Top 5 places to get bubble tea near campus
Our foodie reporter, Nandini Dhir, has you covered…
If you’re a fellow bubble tea fanatic, you’re probably thinking about where the go-to boba cafes are around campus to fill that sugar-y craving! Well, we’ve got you covered with our top 5 bubble tea places around Central!
Tea And
Location: Camperdown (Manning Bar)
Walk from USYD Quadrangle: 2 minutes
Average Price: $6.50
‘Tea And’ is the new bubble tea place on campus with all your classic menu items from a pearl milk tea with cheese foam and fruit tea with an array of toppings.
You can expect some decent prices at ‘Tea And’, like a classic milk tea with pearls costing you $5.90. Flavour wise, it’s decent quality tea and the bonus is that the pearls are made fresh in-house.
Check out our video if you want to watch us review their top 5 signature milk and fruit teas!
2. Bubble Nini
Location: Broadway (8 Central Park Ave, Chippendale)
Walk from USYD Quadrangle: 16 minutes
Average Price: $7.50
If you’re looking for a cute bubble tea place for Instagram-worthy photos and don’t mind spending a little more for the experience, you should definitely check out Bubble Nini. Their tea is as aesthetic as the shop, featuring vibrant colours and floor-plan decked out with fresh flowers and foliage.
Let’s be real, you’re going there to take photos and honestly it won’t disappoint!
3. CoCo Fresh Tea
Location: Broadway (154 Broadway, Ultimo)
Walk from USYD Quadrangle: 12 minutes
Average Price: $6.00
Ahh CoCo! A classic chain in the bubble tea world, perfect for their iconic Roasted Pearl Milk Tea and sitting on the slightly cheaper end of bubble tea compared to the boutique chains.
If you haven’t been to CoCo and enjoyed their milk teas, you need to try their popular 3 Guys (aka. 3 Bros), which comes with pearls, grass jelly and pudding ($6.50), or get matcha milk tea with red bean ($6.40) if you enjoy Japanese flavours.
4. Gong Cha
Location: Broadway (Shop 2/841 George St, Haymarket)
Walk from USYD Quadrangle: 18 minutes
Average Price: $7.00
Another crowd pleaser, and one that’s about the flavour! You get Gong Cha to fill that bubble tea shaped hole in your stomach, not to post on Instagram.
Their fruit teas are fresh and their pearls are warm, freshly made in-house. Gong Cha is also popular for their 3Js with earl grey milk tea ($6.90), taro and pearls ($5.80), or matcha and red bean ($6.50).
Although it’s a little further away from uni, you can grab yourself a drink before you hop on a train or bus at Central station.
5. Milk Flower
Location: Broadway (143 Broadway, Ultimo)
Walk from USYD Quadrangle: 12 minutes
Average Price: $7.50
Milk Flower might be considered an underrated bubble tea place, but that’s likely because they don’t specialise in the classic pearl milk tea. Instead, they’re iconic for rice yoghurt drinks ($6.50-$7.20), which is why it sits on the pricier end of bubble tea.
Their mango Thai coconut milk ($9.80) is their signature order and you can try it with a variety of different toppings, like purple rice. If you’ve never tried purple rice tea, it’s definitely the newest and most trending variety at the moment and it’s worth giving it a try.
