Taiwan: the land of boba and milk tea. An entire society built upon shared love for iced sweet teas with various fixings. Some cultures have cocktails, wines, beers. Taiwan has tea, plenty of high quality high mountain tea brewed the traditional way, but also what might be in a different context called mocktails of sorts. Tea-based shaken drinks that sometimes are tea-less and often lean more dessert than beverage.
What is now a ubiquitous symbol of Taiwanese and perhaps even more broadly Asian diasporic culture actually is a fairly short history. Legend has it, boba milk tea was invented at a traditional tea house Chun Shui Tang in the late 80s, when someone decided to put tapioca pearls (a popular dessert usually eaten with a spoon at the time) into milk tea. And thus a chewy drink that straddles a food and a drink was born.
These days, boba has impressive penetration globally. On a recent trip to Stockholm I even spotted a Yi Fang. In Taiwanese cities, you can’t even go a block without passing at least one boba shop. While you can’t really fail with any boba shop in Taiwan, the people of Taiwan have been spoiled to have incredible discerning taste. So with such a competitive landscape, you have go know how to navigate.
Now, I know better than to do a true power ranking, but I can offer a bit of an orientation for the boba scene. This list is be no means comprehensive nor definitive, but, at least as of early 2024, it covers many of the brands you’ll find on the streets of Taipei. The categories are loose,
A thing to note: particularly in the south, there are more local shops that are not national franchises, and often are at much lower price points, use Google Reviews as your guide. And of course in night markets there are places that specialize in “frog eggs” which is essentially boba with just brown sugar water and ice, a simple and refreshing street food iteration.
premium
There are certain franchises that are particularly known for having quality tea. They skew on the pricier end of the spectrum, but are still a steal compared to US prices. They also tend to have more specialty drinks for those looking for unique flavors.
- Cha for tea 天仁喫茶趣: Ten Ren is an mainstay brand in the tea world and yes it feels a bit older and stuffier, the branding and retail design is notably dated, and the prices are significantly higher than the standard drink shops, but it still remains a reliable choice that people are willing to pay for. Some locations (particularly within food courts) are shaken tea drinks only, some have larger brick and mortar footprints that include a range of premium tea leaves and teaware to purchase, and an adjacent restaurant that offers tea-infused meals. You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, but given their emphasis on quality tea, would be best to avoid diluting it with milk teas.
- Ke Bu Ke 可不可: Established in 2008, this brand has expanded plenty in recent years. The old school colonial branding is a little odd, yes, but contributes to the premium positioning. Their standard drinks aren’t much pricier than the standard, but they have some fancier options that involve cold foams and unique fruit and jam combinations as differentiators.
- 東方洋行 East Side West: This one beats to its own drum, featuring a curated selection of Taiwanese teas in fairly traditional forms (milk teas, lemon teas, etc) but then also, randomly, coffee. There’s only a few locations around Taipei but it’s good for those seeking quality tea.
- Chun Shui Tang 春水堂: It is the mother of tea houses in Taiwan, but more of a sit down place and at a more premium price point, only worth mentioning for its legacy, as most people wouldn’t go here to grab a drink to go.
- Chi Cha San Chen 吃茶三千: This one is more of a footnote because it is way more popular outside of Taiwan than it is within Taiwan, given it really only has one flagship location in Taiwan (Taichung). It may be Tiktok famous state side but I’d venture to say many Taiwanese people might not even know about it. They pride themselves in brewing tea to order, which means service is slow but quality is high. Don’t come here if you’re in Taiwan, there are many more accessible options.
specialty
These franchises tend to have smaller footprints but are known for specific types of drinks.
- John Black Tea Company 約翰紅茶公司: This one is known for black tea (obviously), and more western iterations of milk teas (read: earl grey in a boba cup).
- He Cha Lou 鶴茶樓: This one is also more known for the black teas on the menu (including milk teas, tea lattes and ones with tea jelly). But they also do have some other standard drinks. Notably they have some non-caffeinated options (barley tea).
- A Nice Holiday 一沐日: This shop is not NOT a Taiwanese dessert shop in boba shop form. Their specialty drinks are loaded with the good stuff, notably the “hun gui” 粉糕 (a tapioca based chewy “cake” made with black sugar and cut into pieces just barely small enough to slurp up in a boba straw)
- Oolong Tea Project 德正: It’s in the name. This one is all about oolong tea. Which, one could argue, is a strong player in many Taiwanese boba shops, but if you have the audacity to put it in your name in a society that runs on oolong tea you have to have the substance to back up that style. Speaking of which, this one is definitely a cool kid brand. The way to go is to double up on the oolong, with oolong tea jelly as the add in.
- Pa Shih Zhongshan Shop 八時神仙草: This one maybe shouldn’t be a part of this round up because it specializes in grass jelly in many forms and is slightly more a dessert shop than it is a drink shop. But in hot summer days when you want a refreshing herbal iced drink with boba add ins, this place does it artisanally well.
- Le Phare 樂法: This chain is newer to the scene (2017), and is heavy on the fruit teas (particularly apple), and also has some floral teas in addition to milk teas.
- Yi Fang 一芳台灣水果茶: Known for fruit tea in particular (they emphasized the usage of real fresh fruit in a time when fruit preserves, juices and jams were more standard), Yi Fang was quite popular in Taiwan when it first hit the scene but now a global franchise that has lost a the fervor in the homeland.
for the gram
These ones are unnecessarily aesthetic. But you know Taiwanese people are suckers for cute things that garner social media likes.
- machi machi 麥吉: This only has a couple locations in Taipei (and a few franchised locations scattered around the world). What are they known for? The cute bottles that some of the drinks come in, with panna cotta or jelly at the bottom and topped with milk tea. They don’t even hide the game, they have specific spots throughout the store for photo ops.
- SEVENDAYS: The loud branding of this shop evokes street cool in a funny way. The drinks span pretty normal to specialities that are borderline unhinged in the amount of ingredients they layer in.
- Don’t Yell At Me 不要對我尖叫: This is a local celebrity-owned brand, and the cheeky name and branding says it all. It’s actively being a vibe as much as it is serving drinks. The drinks are on par with anything else you’d get, but where else can you get this weird lady on your cup?
popular
Ah yes, the classics. You can’t go wrong with any of these. Some have been around for quite some time. Some are newer to the scene but have quickly become accepted wide by Taiwanese society. They’re reliable staples, have many locations around Taiwan, and are popular for a reason.
- Woo Tea 五桐號: This newer drink shop has gained a lot of popularity in the last few years and great geographic coverage around Taiwan (yes, even one in Kinmen and Penghu). They have a good variety of drink options that span pure teas, milk tea (yes, with cream/cheese tops too) and fruity teas. They’re particularly known for their fruit teas with tea jelly, and flavors change seasonally.
- TrueDan 珍煮丹: This one had humble beginnings in Shilin Night Market in 2010 and has quickly blossomed into a global franchise. At the beginning they really touted the black sugar milk boba, but now they kind of do it all (hell, they’ve even branched out to earl grey lattes and Thai tea and matcha – not a common sight in Taiwan’s boba shop scene). And most importantly, their boba is consistently cooked perfectly.
- Comebuy: This franchise has been around since 2002 and comes in a few different forms, some more premium than others (the one in Eslite Songshan feels more like a sit down cafe), but generally it’s a solid choice for a breadth of drinks, from classic boba milk tea to fruity ones to “ice cream” tea (think soda float but melting into milk tea)
- Jin Fa Jia 進發家: This chain has been around since 2018 and has gained more popularity in the last couple years. They have all the usual drinks more than covered, plenty of fruit-based options, and really great seasonal drinks. They also do oat milk based drinks. And their number one drink is actually a mung bean slushy topped with boba.
- Guiji 龜記茗品: The branding of this shop really gives “ramen” more than “boba” but it has the street cred needed to survive. It also has the best slogan ever: “small potato can lead to big changes” and frankly, what more do you need? They have a decent variety of teas, great fruit mixes, and even some longan based drinks.
- Like tea shop 老賴茶棧: this franchise has roots in Taichung as a fruit shop in the 80s that pivoted to tea. It has all the classics, with an emphasis on black tea sourced locally in Nantou. And they have a RTD partnership with FamilyMart, which certainly gives an edge when it comes to coverage.
- WanPo 萬波: This chain with roots in Taichung went from buzzy trend in Taiwan to global franchise in just a matter of years. They have great breadth in the menu from the classics to the trendy to the more experimental, and often introducing limited time specials.
tourist
- Xin Fu Tang: XFT is bold to state it is Taiwan’s #1 boba when its footprint is dwindling. But globally it’s really shot to fame in the last couple of years. I remember trying it for the first time in 2018, from a stand on the side of the street in Taipei. And now there are lines around the block in glossy brick and mortars in New York City. XFT makes a point to show the fresh made boba with an open kitchen. So they bring you in with the mesmerizing process and then really sell you with the marbled brown sugar syrup on the cup that really feels like it would have hit even harder in the early 2010s foodporn era.
- Tiger Sugar: Tiger Sugar is here as an honorable mention because it crashed and burned so royally that there is no longer any footprint in Taiwan, but there are locations in exotic lands like Oklahoma and Louisiana. And that’s worth something I suppose!
basic
These are the basic ones. The ones that may have been more popular in its heyday but are still foundational to the boba landscape in Taiwan. Nothing particularly special but they scratch the itch.
- Coco 都可: Coco is pretty prolific these days with its iconic orange branding being a beacon for college students across America.
- 50lan 50嵐: Their brand infrastructure may be all over the place with no fewer than 4 different names and visual branding in the US outposts, but in Taiwan it is consistent, bountiful and accessible.
- Trizzo 康青龍: Formerly KQ Tea (many storefronts still have this branding), they’ve rebranded to Trizzo. But the menu is still pretty consistent with a breadth of tea drinks, plus some specialty fruit slushies and “mocktails” that they love to tout.
- Milk Sha 迷客夏: There was a time when most milk teas you would find would use some kind of creamer rather than fresh milk. These days, most places tout “fresh milk” tea options so Milk Sha isn’t as differentiated, but they are still kicking it.
- 清心福全 Ching Shin: The branding really gives health food but I promise it is a boba shop, with history dating back to the 80s in Tainan.
Last visited: January 2024
Last updated: February 2024
