Dream Tea House

Dream Tea off of Whyte Ave is one of the first bubble tea places in in Edmonton. That being said, their bubbletea is not as authentic as other chains. I'd give them 7.8/10 for their relaxed/chill atmosphere.

Do you remember the very first time that you tried bubble tea? It was likely some time in the late 90s or early 00s, which is about when this beverage started to become more ubiquitous in Canada. Invented in the late 80s in Taiwan, this drink is incredibly synonymous with Taiwanese culture. There are now massive bubble tea chains and unlimited versions to try. However, I will always have a special place in my heart for Edmonton's Dream Tea. Voted #1 Best Bubble Tea Shop 2018 in VUE Weekly's annual poll, Dream Tea is kind of like the "original" bubble tea shop in Edmonton. Their very first location opened in Old Strathcona (technically Queen Alexandra) back in 2003 and they have continued to expand ever since. Now with six locations in the city, Dream Tea is a wonderful example of an Edmonton-born business that has been providing amazing bubble tea for the past 18 years.

I've visited Dream Tea many, many times over the years and "my location" has always been the original one in Old Strathcona. The shop has always operated more like a cafe and very much like a casual place to hang out. Their cloud logo and bright blue lettering is easy to spot when you visit the strip mall shopping area where they're located. They've done a few renovations over the years (the space has been modernized quite a lot) but the vibe has always remained the same; it's a quirky cafe with comfortable tables, a busy and social atmosphere, and there's usually awesome Asian pop music playing. And the board games! Dream Tea might very well be one of the original board game cafes, because being well-stocked with games to play has been part of their business model since the beginning. The staff is friendly and ready to whip up any one of their 100+ drinks on offer.

With literally so many options to choose from, bubble tea can sometimes be overwhelming (especially for first-timers). Dream Tea attempts to simplify the experience by creating clear menu categories and even offering a "Dream Tea Top 10 Picks" list. Do you want something fruity? Maybe more tea based? They've got everything from real fruit bubble tea (great in the summer), avocado drinks, milkshakes, slush drinks, fresh fruit tea, milk tea, and even just normal coffee. Almost all of these options include tapioca. The tapioca (the black pearls that you see in the drinks) are the whole thing - that's what you come for. However, these have also expanded to include other types of jellies and even pudding. You could never try all of the possible combinations because there are just too many. When I first started to get into bubble tea, I personally enjoyed drinking many of the milk tea varieties because they seemed to be the most like actual tea. I mean, it is called bubble "tea," after all. Dream Tea has a drink on the menu called Original Milk Tea, and that's honestly where I would start if you want to get in on the ground floor. From there, I eventually moved myself over to the Mixed Flavours Bubble Tea section because this seemed to be where Dream Tea was creating their most signature beverages. These drinks are all given special names and are made up of an array of ingredients and flavours. It wasn't long before I discovered Dream (Taro + coconut with tapioca & lychee jelly - $5.90) and it has been my go-to ever since. I mean, this bubble tea is named after the restaurant. It's gotta be the one. It is typical to be asked how you want the texture of the ice to be prepared and how much sugar sweetness you want incorporated. I usually don't change anything and have them make my drinks "regular" across the board. Dream is a perfect bubble tea in my opinion. It's purple, which is fun, and the combination of taro and coconut are such an ideal mix of tropical Asian flavours and delightful sweetness. It's cold and creamy. I also love that you not only get the delicious chewy tapioca balls but also lychee jelly, which is probably one of the best jellies. (It tastes exactly like lychee.) Instead of trying to make bubble tea something else, enjoy it for what it should be! This version accomplishes exactly that.
I also wanted to note that I was thoroughly impressed to see that Dream Tea has switched their straws to compostable ones. The big, fat, colourful straws used for bubble tea are quite iconic, however they create a whole lot of plastic waste. I appreciated seeing that Dream Tea is conscious of this and is doing their part.

There is also a food menu. The idea is to offer snacks so that when you're sitting around playing board games with your friends, you've got something to munch on. The items aren't quite enough to make an entire meal out of, although you can certainly try! Sure, they've got several types of fries to choose from but I was much, much more interested in focusing my efforts on their most authentic dishes. They have some great Asian snacks, including items from Japan and Korea, but it had to be Taiwan all the way for me. Taiwan Style Fried Chicken (Salt, pepper & Chinese

I always enjoy Dream Tea. Their menu has a variety of options, from tea to more of a slushy. The food is good too, even if there's not much variety. Staff are always friendly and try their best to help you if they can. When I visited their machine wasn't working and they were VERY apologetic. I didn't mind. They tried their best to fix it, and when they couldn't they handled it very well.

Bubble tea haven!
If you haven't experienced the addictiveness of bubble tea before this is the best place to start.
Not sure what to try? Go for one of the top picks- I'm so glad they have that labelled really well now it makes it super easy to experience with new friends.
But some of my favourite go to choices: sunflower and dream. A couple weird choices you might not think of getting but are SO good: sesame, red bean, and taro (if love purple and sweet totally get a taro).
Sago and jelly? Don't worry if you don't like these gummy things that make you feel like your chewing your drink just ask them not to put it in. Personally I'm a fan and used to ask for double the amount of both- I've hence lowered that addiction so my bubble tea looks more normal now.

Dream Tea house off whyte Ave is one of the best locations- with a new Reno this place is beautiful and they have board games you can sign out to play(just make sure you bring ID).
Parking is good for a couple hours but be cautious they watch the time limits really closely here.

On a side note this place is busy! Expect a bit of a line but they can seriously pump out the bubble tea's fast! And don't forget t get yourself a stamp card- for every 9 drinks get the 10th one free!

The atmosphere of this place is very hip. There's lots of seating and is a nice place to catch up with friends.

We ordered the matcha snow bingsoo, mango snow bingsoo, and green apple boba drink. The bingsoo took a very long time to be served, and the ice wasn't shaved down in consistent pieces. I did, however, really enjoy the mochi on the matcha bingsoo. The green tea boba was tart and refreshing, but there was nothing too unique about it.

When I used the restroom, it was incredibly messy and there was no toilet paper. The area to put trays and dirty dishes was also piled very high, so it seems that the servers may have been too preoccupied making the desserts and drinks to keep up with other parts of the restaurant. At least there's a lot of variety to order from.

This bubble tea joint has been open since my high school days, and it brings along nostalgia and memories of various events through my life - so it was only appropriate that I visit when I'm back in town! It has definitely come a long way 10+ years ago, especially with the new renovations and additions to the menu. I was excited to try out some of their new drinks!

Atmosphere: 3.5/5 New renovations and conveniently located off whyte ave, with good parking availability since it is in a mall. Neat paintings which I haven't noticed before, and as a fan of Asian pop music, it is always nice to catch some familiar tunes from back in the day. There are also various games that can be signed out. However, it can get quite busy and loud later on in the night. Another thing is that it can be difficult to find a garbage can within the restaurant itself to dispose of our drinks once we are done.

Food: 4/5 I generally like the bubble tea here - I suppose it is because this is one of the first shops that opened so it is still the "original" in my mind. Huge menu with various creative concoctions! Nowadays, I tend to go for the unsweetened original bubbletea with 1/2 tapioca, but I have also tried some of their fruit teas, their sea salt milk cap, and jasmine milk tea. The milk teas are a little milky to me, but there are always options to add less sugar, ice, or substitute with various forms of milk, which is a nice change from the past. There are now coffee options, as well as various snacks. The most recent additions are bingsu... which is also a new trend in the dessert world nowadays! Unfortunately they seem huge- so I have been hesistant to try... but the watermelon one ordered by the table next to us looked delicious!

Service: 3.5/5 Overall friendly and efficient staff

Price: 3/5 Reasonable for bubble tea and size. I do wish they took credit card though.

Overall: 4/5 Overall I enjoy this location perhaps because it is so convenient, open at later hours, and brings back lots of memories. When at a loss of things to do, it is nice to just be able to sit down and chat over bubbletea. I am curious about the new additions to the menu and would definitely like to try other items some day!

I was pretty impressed by the bubble tea I had here, and I intend on coming back for more in the future. The service was good, a nice cozy atmosphere with card games to offer for groups, and they have a menu of decent food to appreciate for an added bonus! Definitely drop by if you're a fan of a good casual time with friends!

This is one of my favourite bubble tea shops in Edmonton (and I looooove bubble tea).

They have a huge variety of flavours available and most of them use fresh fruit. 9 times out of 10 I end up getting an avocado bubble tea but the few times I've tried something new have never been disappointing (the lucky star is unreal!).

I've never had bad service here and I usually get my drinks fairly quickly without any issues. I won't comment too much on the atmosphere as I always take my drinks to go. However it does seem like a cute place to pass the time. I love that they have board games that you can borrow.

I don't even know where to start with this review but maaaaaaaaaan, every time that I go to Dream Tea, I die inside. With four locations in the city now, the Dream Tea empire is taking over Edmonton. Thank god there's a couple new BBT shops in town to give them some much needed competition (step it up Yumioca, Purple Bubble Tea and Simply Yours Cafe).

I've been to their OG location too many times to count because everyone in town adores them to pieces. I have NO idea why. Prices are expensive but doesn't correlate to quality.

Dream ($5.25) - this is a top sellers and apparently the only drink my friend ever gets here. It's made of taro and coconut. She asked for half sweet but holy crap, it tasted like pure sugar. Powdered drinks = gross. She even agreed it was terrible (and she is/was a big fan Of Dream Tea, so that's saying something).

Mango dream ($6.30) - this one consists of mango and peach. Better than my friend's but barely passable. We couldn't taste any peach but apple juice seemed to be the dominant flavour in my drink, not to mention it tasted really watered down. For a fresh fruit drink, I didn't taste any fruit. At least the mango stars were decent.

Hopefully, people stop settling for mediocrity. At least I converted one person...seriously though, why is it so hard to find a good BBT shop in town?

You know how dreams are random and never seem to make sense? Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're bad? Dream Tea House chose the perfect name for themselves because they have the most inconsistent service and food.

The first time I visited was at their Oliver Square location because we thought all Dream Tea houses had bingsoo. Nope, this one doesn't. They told us their their location close to Whyte Ave serves bingsoo. Being the tourists that we are, we hauled our butts out and drove across town to get bingsoo.

More disappointment happened when we learned they sold out of mango bingsoo due to the previous busy lunch hour (we got there at 9 pm). We had the strawberry and blueberry bingsoo instead and it was delicious. We also ordered Taiwanese chicken and green onion pancake. The chicken was phenomenal and the best I've ever had. It was a whole breaded dark meat filet cut into thick pieces. It was deeeeeeelicious...

Then we got their B line cooks the next day. This is where their inconsistency in quality and service come in because the chicken we ordered the next day came out like crumbs. And they STILL hadn't restocked on mangos and they ended up running out of matcha! Seriously, who is in charge of inventory and quality there??!

Anyway, I think I'll stick to real life plz. This place clearly has their heads in the clouds and isn't worth going to unless you had no other choice.