How to Order Milk Tea in Chinese

Ahh, bubble tea! The most amazing dessert drink you can find in China.

And so many options out there, it’s sometimes almost overwhelming (it’s not like you can go wrong with anything you order, really). But here are some hints on how to order it using Chinese!

ENJOY!

Milk Tea: Regular or not?

As soon as you order milk tea, a waiter will ask you:

正常吗？
Zhèngcháng ma?
Normal?

It’s just a way to ask how much sugar and ice you want in your milk tea.
If you don’t have any specific requirements, you can just say:

正常
Zhèngcháng
Normal

Milk Tea: Sweet or Non-Sweet?

Now, let’s talk about sugar. You can choose to order:

少糖 (shǎotáng)
“Less sugar”, with 70% of sugar

半糖 (bàntáng)
“Half sugar”, with 50% of sugar

微糖 (wēitáng)
“Very little sugar”, with 30% of sugar

无糖 (wútáng)
“No sugar”, with 0% of sugar; sugar-free

Milk Tea: Ice or Hot?

Now, ice!

If you want your milk tea to be ice cold, you can say:
多冰 (duōbīng) = “Lots of ice”

If you don’t want much ice in your milk tea, say:
少冰 (shǎobīng) = “Less ice”

If you want no ice at all, order:
去冰 (qùbīng) = “No ice”

Note: “No-ice” milk tea will still be cold, just the ice cubes will be taken away. If you want it to be neither cold nor hot (热 rè), order a room temperature milk tea:

常温 (chángwēn) = “Room temperature/Lukewarm”