an asian beverage, also known as “pearl tea” or “boba tea”. consists of tea of all sorts of flavors (sometimes powdered), shaken in a cocktail shaker with ice, with added milk and sugar syrup. the best part of bubble tea is the small balls of sago/tapioca down the bottom, sucked up through a large straw. you can also get pudding, or jelly, which are awesome too

one part of the bubble tea process, and i believe essential to enjoying a good bubble tea, is for the shop to actually be staffed by asian peoples, and frequented by asian customers, so much so that one (who is aussie anyway) feels that they have stepped into another country for a short time. it’s just not bubble tea without that authentic alienating atmosphere!

so in summary, bubble tea rules. and i found it quite hard to find around here, so here are all the places to get bubble tea in brisbane, best to worst:

tea master

address: 115 wickham st, fortitude valley
price: $3.50
the tea at this little vegetarian asian restaurant is just perfect. best tea evar!

juice wonderland

address: macarthur central, queen st, brisbane
price: $3.60
this was my favorite for quite a while, they also do fruit juices and awesome pancakes, and the owner is the most polite and thankful man i’ve ever seen

tea, etc

address: 49 elizabeth st, brisbane
price: $3.80
very good, flavoursome and the pearls have good texture. however, sometimes just a bit too sweet. the store is usually full of asians, for that authentic alienating atmosphere

qq station (closed down)

address: 50 albert st, brisbane
price: $2.80 ($2.00 with card)
really quite good tea, if the uni-student staff ever actually understand what it is you want, which is rare. flavour is a little weak, but sweetness is spot on, and pearls are nice. you can also get a card for $20 which pre-pays for 10 teas - cheapest tea in town! has an asian travel agent

t.e.c.

address: elizabeth arcade, 99 elizabeth st, brisbane
price:
i think this place has really good tea, including an awesome apple flavour! the price is a little higher than usual, and strangely, comes in a perforated-lid cup like mcdonalds, instead of the usual sealed-lid cup that one must pierce with a big straw

shanghai noodle house

address: back of myer centre, past kfc, next to the bus station
price: $2.70 / $3.50
this little out-of-the way shop on the side of a restaurant has nice tea, however suffers from a very small range

the cat restaurant

address: the alley next to subway, across from rocking horse music, albert st, brisbane
price:
if a korean restaurant could pick a more dodgy place to be, i’d like to see it. this shady alley, full of building-rear-entrances and homeless cats, is indicated by a mere neon sign above a door. 20 bucks says the cooks don’t actually order meat, just stick an arm out the back door, and cook what they grab :P the tea is alright, it has a more traditional leaf-tea flavour

tea bar

address: upstairs in myer centre, across from chocolate boulevard, brisbane
price:
this australian-based chain of bubble tea stores has too-strong flavours, and is just way too sweet. mostly aussie staff, ruining the whole idea. tried it twice, never went back

city asian express

address: about the middle of broadway arcade foodcourt, brisbane
price:
this place is actually the asian takeaway in the middle of broadway (where harvey norman is, on queen st mall) next to coffee club. the tea tastes alright, but the pearls are far too soggy, not a very enjoyable tea experience

easyway

address: myer centre, on the corner of albert and elizabeth st & queen st mall, near the hilton, brisbane
price: $4.60
most expensive and worst tasting. horrible dry pearls. a chinese person i know describes this as “taiwanese crap, only patronised by taiwanese people supporting their own product”. avoid at all costs!