Bobalife

What's in the box: There is no recurring box, but the kits and gift sets combine flavourings, tea, a topping such as popping boba or tapioca pearls, and bamboo straws for making drinks at home.

Bobalife is a UK bubble tea specialist that says it has been trading since 2013. It is an online shop rather than a recurring box service. The site does not describe any subscription plan, so you buy ingredients and kits as one-off orders. The range is broad. It covers popping boba, tapioca pearls, coconut jelly, fruit syrups, milk tea powders, loose teas, wide bamboo straws and ready-made kits and gift sets. Flavours run across product types, so if you pick strawberry, mango, lychee, taro or matcha you can usually find it as a syrup, a powder or popping boba. The site also explains plainly how to build a drink: one flavour, one tea, one topping and a wide straw. It points out that you only need one topping rather than all three, which keeps first orders sensible. Small pots and sachets make it cheap to experiment. Cafes and dessert shops can buy catering sizes such as large tubs, bottles and bags, with trade pricing on request. The kits and gift sets are the closest thing to a box here and look like a reasonable present for someone curious about making bubble tea at home. If you want a regular surprise delivery, though, this is not it.