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20 essential boba shops and cafes in every corner of Tampa Bay

By Kyla Fields and Jenn Thai on Fri, Apr 28, 2023 at 12:55 pm

National Bubble Tea day happens on Sunday, April 30 this year, and there’s no shortage of Tampa Bay boba shops and cafes slinging matcha lattes, Thai teas, Vietnamese iced coffees and everything in between.

Originated in Taiwan in the late 1980s by entrepreneur Tu Tsong He, this drink craze has risen to Western fame over the past decade or so due to its pastel colors, eclectic flavor combinations, and unique approach to desserts.

The key to discovering your perfect boba drink is to experiment freely. Whether you prefer flavors mixed, your drink with 50% less sweetness, smothered in cheese foam or topped with classic tapioca boba pearls in brown sugar syrup—chances are there’s a local tea shop that can accommodate your wildest bubble tea craving. From Pinellas Park to Temple Terrace, here are 20 of our favorite boba shops in every corner of Tampa Bay.

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Quickly Boba Cafe

5731 E Fowler Ave., Temple Terrace
The perfect thing to accompany your Spam rice bowl or popcorn chicken is one of Quickly’s handcrafted boba beverages. Besides its variety of milk and fruit teas, slushies and smoothies, this cafe and Asian-fusion spot is also known for its efficient ordering process and friendly customer service—just don’t forget to tell its staff what percentage of sweetness you’d like in your bubble tea.
Photo via Quickly Boba Tea/Facebook

TeaStori

2732 E Fowler Ave., Tampa
This cafe’s self-service kiosks are an extremely convenient way to get your weekly (or daily) boba fix. Bonus points for TeaStori’s wide spread of mochi ice cream bites, colorful macarons and “split drinks”—where you can get two of your favorite tea flavors in one massive drink. Walk across TeaStori’s parking lot to Sweet Buns if you want to keep riding on that sugar high.
Photo via TeaStori/Facebook

Lucky Tigre

1101 S Howard Ave. Suite B, Tampa
While Filipino-inspired dumplings and bao buns might be some of the most popular items on this intimate menu, don’t sleep on Lucky Tigre’s extensive drink options. You can’t go wrong with its sea salt ube milk tea and mango fruit tea with fermented coconut jellies, but a pro-tip is to order its limited-edition buko pandan milk tea, complete with slices of coconut and brown sugar boba.
Photo via RickeyPKim/Instagram

Thuy Cafe

5944 34th St. N, St. Petersburg
Owned by the same folks behind Central Avenue’s La V (which deserves its own spot on this list), Thuy Cafe has been slinging boba in North St. Pete for the better part of two decades. If you’d like to feel the power of pure caffeine coursing through your veins, we suggest ordering its Vietnamese iced coffee—and perhaps a lychee green tea if you want to stay on the mellow side of things. Pro Thuy Cafe tip is ordering a blended taro milk tea with avocado and regular boba, to give an ultra-creamy kick to a classic flavor.
Photo via Google Maps

Bamboozle

109 N 12th St., Tampa
While downtown Tampa certainly misses its go-to boba fix, Bamboozle’s Channelside location still dishes out a variety of drinks alongside a menu of healthy Vietnamese favorites. Taro, coconut and matcha milk teas are joined by fresh smoothies and iced coffees, with a solid variety of bobas and jellies to match. This Vietnamese restaurant gets a few bonus points for its variety of dairy-free boba drinks, too.
Photo via Bamboozle/Instagram

Chai Mixology

1106 Central Ave., St. Petersburg
While poke and smoothie bowls are the stars of Chai Mixology’s menu, its variety of boba teas offer a refreshing addition to its health-conscious dishes. Its boba offerings range from expected milk teas like taro and mango to unique flavors such as vanilla chai, honeydew, cookies and cream and rose. Toppings include classic tapioca pearls, popping boba, and rainbow jellies.
Photo via Chai Mixology/Facebook

Ding Tea

Various locations through Tampa Bay
When you’re at one of Ding Tea's many Tampa Bay outposts, give their golden boba a try, which is less sweet and chewier than traditional black boba. The Hokkaido black latte with golden boba is a personal favorite, customized with a 50% sweetness level, of course.
Photo via Ding Tea/Facebook

H2O by Got-Tea

6529 Park Blvd., Pinellas Park
After getting your fill of Thai street noodles and curry puffs at its neighbor Patti’s Kitchen, mosey on over to H20 by Got Tea for a non-dairy milk tea, fresh smoothie or a fruity shaved ice dessert for the perfect nightcap. There's a plethora of toppings offered at this shop, which range from cheese mousse and grass jelly to red beans, rainbow jellies, pudding and basil seeds.
Photo via H2O by Got-Tea/Facebook

Kaleisia Tea Lounge

1441 E Fletcher Ave. #101, Tampa
If you ask anyone who knows good tea and boba, Kaleisia will always top their list of recommendations due to its incredible selection of loose leaf teas (black, green, rooibos, white, oolong, fruit and herbal) and variety of flavor combinations. If you’re looking to branch out beyond your typical order, give its “Truffle Noir” milk tea with traditional boba a try.
Photo via Kaleisia Tea/Facebook

Kung Fu Tea

Multiple locations through Tampa Bay
There are over 200 locations of this franchised boba chain in the country, and its Tampa Bay outposts sling all of the signature slushes, milk teas and coffees that helped it rise to national fame. If you’re looking for a unique, uncaffeinated treat, we recommend its fruity beverages infused with the beloved Yakult probiotic yogurt. Kung Fu’s locations in Pinellas Park and Tampa share spaces with Token Ramen, which dish out a variety of fast casual Asian-fusion bites, too.
Photo via Kung Fu Tea/Facebook

La V
441 Central Ave., St. Petersburg
This Central Avenue mainstay has been downtown St. Pete’s go-to spot for boba for well over a decade.You can add coffee or lychee jelly, traditional tapioca pearls or popping boba to a variety of milk teas, Thai tea slushies or chai tea lattes. You can’t ever go wrong with basic milk teas, but La V’s fruit smoothies are really the star of its drink menu (unless you’re in the mood for sake, of course.)
Photo via La V/Facebook

La V

441 Central Ave., St. Petersburg
This Central Avenue mainstay has been downtown St. Pete’s go-to spot for boba for well over a decade.You can add coffee or lychee jelly, traditional tapioca pearls or popping boba to a variety of milk teas, Thai tea slushies or chai tea lattes. You can’t ever go wrong with basic milk teas, but La V’s fruit smoothies are really the star of its drink menu (unless you’re in the mood for sake, of course.)
Photo via La V/Facebook

Mochinut

Locations in Pinellas Park & Temple Terrace
While there’s dozens of these franchised chains throughout the country, Mochinut’s Tampa Bay storefronts still sling boba comparable to other local cafes. Some come for the rotating flavors of mochi doughnuts and Korean-style, cheese-stuffed corn dogs, while others gravitate towards its ube, matcha or brown sugar milk teas.
Photo via Mochinut/Facebook

Moonlight Boba

6251 US Hwy.19 N Suite 102-103, Pinellas Park
There’s a plethora of bubble tea shops in Pinellas Park, and Moonlight Boba certainly holds its own in a sea of competition. You can go classic with a Thai tea or its housemade milk tea, or branch out a little with winter melon oolong tea, a virgin mojito or a passion fruit slush.This local cafe also offers a menu stacked with Vietnamese bites like spring rolls, dumplings, fried rice, banh mis and dessert waffles.
Photo via Mochinut/Facebook

Naga Tea

10950 N 56th St., Temple Terrace
If you’re a fan of traditional loose-leaf teas, Naga is the spot for you. The cafe specializes in fruit teas made with real fruit, and also offers black, green, oolong, lavender and combination teas. Our Naga favorite is a kiwi green tea with traditional tapioca boba.
Photo via Naga Tea/Facebook

Onezo

10268 Causeway Blvd., Tampa
This Tampa cafe is one of our all-time favorite boba spots because of its consistently-fantastic tapioca pearls, which are always made in-house. While they offer the expected brown sugar boba, Onezo also features a rotating, limited-edition flavored boba. We recommend trying its “Burny Caramel” milk tea, ordered half-sweet with brown sugar boba and egg pudding (which gives soft flan vibes.)
Photo via Onezo/Facebook

Rose Gold Tea Labs

5038 66th St. N, St. Petersburg
This local cafe opened its doors just a few months ago, but it's already one of our favorite boba shops in the Bay area. It dishes out all of the expected milk and fruit teas, but we especially love its “Rose Gold Series” specialty beverages, which feature exciting flavors like brown sugar creme brulee, leche flan milk tea, tiramisu cocoa and fresh ube milk tea. And if you really want to stray from your normal order, opt for a durian smoothie with honey popping boba.
Photo via Rose Gold Tea Labs/Facebook

RoyalTea

7241 49th St. N, Pinellas Park
RoyalTea has a unique selection of drink options—specifically its “Tornado Slushy” series which all feature a cake cream swirl. If you can only order one drink, we’d recommend the “Tornado Dragon” fruit slushy with honey boba.
Photo via RoyalTea/Website

Sip Tea

7187 66th St. N, Pinellas Park
Opt for something fruity and refreshing like a “Hawaiian Sunset” fruit tea, or order a drink from this shop’s “Special Sips” menu, which boasts unique offerings like cookie and cream milk teas, strawberry matcha lattes and whatever the hell a “ramen milk tea” is. You can skip the line entirely by using Sip Tea’s online ordering, or even get your favorite beverage delivered to your doorstep via Uber Eats or Doordash.
Photo via Sip Tea/Facebook

Tsaocaa

Locations in Tampa & Pinellas Park.
Some folks come for the egg waffles, shrimp dumplings and Korean fried chicken, while others frequent Tsaocaa for its massive spread of milk and fruit teas, Yakult yogurt drinks, virgin mojitos and slushies topped with its prized milk foam. From purple rice and popping boba to red beans and pudding, Tsaocaa offers some of the most extensive drink toppings in all of Tampa Bay.
Photo via tsaocaa/Facebook

Möge Tea

2850 University Square Dr., Tampa
Taro-tofu-pudding milk tea anyone? North Tampa’s go-to spot for innovative drinks, Möge Tea dishes out a variety of cheese foam fruit teas, Yakult yogurt-infused drinks and unique flavors like creme brulee, fresh taro, red bean and mango-pomelo.
Photo via MogeTee/Facebook