The ultimate guide to boba and bubble tea in Vancouver
We’re lucky in Vancouver to be home to some of the best boba and bubble tea spots around.
From worldwide chains to local mom-and-pop purveyors, our bubble tea scene is truly top-notch.
The drink, which has its origins in Taiwan in the early 80s, became popular in this city around the mid-aughties, though some shops existed before then.
No longer relegated to mall food courts, the bubble tea and boba shop has exploded in Vancouver, with dozens of options to choose from.
To narrow down your search for the best bubble tea in the city, we’ve created this list of the ultimate spots in the city.
The Alley
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The popular Taiwanese chain The Alley has two locations in Vancouver, one in downtown Vancouver’s Yaletown and one in Richmond. The chain makes its own brown sugar syrup and tapioca pearls, plus they often have special flavours, like ube and lime honey with aloe.
Address: 985 Hornby Street, Vancouver
Phone: 604-336-9893
Address: 1316 – 8368 Capstan Way, Richmond
Phone: 778-297-1551
Dragon Ball Tea House
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One of the original bubble tea spots in the city, Dragon Ball offers some more traditional flavours, like supreme milk tea and black plum. They’ve also got some fresh fruit flavours and a very iconic, identifiable cup, which makes visiting this spot pretty memorable.
Address: 1007 West King Edward Avenue, Vancouver
Ki Cafe
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This Burnaby spot offers specialty bubble tea drinks like oolong fresh milk and Taiwan fresh milk, as well as matcha azuki and icy bingsoo. They’ve also got their own manga library you can browse while you sip.
Address: #105 – 6888 Royal Oak Avenue, Burnaby
Phone: 604-559-7088
CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice
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This Taiwanese chain has several outposts in Vancouver and surrounding areas. You can choose from their classic milk tea series, latte series, yakult series, salty cream, fruit tea, and more. They often release special flavours for the seasons, too.
Address: 2116-3779 Sexsmith Road, Richmond
Address: 512-10153 King George Boulevard, Surrey
Address: 2665-10355 152 Street, Surrey
Address: 140-8100 No.2 Road, Richmond
Chatto Tea and Coffee
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The Malaysian-based Chatto Tea is known for serving premium tea and gourmet coffee. It’s also a Halal-certified brand. You can find drinks like Brown Sugar Pearl Milk, Caramel Pudding Milk, Lemon Plum Kee Mun Tea, and Pandan Cendol Ice Blended.
Address: 5325 Lane Street, Burnaby
Chica San Chen
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According to Chicha San Chen, its drinks are handcrafted by Taiwanese tea masters with over 20 years of experience. If this doesn’t get you pumped to check it out, we don’t know what will.
Address: 101-4501 Kingsway, Burnaby
Xing Fu Tang
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This Taiwanese brand has several locations around Vancouver and Metro Vancouver, specializing in brown sugar teas and handmade boba pearls.
Address: 678 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver
Others, listed on their website
Paragon Tea Room
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This locally founded spot specializes in stone-milled Japanese teas and uses teaspresso machines, but they also have a limited menu of high-quality bubble tea drinks. Their offerings are plant-based, usually using oat milk, and are available only in a few flavours in order to keep quality high.
Address: 3361 Cambie Street, Vancouver
Mr. Mustache
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This must-try spot with two locations has a tea macchiato with cream on top and other popular flavours like mango slush, taro milk tea, and lychee slush.
Address: 8079 Granville Street, Vancouver
Address: 110-6125 Sussex Ave, Burnaby
Jenjudan
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Jenjudan is one of the original makers of brown sugar tapioca pearls, and they definitely make some of the best ones around. Their first Vancouver store opened in 2019, and now with five locations here, they’ve established themselves as a definitive boba mainstay.
Address: 1210 Robson Street, Vancouver
Address: 290 Robson Street, Vancouver
Address: 3490 Kingsway, Vancouver
Address: 4925 Kingsway, Burnaby
Address: 125-5599 Cooney Road, Richmond
The Bubble Tea Shop
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This local stop has two outposts in Vancouver, one in Olympic Village and one in Richmond. They offer classic brown sugar boba as well as special drinks with toppings like ice cream and dalgona.
Address: #105, 4651 No. 3 Road, Richmond
Address: 1764 Manitoba Street, Vancouver
Boba Monster
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This Vancouver-based spot offers fun, seasonal flavours like pumpkin spice and iced kiwi passion, but one of their best-selling options is their Boba Monster milk tea with boba, grass jelly, pudding, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Address: 5766 Fraser Street, Vancouver
Sharetea
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Sharetea has been around since the early 90s and has several locations around the city. They’ve got an extensive menu and use fresh-squeezed juices and quality leaf teas, and they offer curated ice and sweetness levels for all their drinks.
Address: 2828 Cambie Street, Vancouver
Phone: 604-620-8958
Other locations listed on their website
Baroness
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This brand hails from Taipei and specializes in brown sugar boba. They’ve also got oat milk, gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan options!
Address: 2780 West Broadway, Vancouver
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