Downtown's Bubble Tea World

Mahid Choudhury has opened his first buffalo tea café in downtown Buffalo. Located at 304 Main Street, Bubble Tea World is exactly that – a world that Choudhury has created, based on the bubble tea drink, which is also referred to as boba.

Honestly, I can’t recall the last time that I made a pitstop for boba. But seeing that it was pretty hot, and I was biking all around downtown, I just couldn’t resist. The funny thing is that I almost completely biked right past Bubble Tea World, because it was tough to read the signage in the window, and there was no apparent sign on or protruding from the storefront… yet. Thankfully I pressed my nose up to the glass to peer inside, which is when I saw the bubble tea counter.

Upon walking up to the counter, Choudhury greeted me and suggested that I try the peach bubble tea. I agreed that that sounded delicious and refreshing. At the last minute, he gave me the option of adding rainbow jellies instead of tapioca pearls. Ooh, decisions decisions. In the end, I felt that the jellies might be more refreshing, so I went with that option.

As Choudhury prepared my peach jelly boba, we chatted about all of the new items that he would be introducing to the shop down in the near future – coffee, waffles with toppings, snacks, sandwiches… and… he’s looking for some suggestions. He wants Bubble Tea World to be a destination for downtown office workers year round.

In the meantime, customers can stop in for a boba, or a cup of ice cream. Choudhury recommended that I try one of the Crown pistachio ice cream cups, and I’m glad that I did. Once I grabbed it out of the refrigerator, it took about five minutes to soften up, which was fine because I was already sipping my boba tea. As soon as it was soft enough, I took it outside and happily ate it while seated on a bench along Main Street.

Aside from the selling Crown Kulfi (South Asian desserts) including traditional premium creamy milk ice-cream, Choudhury also serves up a range of Crown Kulfi popsicles (grab ‘n’ go, in the fridge), Crystal boba (made from the konjac plant), and flavorful slushies, which are prepared behind the counter (along with the boba).

Choudhury told me that he is working on getting a new sign installed, and can’t wait to introduce some interesting new treats in coming weeks.

Now that the weather is hot(ter), it’s the perfect time to stop by Bubble Tea World for a cold, yummy treat. Order one item, or do what I did and sample a couple of the offerings. My boba and ice cream cup were one of the best parts of my excursion to down… and that’s saying a lot, because it was an action-packed day!

Bubble Tea World | 304 Main Street Buffalo NY 14202 | (347) 701-7528 | Facebook

Open Monday-Friday | 11am – 7pm