Compare

Milk tea, fruit tea, slush, toppings

An Orlando board is four families stacked: milk tea, fruit tea, blended slush or smoothie, and the toppings that change the chew. The table below uses published names from Kung Fu Tea, Happy Lemon, Ding Tea Orlando, Harmony, and The Boba Company. It is a reading key, not a ranking.

Dry oolong tea leaves.
FamilyWhat it isOrlando example (cited)Usual dairy
Milk teaNamed tea plus milk or creamerKung Fu Tea black / jasmine / oolong / Thai; Harmony original and taro milk tea with boba; Ding Tea Assam and jasmineYes, unless plant milk is on that shop’s board
Fruit teaTea or light base with fruitDing Tea grapefruit black, passion fruit green, lychee black; Happy Lemon lemon series; Dang fruit originalsUsually none until foam is added
Slush / smoothieBlended ice or fruitThe Boba Company smoothies and non-dairy slushies; Kung Fu Tea slushes (no ice modification)Varies by flavor
Cheese foam / milk capSalted frothy dairy layerHappy Lemon rock-salt cheese tea; Kung Fu Tea Milk Cap; The Boba Company cheese foam add-inYes
PearlsChewy tapiocaDefault topping on Harmony milk teas “w. Boba”; Kung Fu Tea tapioca cooked every 2 hoursNo
Waffle sideBubble waffle, not a teaThe Boba Company bubble waffles; Visit Orlando notes Happy Lemon bubble wafflesn/a

How to use the table at the counter

  1. Pick a family first. Milk, fruit, or blended. That choice decides dairy and ice.
  2. Then the tea or fruit. Assam, jasmine, oolong, Thai, lemon, lychee, taro.
  3. Then sugar, ice, topping. The numbered script is on How to order.

Questions

Is brown-sugar milk tea a fruit tea?
No. It is a milk tea sweetened with brown-sugar syrup, often with pearls. The Boba Company lists Dirty Brown Sugar as a signature drink; Dang lists brown sugar milk with boba.
Where does cheese foam sit?
On top of milk tea or fruit tea. It is a topping, not a base.

Next: neighborhoods.

Shops