Counter script
How to order boba in Central Florida
A first cup is four things you say: base, sugar, ice, topping. Milk tea or fruit tea, how sweet, how much ice, and the chew or foam on top. Central Florida shops print those choices in slightly different words. Speak the four, then confirm hours on the shop’s own page.
Four things to say
- Base. Milk tea or fruit tea. Name the leaf if the board lists one — Assam, jasmine, oolong, Thai.
- Sugar. A percent or a word like “half sweet.” Stay silent and some boards pour full sweet.
- Ice. Less ice is more drink. Extra ice is a colder walk-out.
- Topping. Pearls, jelly, pudding, or a foam cap. Say the chew you want.
Kung Fu Tea’s FAQ publishes a sugar ladder of 0 / 30 / 50 / 75 / 100, and ice as none / less / regular / extra. Harmony Tea Shoppe, Ding Tea Orlando, and The Boba Company print their own boards. Read the board in front of you.
Pick a base, add a topping, dial in your sugar and ice, and you’ve got it.Kung Fu Tea FAQ. “What is bubble tea?”
The eight steps
- Open the shop’s own page. Neighborhoods and cited URLs are on Shops. Hours and the live menu stay there.
- Choose the order path. Walk-up at the counter; a shop app (Kung Fu Tea, Harmony); or a pickup link (Ding Tea Orlando, The Boba Company, Boba N Chill). Kung Fu Tea’s Florida page says you can skip the line by ordering ahead in the app.
- Name the drink family. Milk tea, fruit tea, slush or smoothie, or a house signature (Happy Lemon’s lemon series and rock-salt cheese tea; The Boba Company’s Dirty Brown Sugar). See the drink-family table.
- Name the tea base if the board lists one. Kung Fu Tea’s FAQ distinguishes black (Earl Grey), green (jasmine), oolong (roasted), and Thai. Ding Tea Orlando names Assam black, jasmine green, and fruit-forward black and green teas on the homepage.
- Set sugar. Kung Fu Tea’s default is 100% if you stay silent. The published steps are 0%, 30%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. Other Orlando shops may print 25% steps or “less sweet.” Say a percent or “half sweet” if the board uses words.
- Set ice. Kung Fu Tea publishes none, less, regular, or extra. Slushes skip ice changes because they are blended. Florida humidity makes “less ice” a common walk-up ask so the tea is not water by the last third of the cup.
- Add toppings. Tapioca pearls (“boba” or “bubbles”), pudding, coconut nata jelly, red bean, aloe, herbal jelly, or popping bubbles. Kung Fu Tea’s toppings page defines each. Happy Lemon is the published Orlando home of salted cheese foam. The Boba Company lists boba and cheese foam on signature drinks.
- Pay and pick up. Kung Fu Tea’s app accepts Apple Pay, Google Pay, or a linked card, and stores still take cash for in-person orders (per the FAQ). Harmony’s app is “order ahead and pay.” Confirm the pickup name on the ticket.
Sugar and ice, as one chain prints them
Use this table at Kung Fu Tea Orlando on Collegiate Way. Other shops may differ. Read their board.
| Control | Published steps (Kung Fu Tea FAQ) | If you say nothing |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 0% / 30% / 50% / 75% / 100% | 100% sweetness |
| Ice | none / less / regular / extra | Regular ice on iced drinks |
| Slush / yogurt | No ice modification | Blended as designed |
| Size | Medium and large at most locations | Ask if the board lists one size |
Walk-up versus app
Walk-up
Read the board. Speak: “Jasmine milk tea, 50% sugar, less ice, pearls.” Add a second topping only if the shop stacks them (Kung Fu Tea says most stores allow multiple toppings, each as a separate charge).
Kung Fu Tea app
The app page lists four steps: download, create an account, turn on location to see nearby stores, pay. A later FAQ note: the app defaults to the closest store, so check the Orlando Collegiate Way name at checkout. Scan-to-pay still works in the store if you log in first.
Other Orlando order links
Ding Tea Orlando links online ordering from the homepage. The Boba Company uses an orders.co pickup and delivery page. Boba N Chill publishes pickup and delivery. Harmony Tea Shoppe prints a shop app for both Orlando shops.
A first-cup script
If the board is a wall, start here: jasmine or Assam milk tea, 50% sugar, less ice, tapioca pearls. That cup exists, with small name changes, at Chewy, Kung Fu Tea, Ding Tea, Harmony, and Blended. Fruit-tea drinkers can swap the milk for a named fruit (lychee, passion fruit, lemon) and skip dairy foam.
Questions
- What does “boba” mean on an Orlando board?
- Usually the chewy tapioca pearls. Kung Fu Tea also sells “Wow Boba” (brown-sugar caramelized) and “Honey Boba.” Ask which pearl is the default.
- Is cheese foam dairy?
- Treat it as dairy unless the shop’s allergen sheet says otherwise. Kung Fu Tea’s milk cap is a salted, frothy milk layer. Happy Lemon’s rock-salt cheese tea is the brand’s signature.
- Can a drink be hot?
- Kung Fu Tea’s FAQ: milk teas, classic teas, and several specialties can be hot; slushes, punches, and yogurt drinks are iced-only.