Pre-COVID review:
I tried bubble tea in London in 2016 and true to my expectations, it was nothing like the boba tea I can get at home in Los Angeles. Since then, I told myself to keep my expectations low if I try again overseas. I found myself in Paris a year later and figured that it's not like I'm making frequent trips to France anyways, I might as well give Paris boba tea a chance.
While roaming around the area around the Louvre, we came across Chatime. Their menu only had two languages available: French and Chinese. Luckily, I could squeak by with some basic Chinese (thank you 3 years of college level Mandarin courses), so I deciphered enough characters on the menu to order the 50 cl sized au lait ave perle (5 euros) with 50% sugar in Mandarin. True to expectations, the drink was okay, but not up to what I can find in the many boba tea shops available in Los Angeles. I'm glad I tried Chatime though, and it was a nice treat to enjoy as the sightseeing day was coming to an end. read more