Bubble tea is just as big in Taiwan as it is in Hong Kong, and Charles Tea Bar is bringing a range of Taiwanese teas over to the city.

This tea vendor's founder has a passion for the practice of tea ceremony and integrated that into modern times, providing innovative flavours for our contemporary tastebuds. The blockbuster drink is the sweet potato with taro pearls, otherwise, we recommend trying other fruity flavours. 

Charles Tea Bar, various locations across Hong Kong, charlesteabar.com

This cult-favourite Taiwan-based bubble tea brand was all over social media when it opened its doors to Hong Kong. The cult following extends to other places in Asia including South Korea and even gracing our screens in the popular K-drama, The King: Eternal Monarch.

The highly Instagrammable deer-themed cup isn't its only appeal but its loyal followers also fall for the brown sugar Deerioca series. Of course, we also recommend that but we also find the crème brûlée milk equally sweet and creamy.

The Alley, Shop F, G/F, Alpha House, No. 27–33, Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, the-alley.hk

Shop No.3, G/F, Sun Kong House, 2J–2Q Sai Yeung Choi Street South, Mong Kok, Hong Kong

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Chun Shui Tang is already popular in Japan and Taiwan but the self-proclaimed "inventor" of bubble tea actually started off as a small teahouse, though it quickly grew to the franchise business it is today.

And the Culture Tea House only opened its doors in 2019 but already offers more than 100 different beverages on top of other favourite Taiwanese dishes. What's even better is that ingredients are all sourced from Taichung, which itself boasts its own teahouse culture.

Chun Shui Tang Cultural Tea House, Shop L1-1, 1/F, Millennium City Phase V, APM, 418 Kwun Tong Road, Hong Kong, +852 3619 4335

See also: The Best Places For Tea In Hong Kong

Milksha initially started off with their drinks catering for children, taking pride in their hand-shaken offerings that don't use any creamer powder. Thanks to overwhelming support, the drink shop expanded from Taiwan and established its first store in Hong Kong in 2018.

Championing the use of natural ingredients, Miksha drinks originate from Taiwanese dairy farmers and are filled with extra TLC. From their selection, we recommend the fresh milk tea series which includes bubble oolong, red beans milk and taro milk.

Milksha, G/F, 17 Lee Garden Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, +852 5586 8683, milkteashop.com

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Hey Tea's offerings originated from an unlikely combination: mixing cheese with tea. Inspired by this, the founders opened a small tea shop in Jiangmen city in Guangdong. Their original cheese-cap tea concept expanded to outlets across China, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The cheese is imported from New Zealand, giving the tea a creamy taste. But if you're not into cheese, they also have a range of fresh fruit tea and seasonal offerings. Get their Mango Cheezo to find out what the hype is all about.

Hey Tea, Shop B216, B/F, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay, +852 3106 2996, heytea.com

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Cha Long boasts innovative brewing techniques by using only the finest tea leaves from Asia. It's no surprise that they're widely loved for their artisanal tea blends. With a name that means "tea wolf", Cha Long has plenty on offer, whether you have a penchant for fruits or opt for sweeter choices.

Their fresh fruit cha is the bomb, mixing eight refreshing fruit flavours into one. Their seasonal offerings such as lychee tea, kyoho grape and fresh Japanese peach tea are all also worth lining up for.

Cha Long, various locations across Hong Kong, +852 2430 1708

Looking for another healthy option? Nut Tea uses vegan nut milk as a substitute for fresh milk in their drinks. In fact, they've been developing nut-related diets since 2017 to champion the use of nuts. There use five different nuts that are baked and cold-pressed into their signature nut mylk.

Their tea doesn't always have tapioca pearls but you can opt to have it added in addition to jelly and other toppings. Nut Tea is perfect for those in need of an alternative—those with vegan diets or are lactose-intolerant.

Nut Tea, various locations across Hong Kong, nuttea.net

Those who put extra attention to the pearls in their bubble tea should head to Je Ju Jan (or Truedan). This shop was founded by husband and wife, Mr. Kao and Ms. Wu who were looking for a healthier alternative to bubble tea using only natural ingredients.

They were inspired by the nutrient-rich indigenous Taiwanese brown sugar so they created their own "brown sugar pearls" that aren't just delicious and chewy but also healthy, no doubt thanks to its meticulous cooking process.

Bubble tea lovers should get the brown sugar milk series which includes flavours such as grass jelly, oreo brown and red bean. But the brown sugar tea latte series is also just as delicious, offering classic tea flavours from early grey to oolong and Jasmine.

Jen Ju Dan, various locations across Hong Kong, +852 2895 1600

Long-standing tea shop, TenRen has over 2,000 stores around the world and is one of Hong Kong's most well-known bubble tea places. Crowds love how TenRen tries to create contemporary twists but still keep its traditional tea flavours.

And they swear by these flavours such as the oolong tea latte and green tea latte with pearls but the bubble green milk tea and orange green tea are also as delicious.

TenRen Tea, various locations across Hong Kong, tenren.com

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Another bubble tea shop with origins from Taiwan is Europa Tea, coming from Tamsui. Crowd favourites include their milk foam tea and tea latte offerings. But their homemade fruit jam tea and Taiwan Alishan prime tea are also sure hits.

Their branch in The Mills gives you a relaxing place to unwind with other tea lovers to talk about your undying love for tea.

Europa Tea, various locations across Hong Kong

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You can't miss Loud Tea's two signature drinks—mango milk tea and winter melon tea—as it pops up at the shop's screen immediately. All of the tea here is sourced directly from Taiwan, focusing on the fragrance of tea.

The pearl milk tea series is worth a try but those looking for something a little different can opt for the pink lychee mushroom, the D24 durian or the squeaky watermelon, all from the four seasons series.

Loud Tea, Shop 317–318, G/F, Lok Hin Terrace, 350 Chai Wan Road, Chai Wan, +852 9864 3317

Shop A1, G/F, Rialto Mansion, 177–191A, King's Road, North Point, Hong Kong

Cupfy is another bubble tea shop that's all about being healthy and environmentally friendly. Founded by Amy Ip who has a deep understanding of Taiwanese tea culture, Cupfy means "cup-free", serving their drinks in glasses instead of disposable ones. They also go by their slogan, "less sugar, more sweetness" which makes most of their drinks sugar-free or use raw cane sugar and sugar-free maltitol.

You'll be spoiled for choice at their menu, offering foam, milk tea, fresh milk, fruit tea, smoothies and tea. You can even add toppings and choose the sugar, sweets and ice level. Because of their range, we can't recommend a specific drink as each one is just as thirst-quenching as the other.

Cupfy, Shop 3, G/F, Righteous Centre, 585 Nathan Road, Mong Kok, cupfy.co

Shop L903A, 9/F, Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay

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A Boutea has gained its own set of followers among young people, especially those who have a thing or two for K-pop as this bubble tea shop regularly hosts fan "events" during special days, for instance, a popular K-pop idol's birthday. You'd most likely see posters and displays of them across the shop for a period of time.

That aside, A Bout Tea is all about paying homage to the traditional tea-making process with most of their range based on four types of tea, including sijichun, oolong, assam black tea, and jade green tea. Their pearls are only made from fresh brown sugar that's been cooked for more than hour without adding any preservatives in order to main the original taste and fragrance.

A Bout Tea, various locations across Hong Kong, abouteahk.com

If you're craving for some Taiwanese food and bubble tea, look no further than Kiki Noodle Bar or Kiki tea. This chic noodle bar boasts natural, healthy sun-dried noodles while the Kiki tea menu comprises of bubble teas brewed from a traditional Taiwanese recipe.

Favourite include refreshing pineapple green teapresso and winter melon tea with aiyu jelly and coconut jelly. We also recommend the iced soy milk roasted tea with grass jelly.

Kiki Noodle Bar, Shop 2017, Podium Level 2, ifc Mall, 1 Harbour View, Central, Hong Kong, +852 2114-3426

Shop 406, Level 4, K11 Musea, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, +852 2111 3764

See also: 15 Best Taiwanese Restaurants In Hong Kong

This article was originally published on April 29, 2021 and was updated on August 16, 2021.