As bubble tea has climbed its way onto Instagram feeds and into teenagers’ appetites, more and more boba shops are opening in metro Detroit. The first to make its mark on the Pointes, Bubble Tea Parlour on Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe Woods is worth a try if I do say so myself.
This new boba shop opened in November 2019 and is a great experience for only being open a month. From the atmosphere to the tea, this is a place all must visit.
On the outside, Bubble Tea Parlour doesn’t have much curb appeal. It’s in a dark building that reminded me of a haunted house, but once you open the front door, you’re transported to a whole new environment of bright colors and friendly staff. We were immediately greeted by two baristas who were extremely friendly and went over how the menu works with us. As explained by the baristas, the bubble tea works two ways: There’s a slushie option and an over-ice option. The over-ice is more traditional bubble tea, where they simply pour the milk tea over ice and add whatever pearls or bubbles you want to the bottom of the drink. The slushie is what it sounds like. It’s essentially the same thing as traditional boba tea, but instead of milk tea, a slushie (best compared to a 7/11 Slurpee). The shop also sold a variety of food items, most of which included waffles. The two that stuck out to me the most were the Waffledog (a Filipino hot dog coated in waffle batter) and the Eggpod waffles (which were essentially like French toast sticks, but in waffle form). However, we chose not to order food items, so I can’t necessarily place my review on those.
My group and I decided to order three different milk teas over ice with tapioca: Lavender, Strawberry and Vanilla Chai. Our total came out to right under 20 dollars, which was slightly expensive for boba tea, but not a terrible price considering everything there is made to order.
While we waited for our drinks, we sat at a group of couches that surrounded a huge coffee table filled with different games. These ranged from giant chess to Connect 4. It was actually a nice way to pass time while our teas were prepared. After about 5 minutes, one of the staff members delivered our freshly-prepared drinks to us, which is something most drink shops don’t provide.
I first tried the lavender boba, which was excellent. It wasn’t too sweet but still maintained the great lavender taste that any avid drink fan would recognize. Next, I tried the strawberry, which was just okay. It was a bit too sweet for my liking; I could practically taste the sugar. However, if you are really into sweet drinks, this would be a plausible option for you. Finally, I tried the vanilla chai, which was great too. I really had no complaints about that one, but the chai did overpower the vanilla.
Another aspect of the drinks I appreciated was the amount of ice. Yes, that sounds kind of ridiculous, but at places like Starbucks, the whole cup is filled with ice to the brim, giving you a lesser amount of the actual drink. Here, however, a little less than half the cup was filled with ice, so our drinks stayed cold, but there was still a substantial amount of the milk tea left to enjoy.
From the atmosphere and drinks to the small touches this place added to the experience, Bubble Tea Parlour is a new must-go-to in the Pointes. This place is appreciable for everyone whether it’s just you or if you’re bringing in a parTEA.