Welcome back y’all. Yeah, I’m not going to lie: this blog post is long overdue. If you follow me on any form of social media, you’ll see that I’m obsessed with bubble tea, also known as boba.
Bubble tea comes from Taiwan and has grown increasingly popular over the years. I had my first bubble tea in Minneapolis, Minnesota and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since! There’s so many different varieties of the drink for dairy and non-dairy fans alike.
Atlanta is home to dozens of bubble tea places. Today’s blog post is all about the best places to find the delectable drink! I’ll list the pros and cons of each place and other tidbits I think you should know. Hopefully by the end of this you’ll love bubble tea as much as I do!
1. The Bubble Hut
Located in Douglasville, Georgia, The Bubble Hut is the perfect place to get bubble tea without going into the city. I’ve always gotten my tea on the go, but this place has the cutest decor and places to sit.
This place isn’t a chain, which I can totally appreciate. There’s three sizes you can order, which is another plus in my book. I almost always get the largest size, but for people who want to dabble in the world of bubble tea, having size variety is awesome.
There’s over ten flavors of milk and fruit tea, ranging from white chocolate (pictured on the right) to green apple. I’ve never tried their fruit teas, but you definitely can’t go wrong with their milk ones.
The cons for this place are few and far between. One, it’s sort of off the beaten path. Once you arrive into Douglasville, you still have to drive another 10-15 minutes to get to the place.
Another con that I have is that you can’t specify the sweetness percentage or ice level. I’m sure if you tell them you want it less sweet or less ice, they’ll do it, but most bubble tea places have this displayed.
All in all, The Bubble Hut is the perfect place to get bubble tea that avoids the hustle and bustle of Atlanta. With dozens of flavors, this is an awesome local bubble tea business!
PROS: Size variety, loads of flavors of milk teas and fruit teas, one location
CONS: Off the beaten path, have to ask for less ice/less sweetness
ADDRESS: 3869 Chapel Hill Rd, Douglasville, GA 30135
2. Tiny Bubbles Tea Bar
Ugh, Tiny Bubbles. This is the very first place in Georgia where I had bubble tea! This place was the place that solidified my love for the drink. They have three locations, but I’ve only been to the Marietta Square location.
My review will be solely on that location, but I have plans to check out the other two sometime in the near future.
As for the Marietta Square location, once you step foot inside the tea bar, you’ll quickly realize why this place almost always has a line of people waiting to order. They have window seating, as well as couch and cushion seating. With plenty of outlets and free Wi-Fi, this is a popular place for students and business people to hang out.
Much like The Bubble Hut, Tiny Bubbles boasts fruit and milk teas to order. However, since it’s Tiny Bubbles Tea Bar, you can best believe that they have way more than that though. They have hot and cold teas and coffee, macarons, Vietnamese coffee and more.
Tiny Bubbles also has a vegan menu, a dairy-free menu and skinny menu, where they have drinks that have little to no calories.
My favorite thing to get here alternates. I tend to opt for their Royal Milk tea with 80 percent sugar and tapioca pearls. I also love to get their Mango tea with 100 percent sugar and tapioca pearls, though their popping pearls are recommended.
Though Tiny Bubbles is my first love, what kind of customer would I be if I didn’t give them some tough love? One con about this place is how popular it is.
For those unfamiliar with the Marietta Square area, it’s pretty hard to find parking, especially after 5 p.m. on the weekdays and on the weekends. You can spend quite a bit of time just trying to park. Once you get inside, more often than not, there is a line. Well worth the wait, but can be annoying.
Another con about Tiny Bubbles is the space inside. It’s a relatively small location and seating areas can fill up fast. When it’s busy, you find yourself stepping over other people also waiting for their drinks.
Those cons, aside, it’s no surprise why Tiny Bubbles has three locations and more on the way. They have loads of tea varieties, options available for people looking to avoid dairy or calories and serve your tea with such friendliness that it will keep you coming back for more.
PROS: Options available for vegans, people looking to avoid dairy or calories, more options available than just bubble tea, super friendly and helpful employees
CONS: Small location, often times a wait to get your drink
ADDRESSES: 21 W Park Square, Marietta, GA 30060 (Marietta Square), 233 Chambers St, Woodstock, GA 30188 (Downtown Woodstock), 68 North Marietta Pkwy NW, Marietta, GA 30060 (Marietta Square Market)
3. Kung Fu Tea
Back when I was a bubble tea youngin’, I had no idea that this place was a chain. I thought it was some Minneapolis thing, so imagine my surprise when I realized that this place has locations in metro Atlanta!
Kung Fu Tea is a chain, probably the most well-known bubble tea chain out there. Still, chains aren’t always a bad thing. In Atlanta, Kung Fu Tea has three locations, with one on the way.
Like Tiny Bubbles, Kung Fu Tea has loads of flavors and options for every kind of drink lover. I prefer milk based teas over fruit-based ones, so I usually get their Kung Fu Milk Tea. My very first drink from them was their strawberry lemonade, which I swear I still taste in my dreams.
You can customize your sweetness level and ice level, as well as add tapioca pearls, jellies or whatever floats your boat. Best of all, almost all of their milk-based teas are actually dairy free! They have a large variety of caffeine-free, gluten-free and vegan drinks as well.
As far as cons go, dare I say…Kung Fu Tea might just have TOO many options. They have Thai Milk Tea, Almond Milk Tea, Coconut Milk Tea, Milk Green Tea, Honey Milk Tea and loads more, and that’s just their milk teas! That’s not getting into their slushes, their yogurt drinks, fruit-based drinks and the plain coffees they have.
Another con that I have with Kung Fu Tea is that it is a chain. I know I said earlier that chains aren’t always bad, but when you go into Kung Fu Tea, you can just tell it’s run by a huge company.
The employees are friendly enough, but Kung Fu Tea’s brand seems to be that you already know all about bubble tea. Each location is designed a bit different, seemingly to fit in with the community it’s located in.
Despite the corporate feel, Kung Fu Tea has enough flavors and combinations to keep you satisfied for weeks!
PROS: Dozens of drink options, huge dairy-free/gluten-free/vegan menu
CONS: Very corporate like, an overwhelming amount of drink options
ADDRESSES: 2505 Chastain Meadows Parkway Suite 115 Marietta GA 30066 (Kennesaw), 5280-A Buford Highway, Doraville, Georgia 30340 (Doraville), 2/4 Park Place South Atlanta GA 30303 (Georgia State University’s campus)
4. Sharetea
Man, what can I say about Sharetea? Oh, that it’s the best place to get bubble tea in metro Atlanta. I love Sharetea so much, I go thirty minutes out of my way to go to this place when I come home from school.
While Sharetea is also a chain bubble tea place, they somehow make it seem just like they’re your neighborhood bubble tea place. They have loads of options on the menu, but not an overwhelming amount. If you are stumped, they do have their top 10 most popular drinks available to choose from (as does Kung Fu Tea).
Instead of listing what I have gotten from this place, I do think the better question would be what haven’t I gotten from Sharetea? They have milk and fruit teas, ice blended drinks (some of which comes with ICE CREAM), brewed teas and much more. I’ve gotten plain milk tea, their Passion Fruit, Orange and Grapefruit Tea (pictured on the right), their Cocoa Lover fresh milk tea and…well, I don’t want to tell you the whole menu, just know that I’ve gotten a lot of it.
They only have one size here, which is about a large at bubble tea places that have size options. Of course, as much as I love Sharetea, they do have some shortcomings.
There can sometimes be inconsistencies with what you order. One time you can come in and get less ice with your drink and it stays relatively cool, but other times you’ll get less ice and your drink might as well be hot. Same goes for specifying sweetness level.
Maybe this has something to do with what employee is working, but it can happen at times.
Another con about Sharetea is its’ popularity. Much like Tiny Bubbles, the location I frequent is on the small side and it can be cramped trying to order or wait for your drink to come out. Also, they’re not at vegan/dairy-free friendly as other places.
Their pros definitely outweigh the cons, though. With a much more beginner friendly menu and great portion sizes, Sharetea is definitely worth the drive whether it is ten minutes or forty minutes.
PROS: Beginner bubble tea friendly menu, one size for all drinks
CONS: On the smaller size, not as vegan/calorie-free/dairy-free friendly as other places
ADDRESSES: 3455 Peachtree Industrial Blvd Ste 205 Duluth, GA 30096 (Duluth), 5975 Roswell Road Suit B-209 Sandy Springs, GA 30328 (Sandy Springs)
5. Honorable Mentions
Just because I’ve only been to these four places, doesn’t mean they’re only places you should check out while in Atlanta. There are plenty of honorable mentions that didn’t make my list, but that you should definitely check out!
- Sweet Hut Bakery & Cafe
- Chain bubble tea place that also serves sandwiches and pastries
- Multiple locations in the Metro Atlanta area
- Honey Bubble
- Right near the heart of Atlanta, Honey Bubble is different in that you customize your drink from start to finish. From choosing your tea base, choice of milk and flavor, it’s a much more personalized experience.
- 798 Ponce De Leon Ave NE Atlanta, GA 30306
Long post short, bubble tea is amazing. Each place has its pros and cons, but it’s definitely worth a try no matter where you go.
Where’s your favorite place to get bubble tea? Let me know in the comments below!
Until next time,
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