Oops I did it again.
For someone who have never drink bubble tea in Singapore only until recently, I have been trying KOI Cafe Bubble Tea, Sweet talk Bubble Tea, and now Each-A-Cup Bubble Tea.
Something must be wrong with me!
It’s even more ridiculous that I am actually sitting in front of the computer so early in the morning and blogging about — BUBBLE TEA! What’s wrong with me? Did I just get the bubble tea bug? Oh shit. Anyway, if you have been following me on twitter, you’d know that I’ve mentioned I couldn’t taste the difference between Each A Cup and KOI bubble tea. Well, you can’t really blame me, it was a hot day and I started gulping down the milk tea – before I knew it, everything including the black pearls were gone! But I did realize something, and let me know if you agree with me.
Price:
Sweet Talk ($1.50) > Each A Cup ($1.90) > KOI Cafe ($2.50)
Come on, it’s almost an additional dollar for each cup of bubble tea! Sweet Talk win hands down when it comes to price. Why are you spending $2.50 for a drink when it can get you a packet of chicken rice?
Quality:
KOI Cafe > Each A Cup & Sweet Talk
There will be no debates on this since almost everyone I know says that KOI has better quality milk tea and more chewy black pearls. Considering that both Each-a-cup and Sweet Talk bubble tea come from a central kitchen while KOI bubble tea is produced on the spot, what else do we need to say?
Queuing Time:
Each A Cup & Sweet Talk > KOI Cafe
‘Are you crazy? You actually queued twenty minutes just for a bubble tea?’ Hold on a second, did you queue for the Hello Kitty dolls, and during the donut craze too?
* * *
It’s really hard to decide who’s better. I guess most people will probably insist that KOI cafe has the best bubble tea in Singapore. I like KOI cafe bubble tea, I like the fact that they prepared their bubble tea on the spot and gives us the option of choosing the sugar level. But like what I’ve mentioned before, I probably will not queue twenty to thirty minutes just for a cup of bubble tea. Okie dokie, it’s time to try Gong Cha bubble tea @ City Square Mall next!
Each A Cup Outlets in Singapore
Ang Mo Kio MRT @ Cheers
2450 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 #01-02
Ang Mo Kio Hub @ Cheers {closed}
53 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 #01-37 Ang Mo Kio Hub
Bedok North
204 Bedok North Street 1
Bishan @ Shop N Save
Blk 512 Bishan St 13 HDB Branch Office
Causeway Point @ Cold Storage
1 Woodlands Square #B1-31/32 Causeway Point
Chevron House
30 Raffles Place #B1-06A
City Square Mall
180 Kitchener road #B1-k6
Concorde Hotel
350 Orchard Road #05-06 Shaw House
CPF Building @ Cheers
79 Robinson Road
Eastpoint Mall
3 Simei Street 6 #02-49 Eastpoint Mall
Ion Orchard
2 Orchard Turn#B4-45 Ion Orchard
Holland Village
3 Lorong Liput #01-09
International Plaza
10 Anson road #01-06
Jurong Junior College
800 Corporation Road Jurong Junior College
Liang Court
177 River Valley Road #B1-14
Marina Square
6 Raffles Boulevard #02-223
Marine Parade Central
87 Marine Parade Central #01 kiosk
Nanyang Polytechnic
180 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 Blk P, S Nanyang Polytechnic
North Point @ Cold Storage
930 Yishun Avenue 2 #B1-11/16 North Point
Novena Square
10 Sinaran Drive #02-64 Novena Square
NTU
50 Nanyang Avenue Canteen B Nanyang Technological University
National Junior College
37 Hillcrest Road National Junior College
Ngee Ann Polytechnic
535 Clementi Road Ngee Ann Polytechnic
OUB Centre
1 Raffles Place #B1-03A OUB Centre
People’s Park Center
101 Upper Cross Street #01-26E
PoMo
1 Selegie Road #01-04/05 PoMo (formerly Paradiz Centre)
Singapore Changi Airport T3
65 Changi Boulevard B2 North #B2-12 T3
Suntec City
3 Temasek Boulevard #01-140E
Tampines One
10 Tampines Central 1 #B1-k8 Tampine One
Tanjong Katong Complex
845 Geylang Road #01-08 Tanjong Katong Complex
The Heeren
260 Orchard road #B1-12
Wilkie Edge
8 Wilkie Road #01-06 Wilkie Edge
Yishun Ring road
Blk 846 Yishun ring road #01-3657
313 @ Somerset
313 Orchard road #B3-42
try the eskimo bubble tea (if I’m not mistaken) in market street car park! Some of my friends said that it’s better than Koi.
You may wanna try Eskimo!! There’s a branch at Market Street, as well as a more accessible one at Dhoby Ghaut MRT’s Dhoby Xchange (right beside P.o.s.h brownies!) Eskimo’s MINI pearls are AWESOME!
?? at City Square Mall and ??? at Bedok Central are very nice!
Heys.
Actually your signs are pretty confusing. ‘>’ in math terms means Left side greater than right side. So when you say the price of KOI is higher than the other two counterparts, it shld be KOI > Each a Cup and SweetTalk. But I presume you meant to say ‘>’ more worthwhile in your opinion.
the thing about sweet talk is, diff outlets seem to have different taste, and diff pricing. one normal milk tea can cost $1 at an ulu part of tamp, $1.20 at simei, $1.50 in normal places, and $1.80 in some more popular places.
and the standard is really different from outlet to outlet.
another thing about koi is maybe the way they market it? exclusiveness + waiting time = good. LOL.
Gong cha’s pearls are slightly more chewy and smaller in size.
Koi really wins hands down in quality, but for the price you have to pay, sometimes, a quick fix like each a cup and sweet talk is enough..
The Each A Cup outlet at Cheers, AMK Hub, has closed down for a few months already.
I like both Each-A-Cup (EAC) and KOI. KOI for its Caramel flavor and mini pearls. Like EAC esp if I wanna eat strawberry/peach milk tea or peppermint greeen tea.
I discovered a bubble tea that sells Rose Milk tea and its pearls are nicer than EAC!!! Always lemming for the rose milk tea! ^_^
Sweet Talk is quite horrible in my opinion…Each a cup use to be my all time fav when bubble tea hype was at its peak. Koi is good but the price is a bit on the high side. As for the sweetness level, can always ask for less syrup at Each a cup.
Gong Cha is the best! You can really taste the tea and they use fresh, creamy, and ultra sinful milk instead of milk powder.
I quite like the S$1.50 Hazelnut Milk Tea at Rockery @ Bugis Junction. Smooth. And there’s some jelly even when u ask for no pearls. And teh Mango Tango’s nice. So’s the Aloe Vera lime.
Crazily enough, I have also been trying bubble tea. I have to admit Koi’s quality is beginning to grow on me. I like that I can adjust the sugar levels for my milk tea (25% is enough for me). And they are really generous with pearls (one-third cup)!
Sweet Talk prices differ depending on outlet too. At my neighbourhood, it’s only $1.
Z: Better than KOI Cafe? Okie dokie, i will be there in a Jeffery!
Jasmine: OH OH OH! i been to Posh brownies before, ok thanks for the tip-off : )
jenny: haha i can’t read the Chinese font! Gong cha at City square right? which is the one at Bedok?
Charlie: OOPS! I didn’t realize that! haha yea u are right, what i meant to say is the prices of Sweet talk and each a cup are lower, so i will pick sweet talk/each a cup > KOI. In this instance, the ‘>’ sign means ‘over’ : )
hahazZ: Oh! I didn’t know they vary from places to places too! because so far all the sweet talk tat i had was $1.50
linjie: WOW! how did you notice that? haha
mr lee: Yeah if there’s no queue, i don’t mind paying a bit more, but i’m not gonna queue 20 minutes for a cup of bubble tea
feliza: thanks for letting me know! which bubble tea place in Singapore sells the rose milk tea?
joyce: haha honestly i can’t tell the difference! i have quite a neutral palate when it comes to Bubble tea, all of them taste the same to me!
shirleyr: Which ones use milk powder? each a cup and sweet talk? but how do u tell if it’s milk powder or fresh milk? haha
sammicheng: Rocky at bugis? got it! yea actually i don’t really fancy chewing all the pearls, the jelly sounds like a good alternative
camemberu: I think both of us caught the bubble tea bug without realizing it! haha 25% is enough? really? i always go for 50% at least! haha
personally prefer koi, cos nicer and can choose sugar level.
cup walker is nice too (suntec), big cup at affordable prices
some ppl say happy lemon at ion is nice, have yet to try it.
try the zhao pai gong cha (green tea) at Gong Cha. it’s awesome! and something different from the other bubble teas with the thick later of froth on top. looking forward to your review!
i mean thick layer of froth… typo :0
KOI and Each A Cup are in different leagues!
KOI uses BREWED tea. Each A Cup? syrup.
theres a gong cha @ square 2, novena too.. the shop faces the outside of the street…
I just tried Koi bubble tea ytd. (Its pretty funny because the other time when you first tried ichiban boshim, it was my first too)
Anyway, I thought it was ridiculous queuing for their bubble tea. And its overly pricy ): I think ecah a cup has decent bubble tea. Sweet talk’s quality is one of the :/ ones cuz theirs are a little diluted.
Eskimo! My colleague recently da bao the tea and it was just as nice as KOI! Even better cos the pearls were bigger than the KOI (a minor gripe of mine) hehe. Price slightly > than KOI by few cents though so it is prob the most exp on your list? Hehe.
And how come JJC has a bubble tea shop? Since when? My god, it’s only been….okay a few years
since I graduated (I’m old haha).
orange: okay cupwalker at suntec, i am coming!!
lucia: i know right, must try gong cha soon, but it’s so out of the way!
m.Ru: HAHA i get your point : )
cheryl: okay dokie, thanks! but novena isn’t that near too! haha
rachel: yeah i don’t mind the price if there’s no queue. but if there’s such a long queue, i will give it a miss
chelle: I know, i was shocked when i found out that too! a few readers have also mentioned eskimo, that’s next on the list!
For me, I love KOI, but I do not take it with pearls. Instead, I spend a little more and take Grass Jelly Milk Tea. I love the taste together. Too much pearls are tiring to our mouth, but the grass jelly makes the better choice!
You can try it too!
my ladyironchef…
thks for trying out n bringing us the nice n the not so nice bubble tea.
i’m a bubble tea fanatic. bubble tea for breakfast, lunch, dinner, anytime! never know that many brands of bubble tea out there. muz try them all! hehe
i chance upon QQ tea @ blk 410 amk ave 10. it’s near teck ghee cc. very wide variety. the milk tea is really nice… try the durian too. taste like real durian fruit. hehe
quite ulu but worth the try! =)
brad! i seldom drop comments though i read all the time. but i must say you should try cupwalker! i had it at downtown east thrice and im convinced its still the best. anw i think suntec has one too. if you’re a fan of peppermint (like me!), try the peppermint milk tea! mad awesome. ((:
Oops, sorry, didn’t realise the Chinese characters did not appear. I’m referring to GONG CHA at City Square Mall and SHUI YAN SHE at Bedok Central.
CUP WALKER (several outlets, incl one at Compasspoint – next to UOB withdrawal terminals; exit from 7-11 side) was my favourite before KOI came along.
My first love was QUICKLY (of Taiwan, it had pudding drinks) from >10 years ago. Too bad no more le…
Btw, some bubble shops in Taiwan have been selling Couple pack (1+1) for a lower price, very popular with young couples.
Btw, some pics of the opening of Singapore outlet of Shui Yan She last Dec – http://blog.yam.com/drinktea/article/25715343
It’s at Blk 205 in Bedok if I’m not wrong. It’s famous for the rooibos tea, I think the pearls are also made of rooibos. Taste much lighter and healthier than most bubble teas, but very refreshing.
Eskimo is da best! try their pudding milk tea! super unique!
Jazreel: I know right, actually i don’t really enjoy chewing on the pearls. How much is the one with grass jelly?
pleo: WOW! you have bubble tea 3 times a day?! wow! haha sure thing, it’s my job to keep you guys hungry! I’m gonna try Gong Cha next
ming wei: Hello dude, you SHOULD comment more often okay? yea i know right, i have been saying i want to try cupwalker and gong cha next, okay soon i promise!
Jenny: I know abt Gong cha, but i have never heard of SHUI YAN SHE! haha will check it out when i am in bedok!
shu: Eskimo only has one branch right? pudding milk tea, okie dokie got it!
Don’t forget to try QQ Tea too! Enjoy! =)
I kinda think KOI is quite overrated for its bubble tea (as compared to price + queuing time). >.<
Drank it twice before, once without pearls… and obviously, I think only the KOI milk tea "with pearls" pwn other stores! BUT STILL… D= queuing for so long is quite… #@&@$&%^&)#
pleo: QQ Tea! okay got it : )
Ruiting: i know totally how u feel! paying a bit more is fine with me, but queuing up so long is not. haha
hi there,
Do give HappyLemon a try at Ion Orchard B4. It’s a growing chain from HK and in terms of standard,consistency and variety, it would be a better comparison with Koi then Each a cup and sweet talk.
Also, there are 20 odd drinks without milk tea if you prefer an alternative to your drinking palate.
HAHA I just wanna say ROCKERY @ Bugis is awesome.
Hey, I love KOI, but recently a friend of mine told me about GONG CHA, a place at Farrer Road’s City Square. That branch of tea is from Taiwan and the milk is unlike what we are accustomed to. It has a almost custard like texture to it. Yummy!
Sweet Talk ($1.50) < Each A Cup ($1.90) < KOI Cafe ($2.50)
elaine: hello! yea i heard about happy lemon at ion before, how much is their pearl milk tea?
Penny: Rockery is at which part of bugis?
wan ru: Ya i know, a lot people have been saying that Gong Cha can replace Koi as the best bubble tea in Singapore! will check it out soon (i hope)
Lily: hahahahaha i know, what i meant was the prices of sweet talk is the cheapest :p
Hey Brad, try Eskimo Cafe & Fruit Dessert Bar! ( : There are three branches. I’ve only been to the one near Lau Pa Sat (Market Street), another at Dhoby Exchange, and there’s a newly opened one at Esplanade if I didn’t remember wrongly. Their bubble tea comes with small or big pearls, and are made on the spot as well. It’s awesome! ( :
Shayna: hahah in town right? oh there’s one at esplanade too? Whoa, that sure makes thing more tempting! u mean u can choose small pearls too?
I’ve only been to the one near Lau Pa Sat! yup, there’s a choice between small or big pearls! meet for lunch one day, i can bring you there! ( :
“Considering that both Each-a-cup and Sweet Talk bubble tea come from a central kitchen while KOI bubble tea is produced on the spot, what else do we need to say?”
produced on the spot does not = better.
if u r referring to a chef cooking on the spot or his central kitchen’s meal, i might agree with u, but bubble tea? it can only mean from the central kitchen, the taste is consistent, whereas on the spot, well, pray that the fellow earning something like the minimum wage is doing it as its supposed to be.
The EAC outlet at NJC really really sucks. Such a huge difference from the other outlets in shopping malls.
try eskimo @ dhoby ghaut exchange, city link mall
I don’t like the Each-A-Cup outlet @ Tampines1. The milk tea has slight jasmine tea taste
My favourite outlet is Plaza Singapura’s one!
cup walker is the best for me… a lot better than sweet talk…
each a cup and Koi.. i havent try yet..
Hey, I’m bubble tea lover too. Today I had try the new opening bubble tea @ bukit merah central – Love tea.
the bubble milk tea are awesome…u guys might try it too.
I had tried koi and gong cha before…the taste no bad. For eskimo, I haven’t try it yet. find a day to try it since so many people recommend it. After tried the love tea just now, I still prefer love tea than koi and gong cha.
I very much prefer Eskimo to each a cup and sweet talk!
Might review about:
1.Rockery
2.Eskimo
3.ComeBuy; ToaPayoh
4.Dorabee; Centrepoint, Somerset
there is a new Each a cup outlet at the new Community centre infront of bukit panjang plaza..
i prefer koi to each a cup. koicafe rocks!
At Limbang, near choa chu kang, u can find a sweet talk where they sell for only $1.