To all my boba tea fanatics, you have probably heard of these locations before; and if you are new to this fandom, or have yet to delve into this world of tastiness, welcome! I will be rating the top three boba tea places from worst, compared to the other ones on the list of course, to best, based on my experiences with them; specifically their order of the mango freeze with tapioca. I feel as though with also ordering the same drink at each location, it will serve as a good control variable in judging the quality of drink from each area.
- Ma Tea House
Coming in at number three, I would definitely say Ma Tea House is on the spectrum of the best bubble tea places to try. Ma Tea House is located inside Fox Valley mall, and to my knowledge, is the nearest one, or maybe the only one, around the Chicagoland area. This bubble tea house serves a variety of drinks, ranging from juices, to smoothies, to teas, and of course, the commonly ordered milk teas. I personally always order the smoothies with tapioca (the boba pearls) added into it, no matter the location I order from. Specifically, my go to order is the mango smoothie with tapioca from here, and will always order this as my first order at any new location. The classic drink type most people I know order, as this is the typical image of a boba tea beverage, is the milk tea with tapioca; I have never ordered it before, so I cannot really say my opinions about it. The smoothies here with tapioca, however, are in my great interest to recommend to you, as the price is not too expensive for the size, and the overall taste is rewarding. I base the quality of the smoothie off of the texture, coldness, and flavor, which in this case, the texture is well blended and smooth, the coldness was in my liking (which says a lot because I strongly dislike to drink things in the lukewarm/supposed to be cold but isn’t category), and the flavor is true to its mangoness and is quite refreshing.
- Kung Fu Tea
As my second choice of bubble tea places to order from, I would for sure recommend Kung Fu tea, located in Chicago. This boba tea house also serves a variety of drinks, ranging from milk teas, to slushes, to teas, to punches, and even yogurts. As I have said earlier, I keep constant with my order type, and also order the mango slush with tapioca here. Compared to Ma Tea, Kung Fu Tea’s size large is around the same size as the large at Ma Tea, wide and short, while Ma Tea’s cups are long and skinnier. Their prices compared to each other are around the same as well, but I do think Ma Tea was a slight bit more expensive due to taxes of being in a mall location. Nonetheless, one of the most outstanding things I noticed about Kung Fu Tea the very first time I tried it was the quality of the tapioca pearls. I remember vividly trying their tapioca in my mango slush for the first time, and completely falling in love with it. This store has by far the best tapioca I have ever tasted, and its sweetness perfectly complements the drink, the texture of the pearls were soft yet lingering with chewiness, and just overall went down with the drink with ease. The quality of the slush is good too in the texture, as it is not too watery, holds good to its coldness and refreshingness, and the flavor of the slush mixed in with the flavor of the boba brings it all together.
- Joy yee
Last but certainly not least, Joy yee is my all time favorite place to order from for boba tea. This location is so good that I order more than the mango flavored freezes here, switching between the mango tapioca freeze and the red bean and coconut tapioca freeze here. This boba tea house also has a restaurant place to it, but is most well known for its boba tea. Located a few minutes away from NNHS, this location is popular with a lot of the students there, and will always be one of my go to’s for a quality drink. First, I will say that the sizes of the drinks here are the biggest I have ever seen (or at least, pre quarantine, as it has sadly shortened in height since a few months ago). To go along with that, however, its pricing is the most too, but only by around a dollar compared to the larges at the other two locations. Joy yee is my favorite place to order my mango freezes with tapioca from, as the size compensates for so much, the boba is also great tasting, and the mango taste is always revitalizing as they make it with real mango slices right in front of you. The quality of the drinks’ texture is nice, as it is smooth and easy to swallow with the tapioca, but one thing about their drinks is that sometimes the coldness is not to my full liking, as I don’t find it as refreshing as the other locations, but still refreshing nonetheless.