Key Points:
- Bubble & Co Tea Bar gets the top spot for bubble tea in Orlando. They also have bubble waffles, which taste great with the tea.
- Ding Tea offers a limited selection of very well-made, tasty bubble teas. They have the best boba pearls in the area – perfect, chewy pieces of goodness.
- The Tea Spot has a unique atmosphere, complete with K-Pop videos and sticky-note drawings. They offer teas as well as a nice selection of snacks.
Bubble tea, or just boba tea as some call it, has become more and more popular in the state, and new locations are popping up across Orlando often. As a huge fan of tea in general, I have had the chance to visit many of these locations and get a taste of the best spots in central Florida.
Some locations are more accessible than others to locals or visitors, so be sure to take that into account if you’re looking for a good spot. That being said, here are my favorite boba shops.
Bubble & Co Tea Bar
136 Lake Ave Maitland, FL 32751
If you’re looking for a fun and picture-worthy spot to get your bubble tea, Bubble & Co is an excellent spot. They focus solely on their drinks and sweet offerings to pair with them – more on that below. The location focuses on sustainability and freshness, which likely speaks to the quality of the tea.
As the name suggests, the restaurant also offers bubble waffles, which pair perfectly with the tea. It’s a great spot for a snack or late breakfast, like I tend to prefer. If you’re looking for a spot where you can grab a larger meal with your bubble tea, then it may be better to head somewhere else.
One thing to note is that the location is just a bit outside of Orlando on the northern side, so it’s extra far from the area’s theme parks.
Ding Tea Downtown Orlando
Takoyaki. Photo: Pixabay
361 N Rosalind Ave suite 5, Orlando, FL 32801
The downtown location of Ding Tea barely misses the top spot among my lists of best bubble tea spots. It’s the perfect spot to grab a drink and enjoy the atmosphere before continuing on with your day.
They have just enough options to offer lots of variety, but they don’t try to stretch too far like other bubble tea shops. They know how to make tea, and they make it well.
The boba pearls in particular are always perfectly chewy here. Other spots are typically good, but every now and then give you something a little too gummy. Ding Tea has been perfect every time, and it’s why I think they’re so great.
They have recently started offering some snack-type foods to go along with their drinks, which I’m usually not particularly interested in. However, I’ve had the Takoyaki and popcorn chicken, and both were excellent.
If you’re local and ever need to visit the Orange County courthouse, Ding Tea is just around the block.
The Tea Spot
5078 W Colonial Dr Orlando, Florida 32808
The Tea Spot is a fun place to get good bubble tea because of the atmosphere. While other tea shops go for a more relaxing coffee shop vibe, The Tea Spot embraces the spirit of bubble tea by playing K-pop videos, having a wall of sticky-note drawings, and extremely approachable staff.
The staff really go out of their way to share their knowledge with customers and seem to genuinely want to help people have the best drink for them. It’s a great spot that’s more approachable for someone who doesn’t quite know what flavors they like.
In addition to a variety of milk teas and boba options, they offer Asian snacks and small meals for you to enjoy.
Shaka Shaka Tea House
3934 S. Semoran Blvd Orlando, FL 32822
Shaka Shaka makes the list of best bubble tea spots in Orlando due to its numerous fruity options. The spot is the absolute winner if you’re a fan of fruity bubble tea, but especially milk tea smoothies. They have tons of smoothie options to supplement their basic tea drinks, which is sure to please someone in your group.
The avocado milk tea seems to be popular in the area, and it’s something offered here that isn’t always an option at other tea shops. I’m not sure if that’s unique to Orlando, who seems to love Epcot’s avocado margarita as well, but it’s something you may want to try if you’re a fan of the flavors.
Chewy Boba
1212 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32803
Chewy Boba is a spot that seems geared toward the Instagram generation and includes a mural in front of the restaurant to take pictures with. Though that’s not normally my “cup of tea,” their tea is very tasty. You can add any sort of combination of tea and boba you want, but whenever I go, I stick with the jasmine milk tea.
The spot is mostly focused on the drinks, but they offer some Asian snacks and sweets that pair with the drinks.
Quickly Boba & Snow
3214 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32803
As a fan of more traditional teas, the oolong, jasmine, and lavender at Quickly Boba & Snow are always great choices. However, I have tried the red velvet, and there are lots of other sweet offerings available to choose from that keep things interesting. Add in all of the boba pearl combinations, and the possibilities are endless. It’s a particularly good spot for people who enjoy popping fruity boba.
Quickly Boba is a restaurant as well, not just Boba spot, so you can get a whole meal if you’re hungry. Or, simply go for the extra large Boba, which starts at $6.25.
