After spending a Saturday afternoon walking around in Prince’s Island, we decided to head to Chinatown to get bubble tea/pearl milk tea since it was a pretty hot day. On the way to our go-to shop (Chatime), we saw a shop called “Peerless Pearl Tea Shop” and so we stopped by to try it.
I’ve always known there was another bubble tea shop at this spot, but I’ve not tried it yet. Initially, I thought it was a new shop, but reviews on Zomato indicate that it’s been there for years.
We went inside and it was empty. And quiet. Like no music at all. The decor was a bit outdated, but it was nice that there was free Wifi. The barista (owner?) was really nice and talked about the teas that they offer. He emphasized that they don’t traditionally do the “fruit” ice slushies; instead, they focus on the real bubble tea: pearl milk tea.
Pearl milk tea was the name of the game. And they specialized in this. I opted out of pearl milk tea because it wasn’t vegan (ahem, milk). So, I ordered the Taiwanese plum green tea with pearls, but my cousin ordered the pudding milk green tea with coconut jelly.
I really liked that the tea flavour was still very prominent. My Taiwanese plum tea was quite sour, but it’s supposed to be like that. Next time, I suppose I could ask for more sweetener. It’s good to try new flavours, especially since they have a ton here!
If you want to try a local bubble tea/tea/coffee shop, or if you’re tired of the generic Chatime or Quickly, Peerless Pearl Tea Shop is a great place for your Taiwanese bubble tea fix. They offer a variety of teas, coffee and fruit slushies!
Recommended? Yes!
COST: Cheap. For a large tea, expect to pay around $5, with an $0.75 for pearls or jelly. The coffee/espresso-based drinks are also ~$5 for 16 oz.
TASTE: Good. The barista was really proud that the tea they used for our pearl teas was real, and he should be! My Taiwanese plum tea was tart with a tinge of sweetness. The pudding milk green tea was sweetened perfectly, and you can still taste the green tea. The pearls were perfectly chewy and not as sweet as other shops, which is a good thing in my books.
ACCESSIBILITY: Easy. Peerless Pearl Tea Shop is located in Chinatown, right across the Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre. It’s a bit of a walk from the train stations to get here (~10-15 minutes by foot), but it’s still very accessible.
ATMOSPHERE: Okay. There are actually a lot of tables available, it isn’t frequently busy, and Wifi was available! I think this would be a nice place to just relax with a book or your laptop, but the interior design is a bit old. I really like that they have iPhone chargers on the table, but it’s too bad that they’re for iPhone 4/4S.
SERVICE: 8/10. The barista was really friendly, and helped us order our drinks. Our drinks took a bit longer than usual (~10 minutes) but it’s not a huge deal-breaker.
Peerless Pearl Tea Shop
Address: 132 2nd Ave SW, Calgary AB
Phone: (403) 233 – 7718
Hours:
- Monday: 12PM – 8:30PM
- Tuesday: 12PM – 8:30PM
- Wednesday: 12PM – 8:30PM
- Thursday: 12PM – 8:30PM
- Friday: 12PM – 8:30PM
- Saturday: 12PM – 8:30PM
- Sunday: 12PM – 8:30PM
Website: peerlesspearlteashopcalgary.com
This is not a sponsored post.