TLDR: This Bubble Tea chain from Taiwan just opened up its first store in Ottawa. Their famous…read morebrown sugar pearls are made fresh in-store. Their milk tea has a potent tea flavour and they use whole milk, so it's very rich and creamy. Their soft opening was June 27, 2024. They will have their grand opening in July. During their soft opening, which is when I went, they only had their 10 top selling drinks available and no soft serve ice cream. Unfortunately for me, during their soft opening they didn't have any discounts/promotions and everything was just regular priced, lol. I went with their classic Brown Sugar Pearl Milk Tea. I got the regular size ($6.50) with less ice. The sugar level is fixed. They said they could make it less sweet by giving me less pearls, lol. No thanks, I love pearls, haha. So I got the standard sweetness. The pearls were delicious! So soft and chewy. The tea had a strong tea flavour and since they use homogenized milk, it was so rich and creamy, almost too much so for my tastes, lol. Staff were very welcoming and they were so enthusiastic. There's some seating inside and a few patio tables outside too. The store is bright and clean. Xing Fu Tang is known for their fortune boxes. They're like fortune cookies, but no cookie, haha. You choose a stick from the container of sticks. And there's a number on the stick which corresponds with a numbered drawer. In the drawer is a fortune. I was in a bit of a hurry, so I skipped the fun ;) I'll need to return to try their soft serve ice cream. And they have this mango smoothie drink with strawberry boba and a panna cotta bunny on top, which I want to try too. And they have drinks with real taro, so I'll need to take my taro-loving mom here too. They are in Old Ottawa East. Street parking only. (93)

Hubby found this place on IG so we made a day date with an afternoon pick-me-up from here. We each…read moregot a brown sugar pearl milk tea ( I ordered mine with less sugar, less ice) and we also shared matcha blossom ( I think that's what it was called), which was matcha layered over milk, with Sakura pearls and we asked to add brown sugar pearls. The matcha was so fresh and strong, it was unlike any other matcha I've had in North America. I was afraid the brown sugar would be too sweet but it was the perfect amount of flavor and a hint of sweet. Definitely a 10 out of 10 for the drinks. Staff were very patient with us as we tried to make a decision and they were very helpful with answering questions and making recommendations. The business itself was clean,modern and cute. They were also very efficient with the making of our beverages.

Presotea has arrived in Orleans! I took my mom here since she loves bubble tea and she's thrilled…read morethat Orleans has more bubble tea options now. We got a large Taro Slush ($8.99) with Jelly Boba (additional $1) to share and it was great. Their large is really large, lol. The slush was nice and thick and smooth, no icy chunks, which I appreciated. The taro flavour did taste artificial to me, so not sure if there's real taro in it. It still tasted good, but would of course be so much better with real taro paste and/or taro pieces. The jelly boba was chewy and delicious. They gave us a decent amount too, not stingy like some places. Service was courteous and efficient. The space is very large with several tables. They had lots of boxes of fresh mangos stacked in the corner, as well as lots of fresh mangos in the glass display, so I'm thinking their mango drinks contain real mango, lol. I am fairly certain that the owners of this location owned the Presotea on Slater, which closed down in recent years. I'm happy about the relocation. Downtown is flush with bubble tea joints, and Orleans definitely needs more ;) They are right next to the Shoppers Drug Mart in the big plaza with the Walmart and Canadian Tire. Lots of free parking.

As soon as you walk into this shop you are hit by all kinds of array of senses both visually and…read morenice tea aromas. Lots of mangoes and fruit jellies and boba toppings and color popping everywhere. They have a huge variety of all kinds of milk and fruit teas but special seasonal and Japanese series too. I tried the Sakura milk tea with Sakura boba and it didn't let me down. Already tried a different location. They know what they are doing and if you want a good milk tea this is the place to go!

I really enjoy coming to this bubble tea spot. It used to be very close to my work so I could just…read morecross the street for my lunch break. I enjoy there milk teas the best, i like how each drink can be customizable for your standards.

My daughter is always treating me to bubble tea so I treated her to bubble tea this time. We went…read moreto Kung Fu Tea. I love taro so I got a taro pearl latte. My daughter convinced me to get less sugar so I went with 50% and it wasn't sweet enough, haha. I should have gone with full sugar or 70%. Actually, they use honey instead of sugar. The pearls were still hot and so soft and chewy. I loved the pearls. The drink had real taro puree. It was so good. My daughter got a yakult green tea with Aloe Vera. She went with 30% sugar and said it was too sweet, haha. She liked it though. The drinks are pretty expensive. Mine was $7 and hers was $6.80. Oh, I wanted to add red beans to my drink, but it's not available as a topping :( The guy working there was nice and he made our drinks quickly.

I've given this place two chances: once in Las Vegas in the US and then again here in Canada. The…read moreAlley is consistently mediocre at making boba drinks. Unfortunately I brought a first timer to try a boba drink and they were disappointed as well. If I get a brown sugar boba, it better have enough brown sugar syrup. Both times I've gotten them here, they just tasted like milk. I had to tell my friend afterwards to erase this first boba experience from their head (I'll bring them somewhere else). Definitely don't get the brown sugar boba drinks here :(

Its a good place that is popular in other cities like Toronto with good quality items and centrally…read morelocated beside byward market. The only reason it is a 3/5 is for silly reasons but ones I cant seem to get past. I find the menu to be quite limited with mostly plain milk tea. The item I got they were weighing my tapioca... i guess that is a good way to make flavors consistent.... But the worker was very exact scooping out 2-3 tapioca balls.. which i found silly for $7.... Anywaysssss It was tasty anyways... but some weird things here

This second location of Tealive in Ottawa opened up in October 2023. It's co-located with Dao Cafe…read more It's fairly large and is where the Kanata Noodle House Vietnamese Buffet used to be (RIP Ottawa's only Vietnamese Buffet. So sad. And yes, it was called Kanata Noodle House despite being in Gloucester, lol). The inside is spacious and beautiful. Very Instagramble, lol. I got a Sparkling White Peach Green Tea 3Q (which comes with tapioca pearls, sago and coconut jelly). I had never had a sparkling bubble tea before, but was inspired by my friend Mary T. who enjoys them ;) They were BOGO on UberEats too! So for $7.29 I got 2 (regular size). My drink took a bit longer than usual because they had to make new pearls, but I didn't mind because I prefer fresh pearls and they updated my pick up time on the UberEats app, so I knew I had more time to get there (I found out the reason about the pearls when I arrived). Staff were pleasant. I got there a bit early so they were still making my drink. There was an issue with sealing the cup because apparently they ran out of their usual regular cups and were using some substitute that I guess wasn't compatible with the sealing machine. The girl working there tried twice to seal the cup and it kept leaking. I told her I was ok with her putting my drink into the large cup and just having it not full. She seemed relieved and the large cup sealed perfectly. The drink itself wasn't as sparkling as I thought it would be. It had a mild effervescence to it, but it was very subtle. It was also a bit bitter. I got it with no sugar, but I've gotten the exact same drink but not sparkling at the Somerset location and it wasn't bitter. I always get my bubble tea with no added sugar and this is the first time it was bitter. Maybe it's because they are new. I will give them another try to see if things are better. Ambiance and service were great. The drink just wasn't as good as drinks at the Somerset location. This location is in a plaza so lots of free parking on-site (which is a definite advantage over the Somerset location in Chinatown).

I am so happy we have a stand alone bubble tea shop in the east end, and SO ecstatic that its…read more Tealive and Doa Cafe under one roof! The fam and I popped in spontaneously, so we were not overly hungry. We just got two drinks to share and try out. An oreo vanilla frapp (literally tasted like you were eating an oreo cookie, SO GOOD) and a milk bubble tea with pearls. They have an extensive menu, so glance it over before going in if you are newbie like me. Service was quick and friendly. They even have a self serve kiosk at the entrance. There are maybe 5-6 tables for seating spread out around the restaurant, but mostly long benches to sit at along the wall. I was a little confused at how to order the baked goods as they are at the far end of the restaurant and not the first thing you see when you walk in. I observed the restaurant and how things ran while sitting at a bench. So for tealive items its at one cash, and for Doa items, like macarons, and their specialty drinks, its at another cash. I scoped out the macarons and baked goods, and they looked fun and delish. I will have to try one out next time. The restaurant had a magical vibe. Lots of parking out front and from what I understand, cashless.

This Freshly Squeezed is in Place d'Orleans Shopping Centre. It's really slim pickings for bubble…read moretea in Orleans and I was shopping with my mom and she felt like a bubble tea, so we stopped by to get some. They have a special everyday where you can get a medium with 1 topping for $5. It's just a $0.50 discount because the regular price is $5.50, but hey if it's a flavour that you like, why not save some coin, right? The flavour of the day was taro when we went, and taro is my mom's favourite bubble tea flavour, and I like it too, so we got 2 of the daily special. We both got tapioca as our topping, but they also had jelly, popping boba, and pieces of aloe vera. I got it without additional sweetener, and my mom got it with honey. I think that sweetness levels are very personal because without sweetener I still found it pretty sweet (as the taro mix already has sweetener in it), while my mom felt it was perfect with the added honey. I actually liked that the bubble tea was more of a slush. They put ice cubes in the mix and blend it in the blender. I actually prefer this to the shaken and strained method for the taro flavour. The tapioca was good. Not too mushy nor too hard. I honestly didn't taste any tea flavour, even though it's supposed to have tea in it (and I'm pretty sure I saw the salesperson pour tea in the blender). They used a lot of flavoured powder though. However, the drink did not taste gritty, it was nice and smooth. You know, the bubble tea was pretty good for an Ontario-based chain that started off selling just orange juice(!) I mean, I still personally prefer bubble tea from chains from Taiwan, the birthplace of bubble tea, because those drinks tend to have a more pronounced tea flavour, but Freshly Squeezed is still a decent choice. And they are kind of the only game in town for bubble tea in Orleans, lol. Staff were nice and they were pretty efficient.

I dropped by Bubbilicity Tea Shop for a bubble tea. It's co-located with Dumpling Bowl. Overall, my…read moredrink was good. I got a regular-sized coconut milk tea ($4.99) and added tapioca pearls (an additional $0.75). I forgot to say half sweet, so it was full strength sweetness, which was way too sweet for me, but that was on me for forgetting. The drink itself had a nice potent coconut flavour, but the tea flavour was very subtle. It was smooth and not gritty, and was rich and creamy. The tapioca pearls were soft and chewy, how I like them, but they could have been more generous with the amount as I finished the pearls way before I finished my drink, so was just drinking milk tea with no toppings for most of my drink. Overall 3.5 stars, but I am being generous and rounding up. Hopefully next time they will follow my example of generosity and give me more tapioca, lol. Service was friendly and efficient. The inside is small. They have 4 regular tables of 4 and a high table for 2. Street parking only.

Went to this place on a hot July afternoon because they had ice cream posted. One scoop for $2 or…read moretwice scoops for $4. The young female working the cash could barely speak English and literally all we were ordering was a BBT and three ice creams. I asked for one scoop of chocolate with whip cream. Kids had two scoops each, one strawberry, one chocolate. You would think they would serve the ice cream first, then make the BBT. We sat and waited for probably ten minutes before anything showed up and everything was wrong. My one scoop of chocolate came with sprinkles and the sprinkles were hard like rocks. The scoop of ice cream was tiny, like an inch and a half in diameter and tasted like store bought ice cream. The two kids only got one bowl with two scoops, one chocolate and the other strawberry. The BBT came out fine. We had to get her to make another bowl of ice cream for the second child. We were also the only customers in there. The cost came out to over $25 and I think we were charged twice for one of the two scoops. Basically five scoops of ice cream and an $8 BBT. I had been here before the pandemic and it was good, but something changed and I think it was a language barrier. If you're going to have someone facing customers, at least make sure they can understand their own menu! After that debacle, I will never go there again!

Cornwall has a bubble tea place! And not only do they sell bubble tea, but they sell ice cream,…read moremilkshakes, cake slices, crepes (sweet and savoury) and quesadillas. Oh and did I mention that they sell unusual flavoured snacks like Banana Caramel KitKat, Root Beer flavoured Mike & Ike, and Birch Beer Crush?!? They also had Dr Pepper flavoured cotton candy. Mind blown! Lol. I was super tempted my their $1 a cone ice cream, but decided to stick with my original plan of getting some bubble tea. I went with the regular-sized Lychee Milk Tea ($4.99) and added Cherry Agar Pearls (an additional $1). My husband got a Mint Chocolate Milkshake ($6.99). So the freaky thing is that I totally forgot to tell the guy half sweet (my usual customization when I'm trying out a new place), but magically when I got my drink, the sticker said 50% sugar. Woah, he read my mind, lol. So the toppings list said "cherry tapioca" which intrigued me but when I got the drink, it was obviously agar/crystal pearls that were cherry flavoured. This was also a pleasant surprise because I love crystal boba/agar pearls and actually prefer them to tapioca pearls. I loved my drink. The lychee flavour wasn't too pronounced, but it was still tasty and not overly sweet. The agar pearls were chewy and delicious and the quantity was good. I had a sip of my husband's milkshake and it was really tasty, super rich and creamy, and it was aesthetically pleasing as well. Service was easy-going, as I was a bit indecisive at first and then changed my order as the guy was punching it into the cash register (oops, sorry, hehe). He was super nice and if he was annoyed, he didn't show it at all. If I lived in Cornwall, I would be there all the time. They are close to the highway, so I think not only will every Cornwall trip I make involve a stop here, but any trips on the 401 eastbound from Ottawa will also involve a visit to Sip & Scoop, lol. It's in a plaza with lots of free parking.

This place was my dream in terms of all the novelty and out-of-country snacks. Though it was a bit…read morereserved. As far their menu goes, it is fine. The drinks were good, but I was disappointed to see they had removed savoury foods and sandwiches from their menu. All in all, I enjoyed my visit.

TL;DR/The Short Version: Tasty and aesthetically pleasing…read moresmoothies, but a bit pricey. The Long Version: This location in Orleans is the fourth location for Juice Dudez. Their first was in Westboro and I checked them out there when they first opened back in 2020. I had a Pina Colada bubble tea there and wasn't overly impressed. But they must be doing something right if they opened a second location on Bank St, a third location in the Byward Market and now a fourth location in Orleans. Their specialty appears to be fruit smoothies and dessert crepes/waffles. So I decided to try their smoothies. I got the Fancy Dude $13 which is avocado smoothie layered with mango smoothie and strawberry smoothie on top. There's sliced fruits (kiwi, star fruit, strawberries and blueberries) on top as well as crushed nuts (I think pistachios). I added Astha (Lebanese cream) for an additional $1.50. There was also honey drizzled on top. The drink was super pretty and fairly tasty, but I found the price a bit high. The amount of Ashta I received was small, just a little scoop. The smoothie was definitely tastier than the bubble tea I had at their OG location when they first opened. The smoothies here are similar to the smoothies at La Bocca Juice down on Bank St, or Cocktail Antabli and Cocktail Hawaii (both in Montreal). Service was pleasant. Decor is nice. Free parking available in the plaza parking lot. It's where Menchie's used to be. Review #49 (2025)

Delicious and fresh ingredients to make juice, juices, smoothies, and decadent desserts…read more The service is very friendly and quick. The space is brand new and so far, very clean and comfortable

The food is so fresh and I love that they support the local Amish community! Great spot, for sure…read morecoming back!

The food is delicious and filling, and the staff are superb. Not pictured are amazing pancakes,…read moretopped with blueberries and a faux egg omelette with toast. We are not vegan, but we love a tasty, healthy, meal. If you like the same, we highly recommend this cafe!