grass jelly tea, white gourd, yogurt pineapple and multi-floral honey mountain tea (wtf?). I don’t know what any of that is, nor do I really want to tbh.
I ordered the White Gourd Tea with Grass Jelly, and it was actually so fkn bomb. The only mild criticism was that it was a little bit sweet, so next time I’ll defs ask for less sugar. The packaging was authentic, the toppings were decent, and the price was average. All in all, it was GREAT, but I think I’m just too uncultured to appreciate it.
TASTE: 7/10
PACKAGING: 7/10
MENU RANGE: 5/10
PRICE: $$
4. King Tea
King Tea is for hypebeast Asians.
The only difference between them and YiFang is that their clientele has more money in their wallets than I could ever dream of in eight lifetimes. They wear the latest Balenciaga sneakers, off-white tees, and 22 other designer items that probably cost more than my house.
After giving the staff the whole “I’ll have what she’s having”, they brought me a Cheese Foam Uji Matcha with Coconut Jelly (lol), and as I sipped, I was transported to Taiwan with a million dollars in my pocket.
If you’re not into weird shit, this isn’t the place for you. But if you’re adventurous and love to experiment (Sagittarians), settle in cos you’ll love it.
It also came with this cute coffee type lid that was sooo Insta-worthy. It was a little bit expensive, (like $8 for a large) but, we mean, they’re catering to a billionaire audience so it only makes sense.
TASTE: 7/10
PACKAGING: 9/10
MENU RANGE: 6/10
PRICE: $$$
3. CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice
Tbh, I’ve only ever had one thing from CoCo Fresh, but I’ve had it 800 times and will probably have it 800 more.
The Brown Sugar Milk Tea from Coco Fresh is everything. It brings me pleasure in places that I never even knew existed, and is my second favourite brown thing in the world other than myself.
It literally just melts down your throat, particularly with those soft, sugary, juicy pearls (still talking about the tea). It’s an Instagrammer’s fantasy, having it to shake it up when you order it… UGH, I’m wet.
From what I saw of the menu, it caters to all demographics, with drinks like Chocolate Tea to Taro w/ Sago to Mango Slushies. White people love it, Asians love it, and most importantly, I love it.
TASTE: 9/10
PACKAGING: 7/10
MENU RANGE: 9/10
PRICE: $
2. Sharetea
Sharetea is literally the Mother Theresa of bubble teas: it’s a giver.
Anything you want, Sharetea will give you. Want a milk tea? Done. A fruity tea? Extra Done. You want a Matcha Fresh Milk Tea but want to add Oreo? DONE-ZERELLA.
Contrary to this, I went real boring and ordered the Okinawa Milk Tea w/Mini Pearls and it was life-changing. First of all the cup is ADORABLE, and perfectly fits into your hand. The price was cheap as hell – less than $6.00 for a large – and the menu is uh-maze-ing catering to all of my moods.
Trust us, there is nothing that you can fault at Sharetea. Even the shopfront was adorable. Love it.
TASTE: 8/10
PACKAGING: 9/10
MENU RANGE: 9/10
PRICE: $
1. Gong Cha
We are officially here! Number ONE. Did you really expect something else?
Gong Cha is ICONIC. It’s a known fact that people recognise the red Gong Cha logo more than they do the cross of Jesus Christ (ok maybe I made that up).
I have tried a million different drinks from Gong Cha, and every single one of them has hit my G-Spot harder than…(TBC)
Their menu range is wild, catering for your basic days and more authentic days, whether it’s the foam milk tea, passionfruit green tea or Lychee Oolong w/aloe.
Gong Cha has about 20 toppings on their menu, including the option to add foam, which is in my opinion non-negotiable. Their packaging is iconic: clear with the red logo on the side. Simple yet effective.
The clientele is everyone. Literally anyone with a soul orders Gong Cha and relishes in its amazingness. BRB, ordering one on UberEats rn.