Introduction

More than a decade ago, one of the things that catalyzed the launch of this dessert blog was when one of the most “celebrated” Australian restaurant reviewer wrote that “Asian desserts” were “words to strike fear into the staunchest of hearts.” *Face palm*. We subsequently made it our mission on this dessert blog to showcase desserts from all different cultures, including and especially from the myriad of diverse countries that make up Asia. Fast forward more than a decade later, has the world changed all that much?  To our dismay, one of the most explosive Tiktok news to reach our feed repeatedly in the last few days was how a Canadian French business sought to de-ethnicize bubble tea into something more “convenient and healthier” because previously “you [were] never quite sure about its content.” *Insert exploded brain emoji*. We already have a guide to NYC’s best bubble tea desserts in NYC and also bubble tea ice cream, but to celebrate the countless variations of bubble tea, here’s a list and a pictorial guide to our favourite bubble tea and other sweet drink spots in NYC.

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•  Best bubble tea for strong tea flavours:

  • Fifty Lan
  • Yifang Tea
  • Ten Ren
  • Teazzi
  • Machi Machi
  • Molly Tea 

• Most sweet bubble tea:

  • Xin Fu Tang
  • Tiger Sugar
  • Biao

•  Bubble tea for beginners:

  • Gong Cha
  • Coco
  • Meet Fresh

•  For unique bubble tea mixes:

  • Boba Guys
  • Debutea
  • Alimama
  • Lazy Sundaes
  • I-Milky

•  Other noteworthy sweet drink shops (see also here and here):

  • Jell & Chill
  • Surreal Creamery
  • Sweet Moment 
  • Grace Street
  • Gonggan
  • Heuk Hwa Dang
  • An Jelly

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