North London - Camden Town - Chaboba

Well friends, here we are again. I seem to be on a quest to find as many bubble tea shops in London as I can. Unfortunately, Bubbleology was not the shiny treasure chest of bubble tea that its PR has made them out to be.

You know, Twitter is a lovely place, I find. Just when I was weeping into my over-priced, and incorrect bubble tea order from before, I received this tweet:

Well, it just so happens that I in fact love bubble tea and live near/love Camden Town! Sounds perfect! I was a bit weary as I had been fooled by friendly tweets from brands that didn't deliver in-store before.  However, I am happy to say, that Chaboba's Twitter account is just as lovely as the Mango milk tea I ordered!

Walking through the stables market in Camden Town is a great way to spend an afternoon in London.  If you have a lot of time on your hands you can get lost in the hundreds of stalls.  Although, it's a good thing that I have been to the stables so many times, otherwise I might have completely missed Chaboba.  Even with the address given and using Google Maps, to someone that's walking through the market for the first time, they would completely miss Chaboba. Just after you cross the bridge near the market, there's a small walkway along the canal.  Turn left here, and climb the stairs to the building on your right. Chaboba is tucked away waiting for you to discover its deliciousness.

When I finally stumbled upon Chaboba I was surprised by the size of the location. I think I was expecting more of an indoor cafe, as atmosphere is equally important for my bubble tea experience as is the tea itself. Luckily it's surrounded by all of the beautiful shops that make Camden Town the awesome location it is today, so there is no lack of great atmosphere here.  

Outside, someone was offering samples of bubble tea to other market-goers and tourists. I may be generalising a bit, but nothing makes me laugh more than British people being confused by the concept of something called 'tea' that isn't PG Tips + milk. 'What is that? TEA? Really?!' Teehehe, silly Brits. :)

Inside, in comparison to the other bubble tea location I sampled which was very busy and showy when it came to the interior design and service, Chaboba relishes in simplicity and minimalism. I like that; no gimmicks, no begging to be accepted as something 'hip' and 'cool' just simple and delicious bubble tea.

Chaboba's simple design

Chaboba offers a variety of flavours in their Milk, Fruit and Crush Bubble Teas where the Crush is a smoothie type version.  They also offer hot teas and snow ice, but my next visit will most certainly include a taste of the Bubble Waffle.  I have no idea what to expect but it sounds amazing!

I have two go-to flavours when it comes to my bubble tea: it's always a milk tea and it's either Mango or Almond.  I was a bit heartbroken when I didn't see Almond milk tea on the list so I hope that's coming soon guys! At the end of the day, I can't complain much about Chaboba at all.  I had a satisfying mango drink, with decent tapioca pearls (they were a bit on the small side) for an acceptable price.  

I was getting a photo of the logo but just realised I captured my order as well!

Would I go there again? Most certainly and it's not just the great tea and the fact that I love Camden that will bring me back. Hats off to the team (or person) running their social media accounts.  I have to say, you are doing brilliantly and not many brands get it right.  You deliver your message well both online and in-store.  Your friendly encounters, fun banter and constant awareness of what's being said about bubble tea online has certainly gained you a new loyal customer and I'm sure others will follow.

Chaboba can be found at:

8 East Yard

Camden Lock

London

NW1 8AL

www.chaboba.co.uk

UPDATE 11 JUL 11:

I returned to my beloved Chaboba over the weekend to introduce my friend to Bubble Tea. We both enjoyed it and I''m glad I've shared it with someone new. I didn't go for the bubble waffles like I planned, but I  DID try popping boba's in my tea.  This was the first time I had them and it is seriously like a party in your mouth.  They literally pop when you eat them! Popping bobas have changed my life and are a new staple in my bubble tea now! :)

Mango milk tea with tapioca pearls and lychee popping bobas!!

Central London - Soho - Bubbleology

I love bubble tea. I haven't really had it since I moved to London, but it was a regular part of my diet back in Columbus, OH.  I'm not sure how I found out about it, but there was some great buzz about a new bubble tea place opening in London called Bubbleology. I checked out the menu and planned for my trip there.

I've gone twice now, just to make sure my view of the place was correct.  The verdict: je suis not impressed. For a regular sized bubble tea it's £3.25, for a large it's £3.75 and any additional jelly/bobbas are 50p. Price-wise, fairly manageable. Service-wise, not worth the money.

Day 1: It was a hot day in London, a rare occasion so I made my way to Bubbleology for my standard flavour: Almond Milk tea. In the states this was typically served hot, but as it was hot outside I didn't mind having the ice in there. I went for the additional litchi jelly in my tea to go with the tapioca bubbles. Overall it was pretty good and refreshing on a hot day.  Unfortunately inside the shop seemed to be about as chaotic as the scientific decoration they have throughout the shop.  There was only one person manning the till and doubling up as the bubble mixer person.  It's fine that there was only one person, it wasn't busy that day, but there didn't seem to be any sense of urgency to take orders and make drinks.

Day 2: The heavens decided to open up and piss down on us Londoners, so comfort food was on the list of desires.  I wanted soups and warm drinks and a blankey to snuggle in while we waited for the rain clouds to go away. I thought that Bubbleology needed a second chance - maybe they were just having an off day before. This time it was heaps busier and there were three people working; A manager that spent his time wiping down the work bench about 20 times, a girl that was taking orders and making everyone's drink wrong and another girl that didn't do anything at all but walk around and finally take the long queue of orders at the last minute. I decided on a large Almond Milk tea this time but I wanted it warm (as I saw someone else ordered a warm drink) and I added mango jelly instead of litchi.  When my drink finally came along (we spent a good 20 minutes in there) it was made with ice, which I specifically asked not to have and the tapioca bubbles that are standard with the teas were missing, I only had the mango jelly. I spent the extra 50p on the jelly so why were my bubbles missing?!  It really didn't help that it was still pissing down rain as well and just made the situation all the more frustrating.  Two times of not being impressed is enough, I won't take my chances on a third for some time now.

Bubbleology, while you seem quite friendly via your Twitter Account, and from the outside you appear to have your tea making game faces on, and the extra aesthetic effort put in to making it look as '-ology' as possible is much appreciated, you and your team are not quite ready to handle people like me, who expect quality when paying the price, as your loyal customers.

Bubbleology can be found at:

49 Rupert Street
London

W1D 7PF
Nearest Tube: Piccadilly Circus

www.bubbleology.co.uk/

Chalkboard depicting the science of bubble tea

A bubbleologist

A very formulaic brew indeed