Best Boba: Top 10 bubble tea in New York City
Welcome to our Best Boba series! In these posts, I will be inviting foodies and bubble tea lovers from different cities around the world to give us their favorite boba spots in their city. New York City!
1. OneZo
110 3rd Avenue, New York, NY 10003
This Taiwanese boba shop made its debut in NYC a few months ago and is known for its menu of homemade boba with flavors ranging from honey to mango to black sesame. Along with a classic collection of teas, there’s nothing more you need. OneZo has become one of our go-to daily boba spots.
2. Tiger Sugar
197 Canal Street, New York, NY 10013
Tiger Sugar claims to have created the original brown sugar boba. Their signature beverage has brown sugar running down the sides of the cup, reminiscent of the look of tiger stripes. Very popular in Asia, this boba shop is their first U.S. location.
3. Bar Pa Tea
85 Kenmare Street, New York, NY 10012
Different from your classic boba shop, Bar Pa Tea offers not only boba drinks, but also boba soft serve in oolong, black tea, and swirl flavors. Their original store, Pa Tea, on East 14th Street, is also great, and features many different kinds of beverages that you won’t be able to find anywhere else.
4. Hello Always Tea
60 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003
Hello Always is one of our favorite boba spots. They have some of the best tapioca around the area, since they make it themselves, and the premium tea is always fresh. They’re now only open on weekends, but they have boba-making classes during the week!
5. KOI Thé
189 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012
KOI Thé is another favorite in Asia that has made its way to NYC. This shop’s signature beverage is the Golden Bubble Milk Tea, which we highly recommend.
6. Tea I Y
124B Hester St, New York, NY 10002
TEA I Y is a unique DIY boba experience where you can watch all your boba ingredients come together in a laboratory-like setting. All your ingredients are brought to you in beakers, syringes, and petri dishes for you to mix them all together yourself using a magnetic stirrer. A great date spot!!
7. Rabbit Rabbit Tea
110-112 E 23rd St, New York, NY 10010
According to our California friends, good New York boba is hard to find, but Rabbit Rabbit Tea takes them right back to the West Coast. Sharing a space with Xiang Xiang Noodle, there is ample seating room inside to hang out and chat.
8. Space194
194 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10009
This East Village shop has a great menu for anyone looking to try something new! From the Watermelon Matchade to the La Vie en Rose, Space194 combines high quality tea with new flavors to keep us coming back.
9. The Alley
68 Cooper Square, New York, NY 10003
The Alley recently opened a location in NY, and we like it because of its unique beverages. We recommend trying their signature drink, the Deerioca, or if you want something less sweet, give Royal Milk No. 9 a try.
10. Boba Guys
23 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002
One of the first premium boba shops to open in NYC, Boba Guys now has several locations across the city. We love that Boba Guys is always coming up with new seasonal drinks, which keeps us coming back, not to mention the quality ingredients that Boba Guys always uses.
About the Authors
We’re Ashley and Jesse, and we’re both business students at NYU! Because of our love for boba, we decided to start reviewing the boba shops across the city at our Instagram page, @bobabudz_. We love trying new things, but our favorite drink is Boba Guys’ hojicha. Ashley usually gets the classic pearl milk tea at most boba shops, though. We hope you enjoyed reading our article!
