Up...T

This small store is on a smaller street in Chinatown, and easy to miss. The shop is small and a bit shabby inside. Stopped by on a Saturday afternoon, where three girls were waiting for their drinks already. My companion and I ordered and waited about half an hour for the one guy running the store to finish making their and our drinks, which is way too long to wait for bubble tea. Additionally, our drinks were not too impressive. I had peach green tea, my companion had honeydew milk. It tasted watered down and not fresh. Both of us agreed we have had wayyy better a few streets down at Biju and many other bubble tea places in Chinatown. They are cash only.
They have a student discount, which is nice, I suppose. But I won’t be coming back here, not with all the much better options around.

My son and husband love bubble tea and always make a stop here when we’re in Leicester Square extensive drinks menu and pretty authentic.

Lesser known bubble tea place off the main Chinatown square. The big lifehack when it comes to Up T is that there’s never a queue. I had the red guava black tea (unique flavour!) and it was almost indistinguishable from my regular Cuppacha tea, where the queue at the time was nearly around the block.
My only peeve was that the drink was a bit too sweet for my taste and not as icy as I like, but I’m sure that is easy enough to customise next time.
Thanks for saving me for queuing 20 minutes for my bubble tea fix, Up T!

After being in London for a year I really wanted some nice, cool milk tea and this place did not disappoint. I came in fairly early in the morning so the teas were still being prepped, but the owner got to me quickly. I ordered the house special milk tea with pearls and I have to say that it was pretty darn good! It wasn’t too sweet as some can be and the pearls were soft and chewy. They do also offer a student discount or about 25p so a regular drink is £3.

As you know if you’ve read my other reviews, I am a bubble tea fanatic. This bubble tea seemed so authentic and the guy working was so pleasant and nice, I have to give this 5 stars. Also because it seemed empty and maybe a bit ignored. I think it’s worth going and prices are reasonable considering its location. I had Taro. Loved it!
The nice man also recommended me a great place for lunch! Priceless.

Discovered Up… T randomly on a lovely, sunny day walking around London. I had a hankering for a cold refreshing bubble tea and pretty much every other place that I would usually go to had a queue out the door. And that’s when I stumbled upon Up… T and decided to give it a go.
Great quality, lots of options (mmm pudding!) and reasonably priced. This is my new go-​to tea spot!

So my office is in China Town, I have a multitude of bubble tea places to choose from. Originally, I was queuing at Chatime but the queue was so horrendous I thought about walking to Longji, my second choice.
Then I was hit by a sudden realisation that I haven’t tried Up T yet and have been meaning to try it. The shop was empty at 1.45pm…I went in, there was a single lady there and I ordered I believe a Mango milk tea. She went to prepare etc.
I asked her how business was, as I have never seen anyone order anything there, let alone a queue, she asked if I was a spy!!! Erm, ok nevermind, I dispelled her of that notion, saying I just wanted a chat and that I have never seen anyone here. She says they do regular clientele business/​tourists usually. I wonder who is her regular clientele?
Anyway the moment of truth… I tried the Mango (milk?) tea at the office, it tasted like a bigger version of a Yakult, this is really wrong. Mango should not taste like this! The pearls are not «springy» and do not have any taste (I like them with some sugar in the pearls) and so this drink was a disaster.
Sorry Up T, I really don’t think I will come back anytime soon. It’s not like this place is any cheaper than the others. Next time Chatime has a big queue, I might just pop over to the Soho branch or even just go to Mooboo, or even Longji.

I was introduced to Up… T by Leanne H. on a random night out. I tried the mango milk bubble tea, and after initially thinking it was the wrongest thing in the world, I am now hooked. I particularly like this place because everything is made on site, the owners are really nice, and the prices are very reasonable. So, if you are going to step into the slightly strange world of bubble tea, you’ll do pretty well with this place and keep it in the family.

This place has quite authentic bubble tea. I have come here more than 5 times already and ordered different kinds of milk tea with different toppings including mango milk tea with pudding, green milk tea with bubble etc. All of them tasted very authentic and quite good. The waitress here is also very friendly.
The only down side I have at this place is that they were not so upfront about helping you get some good deals. So I will tell you here that they do have student pricing if you whip out student card, which gives you 50 pence off each drink. In addition, you should ask for the loyalty card, which gives you one free drink after 8. Enjoy!

This place definitely gets a 5! After being in Europe the last week or so, I was feening some asian tea… a friend of mine recommended this place in London, and I was not let down! It’s a very very small shop, meant to be just taken to-​go. Although they do have a small bench on the side of the shop for you to sit and wait for your drink.
I opted for the Peach Oolong Tea with Aloe Vera half sweetened (I think that’s the one I chose, lol… Europe is becoming to be a bit of a blur) since I tend to not have much of a sweet tooth. I explained to the lady that I tend to like my tea kinda as is and only very slightly sweetened… and I was so surprised when the lady who made my drink even let me sample the sweetness of my tea before putting it in a cup. WUT?! No tea place has ever let me sampled their drinks before serving it to me!!! Super, super plus for that! Anyways, super tasty, and just the perfect amount of sweetness for me! They had good, small chunks of aloe which paired perfectly with my peach tea. c:
My friend also told me that the owner of this shop also was a martial arts master! Not sure if that’s entirely true, but him being an avid regular of this place … I don’t disbelieve him. The owner even looks the part (even if he wasn’t a martial arts master)… so cool! Hahah.

I enjoyed the #116, a mango bubble tea with aloe vera pieces and tapioca pearls. Delicious and made fresh in front of you. Price value was pretty good for the size you get and how long it lasts. Will definitely visit again soon.

The recent Talk thread posted by Erin H brought up the topic of recent food trends in London and bubble tea places were mentioned
There has been a noticeable spate of recent openings, which have trended towards the Hong Kong style of outlet rather than the Americanised version as exemplified by Bubbleology
Up…T is another new bubble tea place which has just opened and they currently have a 30% discount. They are located on the edge of Chinatown on Little Newport Street.
They offer the usual line up of different types of bubble tea but I like their fruity slushes, which are very refreshing on a hot day
£3.25 for a regular. £3.75 for a large and 50p for toppings