Welcome, guys, to another episode of
TwoSet Bubble Tea!
I have a feeling this is probably going to be
the greatest video we have ever made.
Eddy: Like, I'm so proud of this right now.
It's like a crowning achievement.
Yeah, it's actually like, to be honest it's like a little...
Fantasy I had, like had, have...
- Try all the bubble teas, you know? - Ohhh!!
- And we just needed the best excuse. - Yeah.
Today, we will be
giving you guys the definitive ranking
of the world's bubble tea brands,
- from best to worst. - Yes.
We tried to get similar ones,
but sometimes they have a signature,
so we kinda switched it up a bit.
You know, naturally you're like, "How the hell do you get...
- ...30, or whatever amount of bubble teas - Yeah.
in our place at one time?"
So we went on delivery apps,
and ordered all of this at one time!
Oh, it cost so much.
But! For the sake of this glorious video, we did it.
Yeah, and I think we have like, $300 worth of bubble tea.
Yeah, just from the delivery costs.
And we didn't get every single one,
- 'cause some were unavailable. - For delivery.
But we'll talk about the ones overseas as well.
- Because... - Yes. Ooh.
We've had our fair share of milk tea traveling the world.
Dude, I'm breathing like, quite heavily right now.
I'm super excited.
Can I just say, uh,
we're not endorsed by any of these brands.
Oh, yeah, yeah. That's like, a...
That's almost like a sin.
That's a sin. We're just giving you...
(both) ...pure truth.
Obviously, we have our...
- Tier list as well. - ...tier list here.
We'll also see if we can arrange it here,
but it's a bit hard, we don't have much space,
- so it will mainly be the tier list. - Yes.
Now, to be fair,
I haven't tried like half of these brands before.
- Yes. Me neither. - So...
Yeah.
- I mean, I guess we'll just start. - Yep.
- Eddy: LiHO! - Brett: Okay. First one, LiHO TEA!
Ooh, that's some interesting packaging!
That's unique.
That actually...
- The goal, is it to keep the coolness? - Temperature, yeah.
Wow, look at that!
Technology.
- Okay, let's start. - Alright, so...
I've heard about LiHO, I've never tried it.
I just think the, uh...
The logo's a bit sus.
Brett: Yes.
Alright, time to test how truly Asian I am. One shot.
Yeah, anyway.
- Look! Zero spills. - Yes, perfect.
- Zero spills. - Alright, drink it.
- Drink up. - Do I have the honor of the first...?
You can go, the first one.
I want a sip too.
Oh yeah!
Clarify, we got 50% sugar for all of them,
'cause we're getting old.
Our body can't handle the sugar levels.
Not just we're getting old, actually.
It's the golden rule.
- That's true. - You go to Taiwan,
they always get 50% or 25%.
- You never get 100%. - Mmm.
Like, you're a rookie if you get 100%.
And normally ice levels, like the ice level is less.
I'll tell you guys the reason why you wanna go
less ice or no ice, right?
No ice means more milk tea!
- Brett: Yeah, no ice, you get more value! - Eddy: So more value!
And everyone started doing it,
but unfortunately some chains started catching on,
so now they charge extra
- if you go no ice. - Mmhm.
- So less ice is the best value. - Yes.
What do you think?
You see, I don't want to give an opinion yet
until I drink a few more.
But I think, from what I know about bubble tea...
I think it's got that sugar "twang" to it.
The pearls are too hard.
- Yeah, the pearls are way too hard for me. - Way too hard.
And I think it's... a bit too small for my liking.
- The pearls are just... - Yeah, just a little...
- The size of the pearls are a little bit small. - Yeah, the size of the pearls need to fit the straw.
Alright, you know what, I'm gonna rank this like...
C for now.
- Yeah, let's put C. - Just from my experience.
It's gonna be like, a 10-hour video at this rate.
I don't care!
Yeah...!
- It's the best 10 hours of my life! - Yeah, 10-hour video.
- Eddy: Alright, next. - Brett: TenRen.
Unfortunately, we couldn't get delivery.
'Cause the delivery was...
- Today it wasn't working. - Yes.
But from my experience, at the moment,
I think it was very...
TenRen's like a tea bubble tea place.
And they're quite specialized in their tea.
Their emphasis is on the tea flavor,
- and less on the sweet milk. - Yes.
- And... - TenRen also has a kind of,
not fully, but a little bit of a prestigious
- status in Taiwan. - They do. They do, they do, yeah.
- They're like, serious tea lovers - Yeah, yeah.
- ...go to TenRen. - And I also feel like the older I get,
the more I'm appreciating TenRen.
- Yeah... - 'Cause then you can kinda have the tea flavor. So...
I'm just gonna go like, B for now.
Let's put B for now. I was thinking A or B.
- I put B. - But not S.
- Not S, not S. Definitely not S, yeah. - Yeah.
Okay, next one.
Brett: HEYTEA. Oh, yeah.
So, couple things.
HEYTEA is known for its Cheezo.
- Yes. - So this is not their signature.
But! Their brown sugar milk tea...
No, not milk tea.
Brown sugar fresh milk.
- Yes. - Or Brown Sugar Bobo, official name.
- It's still damn good. - Yeah.
And their packaging is...
Brett: It's kinda nice. You can see...
I like that they have this type of straw.
- Brett: Yes. - Eddy: It's the environmentally friendlier straw.
And also, you gotta drink it faster,
- 'cause it kinda shrivels up after a while. - Yep.
Now, you can see the bubbles
are all stuck down here, right guys?
What you have to do is put it in...
- Stir it a bit. - Mmm!
- Oh, look at that! Oh, look! - Ohh!!
- Oh, watch out. Let me get... - Ohh!!
Oh, my leg is stuck.
Just look how like...
- Eddy: Now the brown sugar is... - Brett: The sugar is coated...
Mmm.
Okay, so I think the pearls are perfect.
- Mhmm. - It's squishy.
But it's not hard. It's the right size.
Dude. You realize that we're gonna drink it?
Brett: We gotta pace ourselves.
All right, I think S or A for now.
- Let's put A for now. - Yeah, A for now. I'd say...
The brown sugar has a...
nice...
I don't know, like maple-y type of flavor?
Yeah, it's got a...
- I almost think of coffee, almost. - Mmm. Mmm!
It's like a nice...
It's not caffeine, but I almost taste a bit of caffeine in there.
Yep!
And I think they may have roasted the sugar.
- Mmm! - And that's where the flavor comes from.
When you roast the tea or the sugar itself, the flavor...
It has this burned flavor.
- Yeah. - I think that's what it is.
Oh, look! Next one.
- Eddy: Tiger Sugar, let's go! - Brett: Oh!
This is a powerful one.
- I know in Taiwan, it's definitely up in the ranks. - Powerful.
They're famous for having mousse.
- That's their spin to it. Brown sugar mousse. - Oh my god. Oh god.
Oh!!
Mmm. Mmmm.
Mmm.
Oh, that's so good.
You're just drinking, dude!
I think these pearls are really good.
Yeah.
Probably better than HEYTEA.
Yeah.
- I love the flavor at the end, - It's so chewy.
- you can taste the mousse. - Mmm.
Whatever it is, it hits you at the very end.
- It's like a two-flavor thing. - Yeah.
- I'm gonna put this one on S. - I think vote for S. Nah, me too.
- Because aesthetics, adding everything in. - I'm gonna put... Yep.
- So I think vote for S right now. - Yeah.
Brett: Oh, The Alley, we...
I was so annoyed.
Alley wasn't showing up on delivery as well.
- 'Cause Alley's pretty good. - Alley is really good.
- Just from memory, I'm gonna put it on S. - Yeah, S. I was...
But I could be wrong.
- Eddy: Hollin! We've never tried this one before. - Brett: This is interesting.
I mean, I'm looking at your reaction.
I think my mom makes better milk tea.
E. Or F. E.
- Eddy: Feng Cha, never tried that one before. - Brett: Feng Cha.
Oh! Look at this packaging!
- Wow...! - That's different.
And look how big those balls are!
Oh, I like big balls. Let's go.
Big balls!
- What do you do with that hole? - Poke it through there!
Wow, so you still get the "hole" experience!
Get it? The (w)hole experience?
Eh.
Nahhh.
Okay. One thing I like about it is like,
the amount of sugar.
I feel like the balance is lower.
The aftertaste is not good.
But the aftertaste is not good, and I can...
...taste the starch of the pearls.
I think the tea is a bit on the bitter side,
- but it tastes watered down. E or F. - Yeah.
- I'm just gonna go E for now. - E for now.
Brett: All right, R&B.
- Oh, yeah. - I've heard good things about R&B!
I've had this before.
How does it taste?
I'm not a fan of it.
I feel like the...
...milk and the pearls don't integrate.
There's not a harmony.
Okay, no, you're right.
I agree, it's not in harmony.
- Based off this, D. - Yes.
But I do remember I got a different one, it was better.
Eddy: Yeah.
So that's a disclaimer,
maybe the other one was good.
- I have also heard my friends say they really like R&B. - Yeah.
- But this particular one, I'm not a fan. - No, I think...
It tastes a bit separated. You're right.
It's like, you're not working together.
- Yep. - The violinist and pianist aren't looking at each other.
- It's nothing nice. - And the sugar or the brown sugar is not as...
- It's not as refined as Tiger and HEYTEA. - Superior. Yeah.
- Or The Alley. - Alright.
Brett: Alright, Fruce!
Oh no, we couldn't get Fruce as well.
- That was the problem. Yeah. - Really?
Oh, F.
- F for Fruce. Alright. - Let's just keep it out.
Brett: Playmade.
I think this is another one we didn't get, did we?
All right!
Next one, Playmade's not there either.
- Brett: Kung Fu Tea. Yes. - Eddy: Kung Fu Tea, we got Kung Fu Tea.
The uh... packaging, I mean,
- I kinda like these packaging. - Yeah.
Nice font as well.
Alright. No time.
I like their pearls.
- It's not bad, actually. - It's not bad.
I feel like the milk flavor is a bit...
...one-dimensional.
But it's not like R&B, it blends in quite well.
For me, I feel like it's like a B.
- Yeah. - At the moment.
Next one!
- Eddy: KOI! Alright, interesting fact. - Brett: Oh yeah.
You see this? KOI, right?
Eddy: Now check this out.
- Oh, 豆, yeah! 豆. - Yeah. "豆," which means "beans."
- Now... - Yes.
KOI is actually the same owner
as 五十嵐 (50lan), so let's rate them two together.
Eddy: I already know what it tastes like, I just want to say...
- I will give 50lan special place, historically, - Yes. Oh, me too.
because they were one of the OG
- bubble tea franchises. - And can I say,
- they also stood the test through time. - Yeah!
There have been many bubble tea shops
- that come and go. - Yeah.
This one has stayed.
- Pearls are a bit small. - Mmm.
A bit hard.
Milk tea is...
Non-offensive.
- Kind of nice, but nothing special. I think... - I feel like there's...
- Maybe B, actually. - Yeah, probably B.
But we're gonna put KOI there.
(both) 珍煮丹 (Truedan).
- I already know Truedan is S tier. Yep. - S tier. Me too.
Truedan, we didn't have it here, but it's that good.
Eddy: Alright, special one! Yi Fang.
- Now, with Yi Fang, we made an exception. - Ooooh!
'Cause even though they are bubble tea,
and they're branded that way,
really, their signature is their fruit drinks.
- Fruit tea drinks. - Yes...
Inside there's...
Look at this beautiful blue,
- packaging. - Actually, I like the color combos,
like yellow, the tea is a bit yellow, orange-y.
And plus the blue thing.
No artificial flavoring, blah blah blah.
And it's all fruit!
Apple, orange, passion fruit.
This sh*t's legit.
You know what's funny?
I can already taste it,
when I see it.
'Cause I remember the taste.
Yeah, that's pretty good.
Oh, yeah.
It's a bit on the sweet side, but I can't tell if it's
- just 'cause I've had a sugar overload. - Maybe A.
Yeah, A. Let's put A.
Dude, I think I'm definitely sugar overloaded right now.
- Brett: Alright, next one! - Eddy: Whale Tea.
Eddy: Did we get Whale Tea?
Kujira, Japanese bubble tea.
Bubble tea has blown up in Japan
- in the last three years. - I remember, yes, I remember.
Gong Cha was so popular!
It went from one bubble tea store
to like fifty in Tokyo in like the span of one year.
- It was insane. - Yeah.
Not bad. Not bad.
I like it.
The brown sugar is really thick and warm.
It blends very well with the flavor,
unlike the R&B one, which felt segregated.
I'd say A.
I'd say A, too.
- That's a good surprise. - But I feel like it challenges
Tiger.
I will say though I think Tiger has the branding to back it up.
Whale Tea, I've never heard of it before.
Another one we can't test at the moment, guys, for now
is consistency.
'Cause the amount of times you have to go
and how consistent it is, is super important
Yeah.
'Cause this is our first time trying it.
- With Tiger Sugar, we know it's consistent. - It's consistent AF.
You know what?
Let's take a small break and do some of the ones from overseas.
- Yeah, okay. - Yeah, I need a bit of a break from drinking.
Eddy: Coco!
- I think Coco is a C or B for me. - C.
I think it's better than LiHO TEA though.
- For my- I remember in Brisbane- - Or maybe LiHO should be D.
- That sounds about right. - Yeah. C.
Brett: Chatime.
It used to be good, but then their quality fell a lot.
- I don't know what happened. - I'd say it used to be A and B.
Now it's a C.
Chatime was our high school thing.
- Oh, yeah. Yeah. - We used to get it all the time in high school.
Eddy: COMEBUY.
I wasn't a fan of COMEBUY.
Did we get COMEBUY?
It's in Taipei.
Oh, yeah.
- If I recall correctly, it would be a rank C. Yeah. - It was okay, it's like a C.
Brett: machi machi.
Okay, machi machi is a special one
because we have cheese.
- Tea. - So, it's kind of like Heytea.
But also because the delivery guy messed it up
and grabbed the wrong order.
And the packaging is like...
Delivery guy, why did you give us the wrong thing?
Oh, they got the wrong- Okay.
Eddy: This is actually my first time I'm having machi machi, so,
I'm curious to see how-
Brett: Dude, I just want to eat the cheese.
Look at that.
Mmmm. You guys see that cheese?
- The calories. - Ooohh.
Okay, that's enough. That's enough.
I think the tea isn't the greatest.
- Yeah, I think so. - I think the tea is a letdown.
It's not bad. It's a bit on the bitter side but also the tea doesn't blend
with the taste of the pearls and the Cheezo.
- They don't complement each other. - Yeah, yeah! They're kind of like,
all of three different things. Two different things.
I will say though
our standards are getting more strict
because we are having a lot.
- Yes. - But,
we initially didn't order black tea,
- but, you know. - So, it's not really a fair judgment.
But, at the same time, if you're going to sell it in your store,
it has to represent your store, right?
I think...
C, in my opinion?
I think C for this drink.
I remember there was a strawberry one I got.
- Yeah. - With like, pudding.
That was really good. That was like an A.
But, for this one, I would have to say a C.
Brett: Next one! TP TEA.
Alright, so we got the mini-straws. There's no pearls, unfortunately.
- But, we can taste the milk tea, right? - Yup!
Dude, I have like, a coma.
Me too.
Yeah, I feel so...
I'm, like, in a sugar coma right now.
It's so bad.
I don't mind the tea.
I like the tea, this reminds--oh.
I don't like the aftertaste. I think that's from the brown sugar.
Yeah, I actually think the brown sugar ruins the tea.
Brown sugar's not good but the milk tea's quite nice.
But I can imagine with the pearls it might be better.
We can't give our honest opinion
because it's lacking pearls,
but if I was to get this, I would get the standard milk tea
- and not the brown sugar milk tea. - Yes.
I'd say C.
Brett: BlackBall Tea.
Apparently, BlackBall's good too.
I have lost my appetite.
Yeah, my head hurts.
I feel... This is f***ed up.
This went from the most enjoyable video to the most painful video.
Here we go.
Eddy: Kuro... (black)
Eddy: ...maru (ball).
Maybe my friend has bad taste in...
- ...bubble tea. - I think so too, man.
R&B and BlackBalls aren't...
Yeah, no, no, no.
I think E.
Alright, E.
Brett: Alright, Sharetea.
Dude, I think I'm getting dizzy.
Do you remember the bubble tea you had
in Taiwan with a cockroach inside?
- Dude, I can't drink now. - And it's like, "What's this in my mouth?"
And he's like, "Oh, I don't know, maybe the..."
And then at first, it was like a cockroach shell,
and I took a leg out.
- That's disgusting. - So disgusting.
- It's got a cheap taste. - The flavor's confusing.
Yeah.
Is it going to go fruity? Or is it going to go tea?
I wasn't... but the pearls are okay.
It could be more chewier.
They haven't figured out the flavor profiles.
- D. - D.
Actually, maybe even E.
Nah, E. I think I would prefer LiHO and Coco to this.
That's true.
Alright, I'm just going to say this, just 'cause we're dying.
I know for a fact
- CHICHA San Chen is S tier. - CHICHA, S.
It's here, guys.
That was... Probably is still one of my
go-to's, for choice.
Discovered this year. So good.
The tea is great.
The sugar's great. The pearls are great. The aroma-
And it's not too sweet.
- They have an aroma... - And I'll say, out of all the S-tiers, CHICHA's my favorite.
Yup.
Brett: Gong Cha.
Now, Gong Cha, I will respect one thing.
They managed to have freaking global franchise domination.
- Yeah. - They have stores all around the world.
Yeah, and they've been pretty good in Australia.
Yeah, bring milk tea to the world.
I think I've had better Gong Cha than this.
- Oh, that's sweet! - It's too sweet.
Oh, dude, that's like 200% sugar!
But I have a feeling this person just messed up, the maker.
Um, from my understanding of Gong Cha...
- It's like a C or B. - It's a C.
I think machi machi's still C.
- It's not a D yet. - Gong Cha compared to TP TEA?
- Oh, yeah. Gong Cha's better. I think so. - Yeah. Alright.
Xing Fu... Okay, look. We've had Xing Fu Tang.
I know it pretty well.
- S tier, or A tier. - S and A.
Uh, S tier.
Xing Fu Tang, Truedan
were the two OG
- to bring out the brown boba sugar to the scene. - Yeah.
Quickly followed with Tiger Sugar that gave their spin on mousse.
And then The Alley gave a spin of
(both) pudding.
- And HEYTEA... - And HEYTEA dominated the Cheezo market
- but their brown sugar is also top-notch. - Yes, so...
Yeah, damn, I can't even talk.
Eddy: Alright, last two.
It looks... I don't like the packaging.
- It's very cheap. - "Drink good, feel good." I feel like it's already overselling it.
Alright, judging from Eddy's reaction, I don't think I want to drink it.
I'm swishing the milk tea in my mouth.
At the tip, it tastes just a little bit diluted but okay.
But as I swish it towards the back of my palate,
I got this familiar taste that a lot of the
inferior milk teas have. It's like
kind of like cardboard-y.
- I can't really describe it. - Alright, I'll try it.
As you swish it backwards through your mouth, it just...
tastes a bit like medicine.
Brett: D or E for me, for sure.
- Eddy: E. - Brett: Okay.
Milksha, okay. Milksha's a weird one.
I've only tried it twice.
I didn't like it that much, but everyone keeps talking about it.
Even in Taiwan, where people know their milk teas.
- They love it. - They do. They do talk about it.
I know Milksha's shop aesthetic--we forgot to talk about shops,
but I remember Milksha's shop aesthetic was pretty nice.
It's very nice. Packaging's nice.
They've got honey pearls.
- Eddy: That's their thing. - Brett: Oh, it's honey pearls.
- But I just never was the biggest fan of Milksha. - Maybe it's the honey.
I'm just going to stir it a bit longer 'cause honey-
- Last one, guys. - Oh, dude. I'm...
Alright, here we go.
You're just done.
Got this ginger flavor as well.
Oh, it's Earl Grey.
Ah, Earl Grey.
It tastes like a D and E to me.
- Milksha, I'll put D. - It's like a D.
It's D and E, but I will acknowledge a lot of people love it.
And it's different, so I'll give it a D in case it's for you.
Alright, guys, so there you have it-- Oh my, I'm f...
I'm f***ed.
I'm actually in pain.
You know what I feel like? I feel like Dumbledore,
in the last chapter of book seven.
He was drinking Voldemort's poison.
And he's like, "I must keep drinking, Harry!"
And you know the scene?
Brett: He's like, "No! No!"
And Harry's like, "You must keep drinking, Dumbledore!"
There you have it.
- The official... - Bubble tea review-
Oh, my head hurts. Don't look at me.
Brett: F***, just look at it.
- Eddy: I feel sick. - Brett: Just look at it. I'm so...
That's our official bubble tea review.
Let us know your thoughts in the below.
In the below? In the comments below.
Straw the like button. Swirl the subscribe button.
And suck on those balls.
And um...
Enjoy bubble tea. Bubble tea is awesome, just don't have this much.
- In moderation. - in moderation, please, guys.
Because, yes, too much is never a good thing.
We love bubble tea.
And don't remember--and don't forget to practice.
- "Don't remember." - I can't talk.