The 10 best bubble tea shops in Charlotte
Around Charlotte, bubble tea shares the counter with banh mi, taiyaki and Korean riceballs about as often as the drink stands alone. This list covers 10 bubble tea shops in Charlotte, Cornelius and Concord, from Vietnamese cafes on Central Avenue and in University City to a Plaza Midwood dessert bar and a Concord-born tea company with a Cornelius flagship. Where menus are posted, milk teas run about $5 to $6.75, and the shops that post topping prices charge 70 cents to $1.25 for boba, jellies and foams. The list is for students, families looking for a dessert stop and anyone hunting for a brown sugar milk tea close to home. Entries are listed alphabetically, not ranked.
How we chose
Each shop passed a Mecklenburg County or Cabarrus County health inspection in 2026 with an A grade, and each entry notes a recent score. Picks are based on the drinks and food each shop is known for, prices from the shops’ own menus where posted, and coverage from CLTure, CharlotteFive and Charlotte Agenda. Shops with no 2025 or 2026 inspection on record were left out, including several from older Charlotte boba roundups that appear to have closed. Two national chains made the list. Hours change often at small tea counters, so check before a special trip. No shop paid to be included.
1368 Sweet Corner
Boba is one part of a broad Vietnamese cafe menu at this South Tryon Street shop, where the drink list runs from milk teas and fruit teas to matcha lattes, tropical slushies, mojitos and sugar cane juice. Named specialties include a Matcha Ube Cheese Foam and the 1368 Matcha Coffee, and the snack list adds mochi donuts, K-mochi dogs and loaded fries.
Why we chose them
- The pho broth is a bone marrow soup simmered for 30 hours.
- Che desserts are buy five, get one free.
- Weekend specials include bun dau mam tom, a Hanoi vermicelli platter with fermented shrimp paste.
- The South Tryon shop is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and closed Wednesdays.
- The UNC Charlotte shop runs 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily; both earned A grades on October 27, 2026.
Address: Charlotte (Steele Creek area) — 8156-G S. Tryon St., with a second shop near UNC Charlotte at 9211 N. Tryon St.
B&K Tea Cafe
Childhood friends Bobby Cain and Kristen Compton worked together at a tea shop in college and later named B&K Tea Cafe for their initials. Cain started out selling fruit teas from an ice cream trailer where he had worked in high school, and the first storefront opened in Concord in May 2022, CLTure reported in 2025. The Cornelius flagship also sells Korean riceballs.
Why we chose them
- Tiger Milk Tea, brown sugar milk tea with a brown sugar drizzle, is $5.75 small or $6.50 large.
- Fruit teas such as Mango Madness and Strawberry Sunrise are $5 or $5.75.
- Sugar levels run from 0% to 125%, and boba is 70 cents.
- Party planners can book a boba bar or boba by the gallon.
- The Huntersville shop on Market Square Drive scored a 98.5 from county inspectors on November 5, 2026.
Address: Cornelius — 21714 Catawba Ave., Unit A4, with another shop in Huntersville
Boba Koala
This small Uptown tea counter sits across West Trade Street from a university campus, and CLTure described the shop in 2021 as locally owned and operated. The 2021 menu ran to fruit teas, milk teas and slushies with regular and flavored bobas, jellies and matcha green tea pudding, plus dumplings, pork bao, meatballs and sweet buns.
Why we chose them
- CharlotteFive’s 2024 tea guide listed sweet red bean buns, pork dumplings, smoothies and coffee.
- Uptown workers and students can pair a tea with dumplings or a bun.
- The county classifies the shop as a food stand, and the October 1, 2026, inspection scored 99.
- A separate county catering permit was first inspected November 7, 2026.
- There is no website with a menu or hours, so check hours before a special trip.
Address: Charlotte (Uptown) — 901 W. Trade St., Suite 160
Central Tea House
A tea counter that shares a building with a pho restaurant, Central Tea House pours classic, milk and fruit teas, slushies and espresso, plus smoothies in jackfruit, winter melon and durian, CLTure reported in 2021. CharlotteFive’s 2024 tea guide called the shop known for boba, sandwiches and pastries, and the counter sells banh mi and baked goods.
Why we chose them
- Lunch can be a milk tea and a banh mi from one counter.
- County inspectors have given steady A grades, most recently a 98 in August 2026.
- Scores were 98.5 in April and July 2025.
- There is no website, and the shop posts on Instagram and Facebook.
- CharlotteFive reported in January 2024 that the shop was closed Wednesdays, so plan around that day.
Address: Charlotte (Central Avenue, east of Plaza Midwood) — 3000 Central Ave., Suite 6
Kim Anh Banh Mi & BoBa
Banh mi and boba share the counter at this east Charlotte shop, which opened in April 2024, CharlotteFive reported, and the shop’s website gives the location as near Darby Acres Shopping Center. At opening, drinks spanned tea and milk tea, fruit slushies, a sea salt coffee and fresh juice, with add-ons such as crystal or black boba, sea salt or egg white foam and red bean.
Why we chose them
- The menu has grown to pho, bun and com dishes, che desserts and banh bao.
- Shelves stock Vietnamese pantry items to take home.
- Seven of the eight opening banh mi were $7.50 and the fried egg version $6.50, in 2024.
- Hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays, with free parking.
- The kitchen earned a 92 from county inspectors in August 2026.
Address: Charlotte (east Charlotte) — 4421 Central Ave., Unit J
Kung Fu Tea
The national chain behind Kung Fu Tea started in Queens, N.Y., on April 30, 2010, and the company says tea is brewed fresh every three hours and standard bubbles are cooked every two hours. Charlotte has two stores on the brand’s store finder, on South Boulevard and at the Arboretum on Providence Road. Both list Monday hours of 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Why we chose them
- Orange Green Tea and Strawberry Lemonade, listed as best sellers, use freshly squeezed juice.
- CLTure noted in 2021 that the chain had a list of drinks made with Lactaid milk.
- Menu icons flagged drinks containing gluten and those that are caffeine free, CLTure reported.
- Order ahead through the Kung Fu Tea app or website for pickup.
- April 2026 inspections scored the South Boulevard store a 98 and the Arboretum store a 99.5.
Address: Charlotte (South Boulevard) — 4200 South Blvd., Suite H, with a second store at the Arboretum
Ocha Time Tea & Creamery
Dessert gets equal billing at this boba and ice cream bar beside a sister noodle restaurant. Taiyaki, ice cream served in a fish-shaped cone, is a category on the shop’s online menu, next to bubble waffle ice cream and rolled ice cream. The drink side covers Ocha specials, milk teas, fruit teas and slushies, and the shop is an easy after-dinner stop in Plaza Midwood.
Why we chose them
- Smoothies, refreshers and coffee are on the drink menu too.
- CLTure reported in 2021 that the milk teas were organic, with a cheese crema topping.
- Oat and soy milk were options in 2021, CLTure reported.
- The county permit shared with the noodle restaurant scored 94.5 in May 2026.
- An August 2026 inspection scored 91.5, still an A grade.
Address: Charlotte (Plaza Midwood) — 2001 Commonwealth Ave.
Tea Fusion Cafe
Annie Luong and Jimmy Cao co-owned Tea Fusion Cafe when Charlotte Agenda profiled the University City shop in May 2017, and CLTure reported that the shop opened in 2016. CLTure’s 2021 roundup singled out mason jar tea refreshers with diced fruit, jellies and chia seeds, and the shop’s menu has also run to bubble tea, shaved ice cream and banh mi.
Why we chose them
- CharlotteFive’s 2024 tea guide still listed bubble tea and banh mi.
- In 2021, CLTure noted a lounge area, a plus for UNC Charlotte students.
- County inspectors have given A grades at every visit since at least 2022.
- The latest inspection, on October 6, 2026, scored a 95.5.
- The website no longer works, so check the menu board in person.
Address: Charlotte (University City) — 440 E. McCullough Drive, Unit 116
Tealicious Banh Mi & Boba
Milk teas from Hokkaido to taro and dragon fruit are $5.25 small or $6.05 large at this northeast Charlotte shop, and fruit teas such as kumquat and red guava are $6.05, according to the full menu on the shop’s website. The coffee list includes a sea salt coffee and Vietnamese iced coffee. A full kitchen turns a tea stop into dinner.
Why we chose them
- Toppings add 75 cents to a drink.
- Banh mi run $7 to $9, buy five and get one free.
- The kitchen also makes crab rangoon, shrimp fried rice and a $16 Vietnamese spicy beef noodle soup.
- Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
- A July 2026 county inspection scored the kitchen a 95.5.
Address: Charlotte (northeast Charlotte) — 850 Chancellor Park Drive East
ViVi Bubble Tea & Cafe
A location of the ViVi Bubble Tea chain, this Concord shop posts a full ordering menu online. Milk teas run from $5 for the ViVi Milk Tea to $6.50 for the Brown Sugar Milk Tea, and large fresh fruit teas such as Kumquat Lemon Jelly Tea are $7.05. The shop doubles as a banh mi counter, with sandwiches from $7.55 to $9.90.
Why we chose them
- The menu also has takoyaki, popcorn chicken, com tam and bun cha Hanoi.
- Order ahead online, where a combo for one is $14.49 and a combo for two is $23.99.
- County inspection records show the shop operating since July 2023.
- Inspections have earned A grades at every visit, with a 98.5 in July 2026.
Address: Concord — 2900 Derita Road
Prices, hours and opening status last checked November 11, 2026. Call ahead where an entry says to.
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