Cafeography
Bubbelthee · Utrecht

Bubble tea cafés in Utrecht

Milk tea and popping boba on the Steenweg, the Zadelstraat and in the hall at Utrecht Centraal.

Photo: Snappr, Pexels License

Bubbelthee (bubble tea) is sweetened tea, hot or iced, with milk and chewy balls of tapioca, a starch made from the cassava root; it was developed in Taiwan in the 1980s.2 Two tea houses claim it: Hanlin Tea Room in Tainan dates its version to 1986 and Chun Shui Tang in Taichung to 1987 or 1988, and a Taiwanese court ruled in 2019 that the drink could not be patented.1

In Utrecht the shops sit on the shopping streets between the Oudegracht and the Neude, and the Binnenstad has most of them. The exceptions are a counter in the station hall at Utrecht Centraal and a café on the Hammarskjöldhof in Kanaleneiland.

Local tip: Ask for 25% or 50% sugar the first time; most shops let you set sweetness in 25% steps and choose less ice.1

Where these cafés are: Binnenstad (6), Kanaleneiland (1), Stationsgebied & Jaarbeurs (1).

At a glance

8Cafés listed
3With opening hours
10:00Earliest opening
20:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Chai Café, from 10:00 (Mon–Wed 10:00–18:00 · Thu–Sat 10:00–19:00 · Sun 10:00–18:00).
  • Closes latest: Tea Guys, until 20:00 (Daily 12:00–20:00).
  • Most common features: indoor seating (25%), takeaway (25%), vegetarian options (13%).
Binnenstad

Dynasthee

  • Vinkenburgstraat 9
  • Mon–Wed 12:00–19:00 · Thu 12:00–20:00 · Fri 12:00–19:00 · Sat 12:00–20:00 · Sun 12:00–19:00
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How to order

Most pearls are black because they are cooked with brown sugar, and many shops throw cooked pearls away after about 24 hours, when they harden.1 Popping boba are a different topping: thin-skinned spheres of fruit juice or syrup that burst when bitten.1

Sweetness usually comes in 25% steps, from 0% to 100%, and ice as none, less, normal or extra.1 At SpillTheTea, a fruit tea is built on jasmine green tea with a popping-ball topping, and the menu also has a section of cream cheese teas and, away from the drinks, Korean corn dogs.3

Steenweg, Lange Elisabethstraat and Zadelstraat

The Steenweg was part of Stathe, the medieval trading district by the canal, and behind a shop front at Steenweg 34–38 stands the oldest brick wall in Utrecht, from a 13th-century merchant's house.6 Vela Cha Thai is at Steenweg 1; it sells to take away and has vegan options.

Around the corner, ChaYue Tea is at Lange Elisabethstraat 35 and Pichii, which also does takeaway, at number 4, and SpillTheTea is at Zadelstraat 15. Dynasthee, on the Vinkenburgstraat near the Neude, opens daily at 12:00 and stays open until 20:00 on Thursdays and Saturdays; 9ijs is on the Potterstraat.

What a bubble tea costs

On SpillTheTea's online menu in October 2026, a classic milk tea or a brown sugar milk cost €5.50, a matcha latte or taro milk tea €5.70, and a crème brûlée milk tea €6.00. The fruit teas with popping balls started at €4.90.3

Chai Café in Kanaleneiland advertised a welcome offer of €6 per drink on its website.4 For comparison, a hot matcha latte cost €5.50 at Tijm on the Donkere Gaard in June 2026.7

Outside the center, and a word on the pearls

Tea Guys, in the station hall at Utrecht Centraal, opens daily 12:00–20:00. Chai Café, at Hammarskjöldhof 34, serves bubble tea, matcha and milkshakes from 10:00 every day, until 19:00 from Thursday to Saturday.4

In August 2012 Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) warned that the pearls, roughly 10–15 mm across, are a choking risk for small children: foreign bodies the size of a peanut are easily breathed in, especially by children up to four.5 It recommended a clear warning wherever bubble tea is sold.5

Sources

  1. Bubble tea, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Bubbelthee, Wikipedia (Dutch), accessed October 2026
  3. Spillthetea: menukaart, SpillTheTea, accessed October 2026
  4. Chai Café Utrecht, Chai Café, accessed October 2026
  5. German risk assessor BFR warns of Taiwanese "bubble tea" choking risk, FoodNavigator (August 23, 2012), accessed October 2026
  6. Terug in de tijd tijdens je stedentrip: ontdek het erfgoed van Utrecht, DUIC (July 4, 2024), accessed October 2026
  7. Menukaart (June 2026), Tijm, accessed October 2026
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By area: Binnenstad

FAQ

Bubble tea in Utrecht: questions

Where can you buy bubble tea in Utrecht city center?

Most bubble tea shops in Utrecht are in the Binnenstad: Vela Cha Thai at Steenweg 1, ChaYue Tea and Pichii on the Lange Elisabethstraat, SpillTheTea at Zadelstraat 15, Dynasthee on the Vinkenburgstraat and 9ijs on the Potterstraat. Tea Guys is in the station hall at Utrecht Centraal, open daily 12:00–20:00.

How much does bubble tea cost in Utrecht?

In October 2026, SpillTheTea on the Zadelstraat in Utrecht charged €5.50 for a classic milk tea or a brown sugar milk, €5.70 for a matcha latte or taro milk tea and €6.00 for a crème brûlée milk tea. Its fruit teas with popping balls started at €4.90. Chai Café in Kanaleneiland advertised €6 per drink.

Are bubble tea pearls safe for young children in Utrecht?

Take care with small children. In 2012 Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment warned that bubble tea pearls, about 10–15 mm across, are a choking risk, because objects the size of a peanut are easily breathed in by children up to four. It recommended a clear warning wherever bubble tea is sold.

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