Coming from Taiwan, bubble tea, or boba, is a newly popular drink that everyone has to try at least once. Sweet, sour or creamy bubble tea comes in multiple forms, to satisfy a wide range of customers and their taste preferences. It consists of two components: a base, with fruit or milk tea, and a topping, which is usually jelly or tapioca bubbles.
In this little guide for bubble tea in Rotterdam I will share my favourite spots to get the drink. I categorised them in places where you can get the drink to go and places where you can have a seat and enjoy it.
Bubble tea to go in Rotterdam
Tea Society
Tea Society is a minimalistic bubble tea shop that offers a variety of drinks. Each season they add new recipes to the menu, such as grapefruit series for summer or teas with cream foam for winter.
Their main menu has all the essentials from the refreshing fruit teas to sweeter milk-based ones. Toppings include chewy pearls and tapioca, popping boba and sweet nata de coco, the latter being made from the coconut gel.
Address
Karel Doormanstraat 332, 3012 GP Rotterdam
Infinitea Bubble Tea Bar
If you are at Markthal and find yourself craving for bubble tea, you can always visit Infinitea Bubble Tea Bar. You can find right next to the entrance nearest to the Blaak station. While they don’t have tapioca as a topping, the menu has many alternatives and signature drinks you won’t find anywhere else.
For their specials, Infinitea uses blue tea made from flower petals as a base. You can taste this in their citrus tea Blue Galaxy or strawberry flavoured Going Dutch. Apart from bubble tea, they sell regular tea and various tools for preparing tea at home.
Address
Dominee Jan Scharpstraat 298, Unit 51 *Markthal*, 3011 GZ Rotterdam
TEA&TEA Bubble Milk Tea
Arguably the best bubble tea you can find in town is made at TEA&TEA Bubble Milk Tea, which shares its location with a hot pot restaurant. They have all the classic bobas as well as many specials, including their two ice-cream bubble teas that are must-tries! However, if you’re not feeling like drinking something cold I would always recommend taking Potted Plant Boba Milk Tea with cheese foam and tapioca bubbles.
TIP from a boba expert: Unlike other places on the list, TEA&TEA I didn’t discover myself, as it was recommended to me by Rebecca Must, my friend and a co-founder of ÕF BOBA – an Estonian pop-up bubble tea shop.
According to her, there are a few things you need to watch out for when looking for a good boba place. First, you should always look at its authenticity and how “westernised” the cafe looks. Second, do you prefer your bubble tea with tapioca? Then pay attention to its quality: the bubbles should be chewy and not bloated. Since TEA&TEA checks out both of these points, any bubble tea fan should add it to their to visit list!
Address
Goudsesingel 338A, 3011 KK Rotterdam
Bubble tea at places where you can sit in
Tea Up
Next to the Bibliotheek of Rotterdam you could find a small but cosy bubble tea cafe Tea Up. This place could be especially interesting for all the matcha lovers, as their menu has a unique variety of matcha-based drinks to offer. Next to that, Tea Up also sells blended drinks, such as smoothies and milkshakes. So everyone could find a drink for themselves there.
If you’re in the area and looking for a place to study, but don’t want to pay for the daily pass at the Bibliotheek, Tea Up is a choice for you. It never gets too crowded and you can always enjoy a quiet afternoon there. The cafe is open every day of the week from 12 until 6:30 or 7 p.m.
Address
Hoogstraat 117b, 3011 PL Rotterdam
Cutea Bubble Tea
A place with the cutest interior on this list, Cutea Bubble Tea is located right outside the Pathé cinema in the city centre. It’s a great place to go for a date or to grab some bubble tea before the movies. At Cutea you can order your drinks at a cash register. Don’t want to wait in line? Use one of the self-service machines!
Notably, out of all the places on this list Cutea has the biggest variety of drinks to offer. Apart from the classics you can get different types of slushy bubble tea. This is made from tea and syrup blended with ice. Also, the menu has a few coconut drinks and bobas with yakult, which is a Japanese milk product similar to yoghurt.
Address
Schouwburgplein 11, 3012 CL Rotterdam
&Tea Yucha
&Tea Yucha could be a perfect place for both a catch up with friends and a productive work session. It has a lot of space to offer with tables situated quite far away from one another. Located next to the Laurence Church, &Tea has a menu with over 30 different drinks, each of which you can customize according to your preferred sugar and ice level.
While the menu mostly consists of original bobas, the place has an impressive choice of cheese foam teas to offer. On top of that they have five teas mixed with calpis, which is a drink similar to yakult.
Be sure to order taiyaki – a fish-shaped cake, as a snack to have with your bubble tea. For all the sweets lovers my recommendation is a combination of Dripping Brown Tea and a custard taiyaki.
Address
Oppert 294, 3011 HV Rotterdam
YoYo! Fresh Tea Bar
Probably the most famous bubble tea franchise in the Netherlands, YoYo! Fresh Tea Bar can be found at three locations in the Rotterdam city centre with another cafe opening soon in the South. If you want to get a drink on your way to the train station, I would always suggest going to their location on Kruisplein.
At YoYo! You can create your own bubble tea or choose one of the classics for a rather affordable price. For those who prefer regular tea to bubble tea, the cafe also offers a wide range of fresh ice teas and tea mocktails.
Address
Kruisplein 28, 3012 CC Rotterdam
Do you know any other great bubble tea cafes in Rotterdam? Share with me!
