10 Best Bubble Tea in Singapore
Ten established brands for bubble tea in Singapore, from KOI, LiHO and Each-a-Cup to PlayMade, Tiger Sugar, CHICHA San Chen, HEYTEA and CHAGEE.
- Edited by
- Amir Wahab
- Published
- Reading time
- 5 min read
AI image by LocalRankFew drinks are as woven into daily life as bubble tea in Singapore, where Taiwanese pioneers, homegrown names and newer arrivals from China all crowd the malls and MRT stations. This guide rounds up ten established brands, each checked against its own website or official listing, spanning classic pearl milk teas, brown sugar boba, cheese-tea caps and freshly brewed, tea-forward cups. Menus and outlets change often, so treat it as a shortlist to explore rather than a strict ranking.
1. KOI Thé
A Taiwanese bubble tea chain that opened its first overseas outlet in Singapore in 2007 and has since spread to stores across the island. The brand says its name joins 'KOI' with 'Thé' — French for tea — and that its focus is freshly brewed, aromatic tea made with quality ingredients and what it calls heart-warming hospitality. Its milk tea with chewy pearls and the milk-foam Macchiato series are longtime favourites, and sugar and ice levels can be set to your preference.
2. LiHO TEA
A homegrown chain launched in 2017 and run by Royal T Group, LiHO takes its name from a Hokkien greeting meaning roughly 'how are you?' and pitches itself as a proud Singapore tea brand. It says it was the first here to introduce cheese tea, through CheezHO, a light and faintly salty cream cap that tops many of its drinks. The menu leans on options like Earl Grey milk tea, Da Hong Pao milk tea and an avocado series, with pearls and other toppings available and sweetness adjustable to taste.
3. Each-a-Cup
One of Singapore's veteran bubble tea names, Each-a-Cup says it was founded in 1999 to bring Taiwanese-style milk tea and chewy tapioca pearls to the local market, and it now runs kiosks in malls and MRT stations across the island. Its menu spans classic pearl milk teas, fruit teas, blended drinks, smoothies and yoghurt-based options, and the brand emphasises cups prepared fresh to order. It makes an easy, familiar stop when a boba craving strikes in the heartlands.
4. PlayMade
A Taiwanese brand that tags itself 'boba since 2017,' PlayMade is known for making its tapioca pearls by hand, fresh in each store and often in view of customers. Beyond the original white pearls it offers flavoured versions such as black sesame, burnt caramel and pink cactus, pairing them with milk teas, fresh milk and fruit-based drinks. Sweetness is adjustable, and the freshly handmade pearls are very much its calling card.
5. The Alley
A Taiwanese chain that dates to 2015 and helped popularise brown sugar milk in Singapore, The Alley is built around its trademark Deerioca — chewy tapioca pearls slow-cooked in brown sugar syrup and swirled through fresh milk. Beyond the brown sugar series, it is known for its colour-shifting 'Aurora' drinks and a wider milk-tea and fruit-tea line-up. Sweetness levels can be dialled up or down to suit.
6. Tiger Sugar
Tiger Sugar traces its start to Taichung, Taiwan in 2017 and is known almost entirely for one thing: brown sugar boba. Its signature Brown Sugar Boba Milk layers pearls and a brown sugar syrup that streaks the cup with the tiger-stripe pattern the brand is named for, finished with a cream mousse cap. The core range stays close to that brown sugar theme, with the syrup itself providing much of each drink's sweetness.
7. CHICHA San Chen
A Taiwanese tea specialist that says it was founded in 1998, CHICHA San Chen sits at the more serious, tea-forward end of bubble tea. It brews each cup to order on a patented 'Teapresso' machine that it says allows more than 1,000 settings and three-stage temperature control, working from teas such as green, oolong, Dong Ding and black across several roast levels. Toppings range from bubble pearls to grass jelly and konjac jelly, and sugar and ice levels are fully adjustable.
8. HEYTEA
A Chinese 'new-style tea' brand that says it began in 2012, HEYTEA is often credited as a pioneer of cheese tea — drinks topped with a thick, lightly salted cheese-cream cap. Its Singapore menu spans fresh fruit teas, milk teas and pure teas, and the brand emphasises real milk, real fruit, premium tea leaves and cane sugar. Toppings and sweetness can be personalised, including through its ordering app.
9. CHAGEE
CHAGEE, which says it opened its first store in Yunnan, China in 2017, brands itself around 'oriental tea made modern' and draws design cues from the old Tea Horse Road. Built on whole tea leaves, its drinks include fresh milk teas, a Snow Cap milk-foam series, fresh fruit teas, brewed teas and Teaspresso lattes, with a jasmine milk tea among its best-known styles. In Singapore it leans toward larger, lounge-style stores meant for sitting in rather than grabbing and going.
10. R&B Tea
Operated in Singapore by local food-and-beverage group Koufu, R&B Tea says it sold its first cup of Brown Sugar Boba Milk here on 1 February 2018 and helped start the brown sugar trend that swept the nation. Its line-up centres on brown sugar pearl drinks — from the classic Brown Sugar Boba Milk to a version crowned with a torched cheese brûlée — alongside oolong and black-tea bases. Pearls feature throughout, and drinks can be customised to taste.
How to choose
- Decide your sweetness up front. Most chains let you pick a sugar level, but brown sugar drinks usually get their sweetness from the syrup itself rather than an adjustable setting, so ask how a drink is sweetened before you order.
- Match the topping to the drink. Chewy tapioca pearls, brown sugar 'boba,' grass or konjac jelly and cheese-foam caps all change the texture, and a few brands make their pearls fresh in-store, which is worth seeking out if that matters to you.
- Look at the tea base, not just the toppings. Some brands brew tea-forward, freshly made cups to order while others rely on standard blends, so if the tea itself is the point, choose a specialist that leads with it.
- Check for dietary and freshness needs. See whether less-sweet or alternative-milk options are offered, and remember that pearls are at their best soon after they are cooked, so drink promptly rather than letting a cup sit.
- Pick by convenience and format. Most big names are islandwide grab-and-go kiosks, while a few run larger sit-in spaces, so confirm the nearest outlet and its hours on the brand's own website or app, as locations and menus change often.
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Founder and Editor
Amir Wahab is the founder and editor of LocalRank, an independent Singapore rankings and local guides publication.
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