The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Trends catch on relatively fast in Cairo, not because Cairenes are easily suggestible but because we like to bite any given opportunity at having fun. Bubble tea, or commonly known as boba, has become increasingly popular in the streets of Cairo.

Some restaurants have been serving it as a side drink, and there are even stores that have opened up, purely dedicated to serving different types of bubble teas and boba pearls. Before we dive in and give you the list you’re waiting for, let’s introduce you.

Boba; a smooth, succulent pearl with a chewy texture that is first bland tasting when cooked but is considered a sweet delicacy when steeped in a sugary syrup, usually brown sugar.

The pearls are made of tapioca starch which gives them their famous chewy texture or as the Chinese refer to as QQ; roughly translates as very chewy.

The boba pearls are then placed at the bottom of a cup and become the sweet ending, pun intended, to whatever drink you prefer, which is referred to as bubble tea. You can have your boba with any milk tea or fruit drink.

Fun fact! The bubbles in bubble tea are, surprisingly, not in reference to the pearls. Instead, they refer to the bubbles that result from the shaking of the drink before it’s poured over the pearls. 

Boba is native to Taiwan, where it’s considered their “caffeine fix” or coffee break and here comes the best part, you can now get your own boba fix right here in Cairo.

Feng Cha

Your favourite Maadi boba place has also recently opened in New Cairo. Their most popular drink is their Brown Sugar Dirty Boba Tea, and it is roughly around EGP 70. You can also ask for extra boba in your drink!

Yokozuna

A recently established boba store in Masr El Gedida with a wide array of drinks, from milk teas to sugary oreo drinks and fruit drinks. Their most popular drinks are the Tiger Milk Tea, which is a brown sugar boba drink, and their Taro Milk Tea. Both drinks cost EGP 70, and you can add an extra boba scoop for EGP 10.

Boba Bear

This truck serves both coffee and boba. Their drinks range from classic milk tea, and brown sugar bubble tea to lotus shakes and fruit smoothies. Their drinks cost around EGP 45-60, and you can also add extra boba to your drinks!

Deluca

While it’s mainly an Italian restaurant, it serves bubble tea as part of their beverage menu, rejoice Sheikh Zayed citizens, you don’t have to take an hour or so trip to hunt down bubble tea.

Formosa 

For an authentic Chinese experience, visit Formosa in Rehab where they serve Chinese dishes like noodles, dumplings, fish dishes and most importantly a huge variety of boba and bubble tea drinks!