Pink boba the characters you see below Sorry, we just need to make sure you’re not a robot. If there were a drink of the moment, what would it be right now? Well, if you live in certain parts of the country, you know that bubble tea, also known as boba, has reached whole new heights on the popularity scale. It’s tea, yes, but it’s also kind of a dessert.
But here’s the thing: Too many of us have a standard boba order we always get when we’re at a tea shop, and we totally forget about the other options. While it’s not a bad thing to have a favorite, it doesn’t hurt to mix things up every once in a while. If you do want to order something different but don’t know what to get, have no fear. Here at Mashed, we’ve decided to take a look at some of the most popular boba flavors — and then rank them. We’re going to start with the worst flavors, the ones we try to avoid when we get bubble tea.
But we’ll slowly make our way to the best bobas of the bunch. Are you ready to find a new boba flavor for your next order? If you love all things fruity, then you may think that strawberry milk tea is the way to go. However, we certainly don’t think it’s the best option for you out there, especially if you actually want to enjoy your drink and not just take a picture of it. Strawberry milk tea looks great in photos with its light baby pink color, but when you finally take a sip, you’ll realize it was a huge mistake to order it. That’s because strawberry milk tea does have a distinctly fruity taste to it. If you get it with full sugar, it’s going to be way too sweet.
But if you order it with less sugar, there’s a good chance that you won’t taste much of anything at all. And since it’s a milk tea, it’s not even that refreshing. Basically, you’re getting all of the calories of dessert without even getting to enjoy it. And that’s the last thing you want, right? While kids might enjoy strawberry milk tea because of its look, most adults are going to want to pass on this option and find something else entirely.
If you’ve spent much time eating at Asian restaurants, then you’ve probably had your fair share of red bean paste before. It’s often found in desserts and pastries, and it has a soft, subtle flavor that’s a nice alternative to the ultra-sweetened, chocolaty desserts you find in the West. But have you ever heard of red bean paste in milk tea? Well, some boba places do it, and we have to admit: We’re not big fans. But it’s not just the texture of the red bean paste that ends up being strange and kind of undesirable.
After all, texture is something you might be able to overlook. It also comes down to the flavor. Since red bean paste isn’t super flavorful, it really gets lost in the milk tea. You’ll be able to taste a hint of it, but that’s probably about it.
And when you order boba, you want a drink that’s actually flavorful, right? That’s why we’re just not huge fans of red bean milk tea. Now, this is one that you may not see a lot, but it’s definitely gaining in popularity. It really depends on who you ask.
Honeydew tea is distinctive in the fact that the flavor is super light and refreshing. It’s not going to weigh you down like a traditional milk tea might, and it may seem like a better choice during the summer months since it’s not as heavy as some of the other options out there. Like the strawberry milk tea, you’re not actually going to be getting too much flavor in honeydew tea. Since honeydew is light enough as it is, when you mix it with milk and tapioca balls, you can imagine how easy it is to lose that flavor in the mix. Sweetener helps, of course, but if you don’t like your bubble tea sweet, then you may miss out on the best part of opting for this flavor. If you want something that’s incredibly light and easy to drink, then honeydew tea might be the ideal drink for you.
However, if you want to enjoy boba you can actually taste, then you may want to move on to one of the other options on this list. There’s one type of boba that has been gaining in popularity recently, and that’s brown sugar tea. This stuff looks like your average black milk tea but with a twist: There’s a syrup-y addition of brown sugar that adds a little interest to the look of this drink. Take one glance at it, and you’ll immediately notice that it looks pretty appetizing, especially if you’re the kind of person who really likes sweets. A reviewer who tried different brown sugar teas described one of them like this: “It’s really, really sweet — as though there was additional sugar syrup added on top of caramelised brown sugar syrup, though the brown sugar doesn’t taste quite fragrant enough, and the milk not all that creamy.