Bubble Tea, or boba, can be perfect to cool you off during the summer or energize you during the winter.
The tea itself and the boba — tapioca pearls — inside make for a delicious combination.
Just ask Nature Reserve owner Chao Gao. His bubble tea shop is located in Concord Mall.
“Although bubble tea is relatively new to the U.S, it has a long history in Asian countries, so many people in the States are curious about this new fad. It comes with a wide range of refreshing tea and delicious toppings, making it a unique combination of eating and drinking,” says Gao.
Shop owners like Gao, who get creative to offer a wide range of flavors and customized options, are part of the reason boba is becoming so popular here.
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Gao says he likes to show love to the community through Nature Reserve’s drinks.
“Unlike other bubble tea shops with a set menu and focus on cutting costs, our team continuously listens to the customers and adjusts the menu based on their feedback,” he said. “Our store focuses on enhancing the drinks, never sacrificing quality over costs. We periodically reassess the ingredients to make them fresher with the new ingredients.
“All our employees love making new drinks and sharing them with their family and friends,” he continued. “It keeps new ideas coming in daily. For the community, we have the vision to create a relaxing atmosphere for people to hang out and meet up while having fun with delicious drinks and desserts.”
Whether you are looking to try Bubble Tea for the first time or to discover a new shop, flavor or customizing option, check out our list of nine bubble tea shops below to level up your boba game:
Bubble Shack, Wilmington
At Bubble Shack you can find several flavors of bubble tea, as well as hot or iced Vietnamese coffee. You also can find some Vietnamese cuisine such as Banh Mi (Vietnamese Hoagies) including grilled beef, pork and chicken.
At Bubble Shack you can choose from two different varieties — milk bubble tea or fruit bubble tea. When you order you can pick your base of black tea, green tea or water. Then you can choose a minimum of one or a maximum of three syrup flavors. Som flavors include blueberry, pineapple, grapefruit, passion fruit or honey.
There also are optional add-ons to the bubble tea including jelly, extra boba or flavored popping pearls.
Bubble Shack is opened Tuesday through Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Bubble Shack, 3205 Concord Pike, Wilmington, (302) 887-3087; https://m.facebook.com/BubbleShackDe/
Kung Fu Tea, Newark
Kung Fu Tea is a large bubble tea brand and they are here in Delaware.
Kung Fu Tea is made-to-order daily, with fresh tea being brewed every three hours and bubbles cooked every two hours. Fresh tea leaves are used every day, as are as other fresh ingredients.
Some drinks on their menu include milk tea, punch, espresso, and many more. Some of the milk tea flavors include honey milk, Thai milk, coconut milk, almond milk, and lots of other options.
Kung Fu Tea is opened daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Kung Fu Tea, 93 .E Main St, Newark, (302) 286-7587, https://www.kungfutea.com
Mr. Wish Christiana Mall, Newark
This franchise from Taiwan is here at the Christiana Mall to bring you bubble teas and other fresh fruit drinks.
Milk teas here include pearl, matcha or cocoa milk. Fruit tea flavors include grapefruit green tea, lemon black tea, honey lemon green tea and many more.
They also offer smoothies, sparkling babo and cheese macchiato.
Mr. Wish is opened Monday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundayfrom 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Mr. Wish Christiana Mall, 132 Christiana Mall, Newark, (302) 277-0828; https://www.facebook.com/MrWishChristianaMall
Nature Reserve, Wilmington
Nature Reserve is a triple threat − coffee shop, bubble tea cafe and dessert parlor.
To promote good food and a healthy lifestyle, Nature Reserve offers gluten-free, vegan and keto desserts, they say. They also offer an array of beverages including espresso, coffee, bubble tea and house-made sodas.
Some of their teas include green tea, black tea, Oolong.
Bubble tea flavors include original black, jasmine green, mango, honeydew, strawberry, Thai and taro.
Desserts include double chocolate cookies, peanut butter cookies (vegan), pecan chocolate cookies, and more.
Nature Reserve is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Nature Reserve, 4737 Concord Pike, Wilmington, (646) 898-9019, https://www.naturereservestore.com
Tastea 101, Newark
At Tastea 101 in Newark you can order from a unique menu filled with traditional dishes including wonton soup, cabbage and pork dumplings, shrimp tempura, wing ding, and much more.
The drink menu includes bubble tea, smoothies, aloe vera, green tea, black tea, pop, and more. Some of the bubble tea flavors include Black Milk Tea, Coconut Milk Tea, Almond Milk Tea, Japanese Green Tea, and more.
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Tastea 101 is open Monday through Saturday from 11:00AM-6:00PM.
Tastea 101, 101 Carroll Court, Newark, (302) 715-3287, https://www.tastea101.com
T’baar, Newark
Bubble Tea is not the only thing you can find at T’Baar. Prepare to be wowed by the array of brews including milk foam drinks, smoothies, fresh tea and lemonade.
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T’baar’s bubble tea flavors include Brown Sugar Bubble Milk Tea, Bubble Milk Black Tea, Tbaar Milk Green Tea and many more.
In 2022, T’Baar launched an art contest for their cup sleeves. A passion project for founder Gary Lin, this was a way of bringing the creativiTEA to the shop, he said.
T’Baar, 108 E. Main St., Newark, (302) 448-4247, https://www.tbaar.com
Tea Boss, Ocean City, Maryland
What’s the point of getting something as yummy as bubble tea if you don’t have good food to pair it with? At Tea Boss, match your bubble tea to your favorite sushi, sit back and enjoy.
At Tea Boss you can get bubble tea and fruit tea. Fruit tea flavors include strawberry tea, passionfruit tea, peach and other options. Bubble tea flavors include mango, jasmine, Thai, chocolate bubble tea, kiwi bubble tea, and much more.
Tea Boss is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Tea Boss, 11805 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, MD, (410) 213-4693, https://www.teabossmd.com
Tiger Sugar, Newark
Along with bubble tea, Tiger Sugar offers coffee and a few snacks.
They have many variations of bubble tea including chocolate malt, black sugar mochi, black sugar pudding, and more.
Bubble tea flavors include Brown Sugar Boba Milk, Black Sugar Tiger Jelly, Matcha Black Sugar Boba Milk, Taro Pudding Black Sugar Boba Milk and much more.
Tiger Sugar is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Tiger Sugar, 211 S. Main St., Newark, (302) 261-2988, https://www.tigersugerde.com
T-swirl Crepe, Dover
T-swirl Crepe is known for crepes both sweet and savory, as well as bubble teas.
If you are hungry, you can choose from savory options like T-swirl BLT, Double Eggs or Thai Chicken. Your sweet tooth will likely love Chocolate Nut Party or Strawberry Banana.
But don’t overlook them for bubble teas. T-swirl offers an extensive menu of tea lattes, fruit teas, green teas and milk teas. Their most popular flavors include Brown Sugar Milk Tea, Taro Milk Tea and Thai Iced Tea.
T-swirl Crepe is opened Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed on Wednesdays..
T-Swirl Crepe, 1365 N. Dupont Highway, Suite 3044, Dover, (302) 883-2797,https://tswirlcrepedetogo.com
