When I first moved to Kingston for university, I was surprised by just how many bubble tea cafés there were near campus. I’ve tried a few of them over the course of the school year, but I am here to tell you that ShareTea serves some of the best of Kingston’s bubble tea.
ShareTea is a brand that originated in Taiwan in 1992, but now owns locations all over the world. They are famous for their high-quality bubble tea, which has grown from simple black and milk tea to adventurous new drinks.
#SpoonTip: This classic drink is called Bubble Tea not because of the tapioca pearls, but because when you shake all the ingredients in milk tea together, bubbles form on the top!
ShareTea’s Kingston location is actually owned by Queen’s alumni. Wendy, one of the owners, was incredibly welcoming and let us try out a few of the items on ShareTea’s menu.
Classic Black Milk Tea
The Classic Black Milk Tea was exactly what you would expect from such a signature drink—sweet, caffeinated, and full of delicious chewy tapioca.
Tropical Fruit Tea with Lychee
This drink is a fruit tea, which makes it lighter than some of the other more filling drinks. It tasted like citrus, and was sweet but not overpowering. The drink had lychee in the bottom instead of tapioca, which tasted a little bit like strawberry.
Matcha Soy Fresh Milk Tea
ShareTea has a lot of vegan options on its menu, including its fruit teas and soy milk teas. I ordered a Matcha Soy Milk Tea because matcha fuels my life. It tasted no different than any other milk tea, and the matcha flavour gave the drink a great kick.
#SpoonTip: Tapioca pearls are actually vegan. Tapioca is a plant-based starch taken from the cassava plant—vegans rejoice!
Strawberry Blended Ice with Lychee Jelly
This chilly dessert drink is the perfect item to buy on a hot summer day. It tastes exactly like Strawberry sorbet, and is topped with a luxurious scoop of vanilla ice cream. For a vegan alternative, just get the drink without the ice cream!
Tapioca Pudding
ShareTea has a pretty new dessert menu, so we tried their Tapioca Pudding, which is topped with red bean, pudding, tapioca pearls, and creamy coconut milk. After stirring all the ingredients together and trying a spoonful, I couldn’t stop eating.
Out of all the Kingston bubble tea cafés, I would definitely recommend ShareTea. Their menu is huge, the customer service is amazing, and every drink is delicious. If you didn’t love bubble tea already, you definitely will after a visit to ShareTea.