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Summary

A famous Taiwanese bubble tea shop opened in Montreal and it's Michelin-level rated

The pearls are served warm.

Someone sips on a bubble tea drink. Right: Two people hold boba drinks using string carriers.

The author sips on a bubble tea drink. Right: Two people hold boba drinks using string carriers.

Senior Writer

Montreal has no shortage of great bubble tea shops. But how many of them can say they've won the equivalent of three Michelin stars?

One of the city's newest boba spots, which comes to us straight from Taiwan, has been serving handcrafted tea for over 20 years — and all six of its tea varieties have won Superior Taste Awards from the prestigious International Taste Institute (ITI), which is judged by an association of Michelin-starred chefs and sommeliers.

While Green Tea, Black Tea, Osmanthus Oolong Tea, Cassia Black Tea, Dong Ding Oolong Tea, and High Mountain Pouchong Tea are all available, the Green Tea and Cassia Black Tea received the ITI's top accolades, which have been said to meet Michelin's three-star standard.

@arethaeats

Chi cha san chen montreal is in SOFT opening mode right now and will be open frfr in a week or so! Chinatown is really the hub for bubble tea 🧋 . 📍Chi cha san chen, 7 Av Viger O, Montréal . I love how you can smell all the teas and really customize your drink with the flavours. The combinations are endless! the superior taste award is awarded by the michelin international taste institution so it’s serious. Love the cup holder too, you can easily carry 4 bbts in one hand (as you should). 😆 I got a classic boba milk tea and a formosa fruit tea. Both were delicious but it ran me over $18 for the two drinks. The quality of the tea should justify the price tag; I’d say go determine that yourself and give it a try! . . . chichasanchen montreal mtl new bubble tea taiwanese bbt chi cha san chen #mtl #montreal #bubbletea #chichasanchen

Located in Montreal's Chinatown, Chicha San Chen offers signature drinks, such as Bubble Milk Tea with Taro (a mix of black tea, cream, taro paste and pearls), or you can customize your beverage. Each cup is made to order, and you can even sniff the teas before you make your decision. You can also choose your sweetness level and ice level.

The pearls are served warm and the high quality tea — grown at Chicha San Chen's own tea farms — is brewed meticulously with employees monitoring the clock as it steeps.

Plus, the packaging is both adorable and practical with hemp-like strings serving as carriers.

While you can expect to pay top dollar, with drinks costing between $6 and $10+, Chicha San Chen Montreal currently has 4.6 stars on Google with many reviewers saying the quality justifies the price tag.

Chicha San Chen has also recently opened branches in Toronto, the GTA, Vancouver and Kanata.

CHICHA San Chen (吃茶三千)

@cl_blog

🧋NEW Award-winning Bubble Tea shop Chicha San Chen is finally open in Montreal! 👀 // Located in Chinatown, they are Michelin star rated at the International Taste Institute and known for their freshly brewed Taiwanese teas! 🍃 Note the michelin evaluates in this contest give star ratings so it's considered michelin star recognized but this is different than "Michelin star rating" 😊 Depending on the drink they have received a minimum of 2 or 3 stars! You can either choose their Signature drinks or customize your own drink with flavours ☺️ Before selecting your tea, you can smell them first which was really cool! I tried the Osmanthus Oolong Tea & Honey with boba pearls and it was delicious! 😋 The base sweetness level is not too sweet, however I opted for less sweet to get a good taste of the quality fresh tea! 😍 Definitely add the tapioca pearls, I loved how GENEROUS in portion and perfectly chewy they were ❤️ The cup holders are really too cute! 🥹 👉 What would you order first? SAVE & SHARE with your foodie friends for that next Boba Run! 🧋🧋🧋 📍Chicha San Chen MTL , 7 VIGER W AVE MONTRÉAL QC H2Z 1J3 . . . . . Bubble Tea Montreal, Montreal Chinatown #mtl #bubbletea #chichasanchen #Montreal #boba #mtlfoodie #mtlfood

Address: 7, av. Viger O.

CHICHA San Chen Canada Instagram

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.

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  • Editor

    Ilana Belfer (she/her) was an editor for MTL Blog. She's obsessed with great storytelling in all its forms having worked in print, radio, television, theatre, and digital media over the past decade. A graduate of Carleton University’s journalism program, her words have appeared in The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, The Kit, VICE, Salon, Foodism TO & more — covering everything from cam girls to COVID-19. Ilana can usually be found with her dog André, tracking down Montreal’s prettiest ruelles vertes and tastiest treats.

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