I rarely use "hidden gem" to describe a restaurant or store, but I think Now Tea is a true hidden…read moregem for bubble tea and coffee. Commerce Gate is famous for being packed with countless bubble tea shops. Most are famous franchises, such as Chatime, CoCo, Tiger Sugar, Yoyo , etc. Now Tea seems so different among them. I had never seen this store before visiting Commerce Gate. After Googling it, I found that it is also a franchise, but it operates only in Ontario, with three stores in total. Being low-profile alone does not qualify it as a hidden gem. That just means it does not spend much on marketing. What really impressed me was the flavour of its bubble tea. We tried the Milk Green Tea and Milk TieGuanYin, both with bubbles. The tea flavour was strong and full of the unique aromas of green and oolong tea, but it was also smooth going down. The bubbles had been boiled for the perfect amount of time: not so briefly that they had hard centres and not so long that they became too soft. They were very chewy, among the best bubbles I have ever had. The inside of the tea shop is spacious and has plenty of tables and seats. The lighting is bright, and I always see customers working or studying there. Other tea shops usually have very few seats and dim lighting; basically, they do not want to give you a Starbucks vibe and let you sit for too long. Another interesting fact: if you come to Commerce Gate early in the morning, before 11:00, Now Tea is the only tea shop that is open because it also serves coffee. The drinks are also less expensive than those at more famous brands. I guess they save a lot of money on marketing: lower prices and higher quality. I tried this store for the first time this week, and we have already been here three times. As a tea lover, I ask everyone reading this review: you must come here and try their drinks!

Reviewing 2oz of Coffee (located inside Now Tea)…read more This coffee counter is known for doubling up their espresso shots in their lattes, so get ready to be well caffeinated. I arrived right when they opened, and there were already a few people waiting in line. The menu is small & curated, focusing more on the coffee than specialty flavours. However, they do have a good selection of flavoured lattes. I wasn't able to see which beans they used for the espresso, but overall, their roast seems to be a bit darker/stronger, which balances out a sweeter latte well. I tried the iced biscoff and pistachio lattes. The biscoff is slightly sweeter and nuttier - definitely my fave of the two. The pistachio latte, in contrast, was disappointing. It was $1 more than the biscoff latte, looked nothing like the photo on the counter, and didn't taste much of pistachio at all. Although it looks like a separate counter, I realized that you can order drinks from either "shop" from their one main counter. I also found it a bit confusing to figure out the hours of operation, as Google said 2oz of Coffee opens at 11am, but the Now Tea shop isn't open until 12pm.

Now this was premium tea! Most Boba places have good tea,…read morebut this was really premium good stuff ! you can taste the quality! I got an unsweetened black tea with milk. You can definitely taste a difference in this versus other tea spots! This was a lovely little spot on my trip to Toronto. I remember being drawn in by the decor that looked like a classic Japanese tea house and falling in love almost immediately !

I was craving bubble tea and passed by this place, thought I'd give it a try. I went early in the…read moremorning, maybe the first or second customer served. The milk tea was not fragrant and honestly a little diluted. I had high hopes given this place is supposedly well known in Taiwan. The tapioca was well made though and the perfect texture. I would not go back and try this place again. There's some seating inside but limited.

Trie - the alley trio milk tea. The 3 different (i wanna say) toppings are interesting toping with…read morebasic tea with milk. Good combination! The barista who works here was efficient to deliver the drinks on time and maintained the drinks counter and everything clean. The ambience of this alley is really cozy. If you want to hang out on a date or read something really good place.

My go-to spot whenever I'm in the city. A hidden spot with fresh bubble tea all year round. This…read moreplace is the least busy and their drinks are always spot on with quick customer service. The ambiance is amazing to just have friends together and hang out. I usually go for the winter melon bubble tea it's my go-to definitely recommend it.

9Sips is a beautiful bubble tea shop with a bright, open interior that feels pristine and clean…read more Upon ordering, the staff member was incredibly friendly, walking me through the different tea varieties and letting me smell each one from their cute display pots. After sampling the aromas, I chose Purple Rain. Its floral, sweet grape flavor was impossible to resist. Once you've picked your tea, you choose your base (milk tea, tea latte, or black tea) and a topping. I went with milk tea for its richer taste, paired with water chestnut bubbles. Since only one person was working, there was a short wait, but it was worth it. My drink arrived with super cute drawing on the cup. The tea itself had a subtle, delicate fruit flavor, and the water chestnut bubbles were refreshingly crisp. Honestly, I liked them even more than traditional tapioca. Overall, I REALLY enjoyed my experience at 9 Sips and will definitely be back. Its balance of an elevated tea experience (reminiscent of Chahalo), but also with the fun, playful spirit of bubble tea culture fills a real niche, and it won me over. I'll be back :)

Nice tea selection with the ability to choose among plain teas, milk teas, tea lattes, and lemon…read moreteas. Tea types include black tea, green tea, oolong tea, and herbal tea (non-caffeinated). I like that they use fresh milk for the latte option, and you can customize the sugar and ice levels. They have some unique flavours such as the Pink Blush which has a strong lychee aroma, Purple Rain with grape flavour, and Imperial Red which uses oolong tea and has a rich aroma. Each tea flavour can be ordered as milk tea, latte (using fresh milk), or lemon tea. Ambiance is quiet, calm, and relaxing - different than most other bubble tea places in downtown. Service is a bit slow but it's worth the wait. Excellent, refreshing tea with good take-away packaging.

I loved the milk tea here! The teas are very flavorful, with a perfect balance of boba toppings…read more Easily accessible, and the staff are very friendly and welcoming.

Came here to study for a few hours. I got the jasmine green milk tea with crystal jelly. Drink was…read moregood, not super strong in tea flavour but I could taste the jasmine. I think it's a great place to have a bubble tea shop here because I saw crowds of business people coming here during lunch time and high school students afterschool getting drinks. Overall, comfortable seating.

Tip: The sparkling fruit drinks are amazing…read more Last month, after work, I drove directly from my workplace to CF Markville for dinner. I was craving my usual from Bourbon St. Grill and hit the food court. While heading downstairs after walking through mall entrance 3, I saw this Chicha San Chen store. I flagged it for a visit. After having a satisfying, casual meal at the food court, I returned to the second floor and walked over here to check out the drinks. It was almost as if this store knew that I like fruit and sparkling drinks. I saw a sign that said I could get two sparkling fruit drinks for $10. Three words: Sign me up! I got Kinson at the ordering area. He was great stepping me through everything. I let him know that this promotion interested me. He asked if I wanted one of each fruit flavour. Yes! My order consisted of the following: - Sparkling orange - Sparkling peach Each drink contains fruit, sparkling water, and konjac. I paid with a credit card. I tapped and I was done. He let me know that it wouldn't take long for my drinks to be made. The wait time wasn't much. The seating area had just cleared, so I could take photos of the branded throw pillows, various decorated bear figures holding tea cups in slings, and a wall celebrating a hundred years of tea love. It's my kind of tea joint. I stood next to looseleaf teas in mini containers. I smelled a number of them as I waited. They were so fragrant that I didn't want to leave! I love smelling these teas: - Cassia black - Dong ding oolong - Green - Black - Osmanthus oolong - High mountain pouchong My drinks came in one size. It seemed to be the case for all drinks on the menu. I like that you can customize your drink. There's a menu that steps you through it, from the type of tea that you want brewed, to the flavours and toppings that you want in it. If you find this method to be too complicated, it does have popular teas that are already configured, so you don't have to. I liked that I didn't have to fuss with my order. It was exactly what I wanted. My receipt had a number on it. Their system has an automated voice that calls out your order number. it was a nice change of pace. I could clearly hear my order number called out. I'm sure staff were happy to save their vocal cords, too. My drinks were on the counter. You can help yourself to a tray, which I did. My drinks looked good. What I should have done was sipped both before walking to my car. This place was so generous with the pour that my drinks were topped to the brim. One of my drinks did spill out a bit as I was about to go through the doors. Oops. I stopped to sip both of them. I was good! I got to my car and safely put my drinks down in my caddy. Just from sipping them, I loved the flavours so much. The orange one had slices of orange and chewy konjac. It was slightly sweet and fizzy. It was cheerful to drink. I had the orange slices, minus the peel, of course. Yum! The peach drink was equally as awesome. It was bubbly, with generous chunks of peach and konjac. It was fruity and chewy. So good! Both were so refreshing on a hot July evening. I'm glad that I got two drinks. I enjoyed my first two drinks from this tea place. I'll be back for more! (301)

First time coming to Chicha San Chen inside Markville Mall 2/F. The store was bright and clean, and…read morethe service was courteous and speedy. We saw that they just launched the NEW Pineapple menu and decided to try the caffeine-free, Creamy Pineapple Tart drink (sugar and ice level is fixed) - it was surprisingly tasty the mousse, fresh milk, pineapple bits, and topped with a pie crust crumble(?) on top.

Came here to try this place as well have never been to any other location (if there are any?)…read moreThe logo is super funny. The service was great, really on point and made our drinks quickly. Inside was really nice and clean

Ordered the green grape slush with cream cheese top, 50% sugar. The drink still sweet but it was as…read moregood as hey tea's grape slush!! There's only one size as well. Spacious and cool interior.

I am glad that they opened a few stores in Canada. I tried their drinks in China a few years ago, I…read moreloved it and always wanted to try it again. The interior is simple, clean and busy. You can actually download their app and order online to save some time. We ordered Crisp Grape Boom and Cheese Cloud Mango. They were perfect and fresh, exactly like what I had in a few years ago. If you like cheese foam, they have the best one.

Heytea is one of the best place for fruit drinks, matcha drinks and high quality bubble tea in the…read morearea. The staff was friendly and tried to help me solve an issue with their online ordering app. My favourite drink is the Triple Supreme Matcha Latte for a rich, creamy matcha drink. Parking might be an issue as there are not that many parking spots and will need to wait for a spot during peak dinner times and on the weekend. Also, there are no seats inside so its not the best place to hang out with friends and people usually cluster outside to enjoy the drinks.