Weekend Tea is a new bubble tea shop opened in June 2019. They have high ratings online so we decided to give it a try. There are not much stuff on the menu, but everything seems to be made with fresh real ingredients. Weekend Tea is located on Kingsway near Marlborough Avenue, Burnaby.
Strength: Real fruit tea
Weakness: Expensive drink with small portion
Other Bubble Tea Shops
- Xing Fu Tang (4.5 Stars)
- Yi Fang Taiwanese Fruit Tea (4.5 Stars)
- Hanlin Tea House (5 Stars)
- Chatime (4.5 Stars)
Located in an odd corner of an alcove
Weekend Tea is located in a building at a corner. It is facing an odd interior corner of an alcove. The storefront glazing is right next to a bus stop. It is convenient to get to, but sometimes you have to look at the people waiting for the bus.
Sandwich Board Showcase real ingredient
There is a large sandwich board sign right outside of their storefront. It showcase their real fruit drinks. The colorful signage definitely captures more attention than the black and white contemporary designed storefront.
Artificial greenery feature wall
I may be nitpicking here, but it’s a little ironic for Weekend Tea to advertise real ingredient when the feature wall is full of artificial greenery. Regardless, this feature wall looks very nice and brightens up the space. This is the focal point of the store.
Front counter looks cluttered
The front counter looks very busy. There are advertisement posters, planters, little pamphlets, fruit and snacks for sale. Behind the counter, you can see minimalist and clean menu board. This creates an extreme contrast. The staff was very cut-to-the-chase. She has a neutral demeanor, not rude nor friendly.
Narrow store with limited seating
When we first arrived, there was only one staff in the entire store. The store is narrow and only have 14 seats for customers. Interior air is a little warm and stuffy. I kind of wish the feature wall has some real plants for air exchange. Perhaps turning on the AC unit would be a better option.
Contemporary furniture with industrial character
Most of the tables and chairs in Weekend Tea are black with thin top. They are very contemporary. The supports are thin steels that resemble rebars at the construction site. There are 10 of these seats. The other 4 chairs are are patio seating.
The Zang Pearl Milk
Zang is a direct translation of “Dirty”. It is to resemble the beautiful exterior marbling of the brown sugar pearl milk in the clear cup. The cup size is comparable to Xing Fu Tang, both are quite small. This one at Weekend Tea cost $6.50, one size only.
The milk came shaken. There’s no precipitation of brown sugar syrup at the bottom. I also couldn’t experience the warm and soft pearls. The drink doesn’t taste too sweet compared to many other brown sugar drink from other tea shop. The taste is a little boring at the beginning. Towards the end, the saltiness starts to shine through to give this drink a layered flavour.
Dirty Tea, pun intended?
For some reason, the rim of my cup have some brown sugar syrup. Maybe this is what they meant by “Dirty”? My finger kept getting dirty from touching the rim. I had to go get napkin twice.
Lychee Fruit Tea
The lychee fruit tea cost $5.75 for a small cup. They use real lychee to make them. This drink taste a little watered down, but that is actually what real fruit drinks are supposed to taste like. The lychee fruit tea doesn’t have a rich taste of lychee, but it has lots of real lychee at the bottom. The lychee bits provide interesting texture. This drink is quite refreshing.
604 Food Critic Assessment
I like to see individual, non franchise bubble tea shops opening around the city. They are a breath of fresh air among the bubble tea community. Weekend Tea definitely used quality ingredients, but I think the cup is a little too small for the price they are charging. I have mixed feeling about this place and not sure if I should recommend it. It would be great if you could let me know about your experience.
How to get in touch
- Phone: (604) 620-1315
- Address: #101 – 5021, Kingsway, Burnaby
- Hours: 9:30 am – 10:30 pm, Friday 9:30 am – 11:30 pm, Saturday 12:00 pm – 11:30 pm, Sunday 12:00 am – 10:30 pm (Very complicated)
