Bubble tea is not new to most Kiwis and Asians, especially in Christchurch. It is inspired by Taiwan’s signature drink. Bubble tea typically features a tea base — black, green, oolong, or jasmine — mixed with milk or fruit flavours, topped with tapioca pearls (boba), jellies, syrups, and ice.
However, not all bubble tea shops are worth visiting, so we’ve rounded up the top spots in Christchurch where you’re guaranteed a delicious experience. For a broader tea selection, consider exploring Yum Cha restaurants too.
Here is the rundown!
Best Bubble Tea Shops in Christchurch
#1:- BobaLab Handcraft Bubble Tea – Addington
Every week, there is always a new and surprising unique boba flavour to anticipate, sip, and pop at the Bobalab. Five years ago, Hannah Chen opened the Boba Tea Shop, the first handcraft bubble tea shop in Christchurch. Everything is created freshly in the Lab daily, including tapioca pearls.
The tea shop is located at 283 Lincoln Road, Addington. You can drive down within 7 minutes via Moorhouse Avenue or St Asaph Street. It is open from 11.30 am to 5.30 pm Tuesday through Friday and 11.30 am to 6 pm Saturday through Sunday and closed on Mondays. You can also order your tea from their shop via Uber Eats.
They use pure aromatic fruit teas like black dark roast oolong and light green roast oolong tea, along with smooth, creamy milky flavours like taro latte, iron goodness latte, matcha latte, and thai latte, or the refreshing tropical strawberry, passion bomb, or mango fruity flavours. They also have berry nebula or space mojito sparkling specials at their disposal.
Many bubble tea lovers prefer and always visit the spot to brighten their day with their chilling, smooth, tasty, refreshing, chewy brown sugar, mango tango, matcha baby, space mojito, and pink guava-flavored tea. Some also like their signature flavoured tea, like the Assam latte.
Why not try bubble tea at the never-dulling Bobalab tea shops while sharing stories and fun with your friends or family? Depending on your sugar and dietary level, you can also request a customized boba tea.
What Tea Lovers Think about Bobalab’s Tea (4.8/5 Google Reviews)
- Small, cozy space with a great ambience and stylish, beautiful anime-painted walls.
- Freshly packed classic nice and chewy bubble teas with fun varieties of flavours that might not be found elsewhere and at reasonable prices
- High-quality, eco-friendly reusable cups are used
- The staff are super friendly
Check out their website.
#2:- Boba Time, Hereford Street
Suppose you are craving bubble tea and looking for a place to sit and chill in the busy city center, head down to 13 Bnz Center, 120 Hereford Street, to satisfy your cravings. It’s just a one-minute drive or seven-minute walk from the city center via Cambridge Terrace and Hereford St. You can check in any time from 11 am to 6.30 pm every day except Sunday when they are closed.
You probably haven’t been there before, as its doors were flung open a year ago. It offers bubble tea in various flavours and toppings to take your taste buds on a delightful adventure. From brown sugar to caramel, jasmine, chocolate, and Thai bubble tea, each with signature chewy pearls. Each is available for as low as 7.50 NZD.
Uber Eats can also deliver the Taiwan-inspired tea to your location. You can also order dessert and beverages alongside your bubble tea, as Boba time is not limited to bubble tea. Quenches, sundaes, coconut juice, shakes, and the summer hit Halo-halo, among several others, are also available at the spot.
What Tea Lovers Think about Boba Times’s Bubble Tea (4.7/5 Google Reviews)
- They have excellent service and friendly staff
- The bubble tea worth the price
- Lovely paintings, designs, and music and a clean and well-organised space
Check out their Website.
#3:- Teasme South City
Teasme prides itself on having the most extensive range (about 85) of loose-leaf and bubble tea in New Zealand. They have authentic black tea, green tea, red tea, oolong tea, herbal tea, fruit tisane, white tea, teaware, and the blooming tea series, which has many flavours. You can sip as much as you can.
They source most of their tea ingredients abroad, except for some herbal tea leaves, Manuka and Kawakawa leaves, which they get in New Zealand. Apart from going there to drink the tasty tea or order online via Uber Eats and Doordash, you can also get high-quality wholesale tea sales from Teasme at discounted rates. They also sell tea ingredients and accessories.
Teasme founder Shih-Yen Chen is dedicated to making fresh, quality tea. He opened his first outlet in 2009, at Church Corner Mall on 376 Riccarton Road, Upper Riccarton, and has since opened two other outlets.
One is at Shop 30, The Hub Mall, 418 Main South Road, Hornby, and the last is at Teasme South City, Shop 20, South City Mall, 555 Colombo Street, all in Christchurch.
What Tea Lovers Think about Teasme’s Bubble Tea (4.1/5 Google Reviews)
- There is a free parking area in front of the shop
- Customers like the matcha tea with coconut jelly, classic strawberry tea
- There are a few cases where the sign-out sign is shown during operating hours in the evening to the closing time
- They sell lovely teapots and teacups
Check out their website.
#4:- Miss Tea, Wigram
Owned by a Kiwi, Miss Tea offers one of the best tasty bubble teas. New in Christchurch and just a 15-minute drive from the city centre via State Hwy 76 or Wigram Road, the tea shop is at 106 The Runway, Wigram. It is open 10 am—10 pm daily.
Whether you want fresh fruit, milk, or special mixed tea, you will get one that suits your taste palate. There is also a wide range of flavours and toppings for you to pick from. And you are free to decide the sugar level you want.
Their yummy tea selections include avocado frappe, lemon tea, strawberry frappe, mango sago with coconut milk, black gold milk, taro milk bubble tea, and passion fruit jelly green tea. It’s an excellent place for you, coworkers, friends, and family.
You can get door delivery of your tea through Uber Eats and Doordash.
What Tea Lovers Think about Miss Tea (4.6/5 Google Reviews)
- The waiting time is mostly long, but the staff are friendly.
- It is a quiet, cosy space with a relaxing atmosphere and superb ambience.
- There is a lot of free parking space.
- The bubble teas are very yummy and have super authentic flavours. Most customers love the avocado range and black gold bubble tea and tag the space as the best bubble shop in Christchurch.
Check their website.
#5:- Gong Cha – Riccarton
Gong Cha is a popular bubble tea chain worldwide originating from Taiwan. One of its outlets, which is now also a Christchurch household name for bubble teas, opened in 2015 at 116 Riccarton Road. It is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The tea house has several premium menus boba tea lovers always want, including Dirtea fresh milk black tea, fresh milk Japanese matcha, peachy green tea, and pearl milk tea. It also offers delicious and sweet toppings, including chewy pearls, cheese foam, milk foam, and aloe.
The tea house procures premium tea leaves from tea growers throughout Asia to make premium tea blends. Several seasonal drinks, such as the Thai mango, chestnut, grape, panda, strawberry & almond jelly series, gingerbread series, strawberry charm, and oat series, are available seasonally.
Interestingly, you can also request a customized version based on size, temperature, sugar and ice level, and toppings. With Doordash or Uber Eats, you can get any brewed Gong cha premium tea blends at your doorstep.
Gong Cha now has two other tea stores in Northlands malls and Palms Mall.
What Tea Lovers Think about Gong Cha’s Bubble Tea (4.4/5 Google Reviews)
- The space is always clean except for a few times
- The quality of their tea has reduced and is more pricey, depending on the tea blend.
- They have excellent customer service, but they are below par a few times
- You can park behind the street for free for about 2 hours
#6:- J-BINGS Riccarton
J-Bings is very popular in the city because of its great dishes, but have you tasted its bubble tea? The eatery and tea house are located at 100 Riccarton Road, Riccarton, Christchurch, and are open daily from 11.30 am to 9 pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and 11.30 am to 10 pm on Thursdays to Sundays.
If you are close to the city centre, they also have an opening at 33 Lichfield Street, central city. It is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm on Tuesdays to Wednesdays and 10 am to 8 pm on Thursdays to Sundays.
Their tea menu is extensive, and you will find them tasty, yummy, and delicious, especially their mango tango milk, taro bubble milk, sparkling fruit tea, and classic brown sugar milk bubble tea. You can always hop in with coworkers, family, and friends for bubble tea and even Asian-inspired dishes like beef noodles.
For convenience, you can also order for a doorstep delivery through Delivereasy and Uber Eats.
What Tea Lovers Think about J-Bings’s Bubble Tea (4.4/5 Google Reviews)
- The fruit and milk bubble tea are yummy (though a few complain of hard boba)
- Parking can be somewhat challenging, or you have to pay
- Very nice, relaxing, and clean space and atmosphere
- Average customer service experience
Check out their website.
Conclusion
These are our favourite Bubble tea shops in Christchurch. In the comment section, let us know if otherwise, and you can mention some other nice bubble tea shops in Christchurch to assist our readers.
Last modified: December 9, 2024
