Rankings:

Sun Thé (Montpellier, France): A. Despite battling a mild case of food poisoning, I mustered up the cravings to go to the highest-ranked boba store in town that was open on a Sunday (kudos to them for doing the Lord's work on the Lord's day.) They had two types of nondairy milk (coconut and oat), and the barista was a fabulous queen who proclaimed "we have the best music and the best bubble tea [in town]" when I complimented him on his song choice ("All the Things She Said", by t.a.T.u), and I'm inclined to agree. They had some interesting drinks like oolong strawberry litchi, but I went with a (decaf) peach latte, which was obviously made with fresh, in-season peaches.

T.ZONE BOBA (Luxembourg City, Luxembourg): B+. For a tiny place like Luxembourg, not bad! I ordered a rose oat milk tea. I enjoyed my drink, but be warned that the sugar levels are insane. I got zero percent sugar (the barista recommended this) and it was actually still too sweet. I also didn't trust the color of Dídac's taro milk tea. Nice place to work though; they have wifi and comfy chairs.

BoBo Bubble Tea (Bern, Switzerland): A-. Reliable Swiss boba chain (there's one in Fribourg too- see my review from earlier). Conveniently located in the train station next to the university. I ordered a taro milk tea with oat milk and it was solid. It gets an A- since it was a little hard to find, and they are understaffed; there was unfortunately only one lady working the stall, so when she had to use the bathroom, the stall was just unmanned for 20+ minutes.

Magic Tea- Bubble Tea and Sushi (Fribourg, Switzerland): A. I ordered a taro oat milk latte, and it was solid (clearly made from real taro). The highlight of the shop, though, was the owner/barista, a very sweet Chinese aunty from Fujian who froze when I started speaking English and was very relieved when I switched to Chinese. She was sad to hear I was leaving the next day. I will be back.

Shaking Lab (Dublin, Ireland): A. Now this is a real boba shop! I was in Ireland for 6 days; I went 3 of those days (you could say that I have a problem but I won't hear it). Their taro fresh milk was great. Their main gimmick is that they use scales to measure ingredients exactly. The only red flag was that when I ordered the jasmine green tea latte, it came with a giant pile of whipped cream, with candied nuts? It's giving Starbucks, which is not a compliment. But I'll give them an A because otherwise they are solid and you can tell this is where Chinese expats go for their fix.

Soupy Dumpling and Boba (Washington, DC, guest raters Allison Byars and Varun Gudibanda, who are currently on the job market- help my homies out): A. Did I choose to do to this boba shop purely because of the name? Maybe. As the name suggests, there were indeed many people enjoying soupy dumplings with their boba. Bought an expensive strawberry milk bubble tea but again, it's DC, so maybe things really be costing that much. Also, apparently it's a local (non-chain) shop! A rarity these days, so I'm here for it. I was going to rate it an A-, but my friends Allison and Varun both gave A's, so I aggregated our ratings.

Love Yum Cha (Dublin, Ireland): B+. Found this place on r/Dublin. I ran across town and made it to the store 5 minutes before they closed- kudos to them for graciously making my drink (and having boba available, unlike many stores which stop making boba 30 minutes before closing)! Unfortunately, my jasmine oat milk tea with boba was very average tasting. But I will give them a plus sign because they're a small business run by a Chinese aunty and I love that for them.

CUPP (Bristol, UK): B. Had some interesting flavors (I tried the cherry blossom one) and very considerate of dietary restrictions. But it was kind of watery, and way too sweet. I got 30 percent sugar, but it tasted like 100 percent sugar!

Bobo Tea (Fribourg, Switzerland): A-. Solid boba with great non-dairy milk options! Owners are Chinese, which is a good sign. Price was not ideal, which is why I gave it an A- instead of an A, but then again, it's Switzerland.

Monster Tea Shop (Istanbul, Turkey): A. I took a crowded bus for an hour just to get this boba, twice. It was worth it. Great prices (under $4/cup). Tasted surprisingly authentic (they import their ingredients from Taiwan), cute logo, situated right next to a huge and beautiful park, and there was a cute cat!

Le C's Patisserie (Madison, WI): A. Best boba spot in Madison. It's expensive, but treat yourself you deserve it even in this economy!

Sencha (Madison, WI): B. Love-hate relationship honestly. The Starbucks of boba shops. You can get a PSL with boba, which is a huge red flag. But it gets a B for being a good place to work and staying open late.

Whale Tea (Newport News, VA): A-. Chain (there was one in New Haven, CT too!) with very solid drinks. Very pleasantly surprised to find one in a small place like Newport News. I only gave it an A- instead of an A because it was really expensive.

The Alley (Toronto, Ontario, Canada): A. Really solid chain that I've been to multiple times since leaving Toronto. Open (relatively) late.

Kung Fu Tea (Waltham, MA): C+. I knew what I was getting into so this one is kind of on me, but it gets a plus sign for having non-dairy milk options (take notes, KFT Madison) and being cheaper than many other places.

Daboba (Chicago, IL): A. Really solid chain in Chinatown. I have a weakness for strawberry flavored drinks, and they definitely delivered.

Sweet Dots (Nashville, TN): C. You could tell it was made from powder instead of actual tea, which is a huge faux pas in the world of boba. But my seminar hosts definitely get an A+! Shoutout to Spencer and Anna Marie (and everyone else who came with me!).

Teahouse (Houston, TX): D+. Powdery, sugary, artificial-tasting drinks. It's mind-boggling to me that Houstonians love this place (probably because a lot of them don't know any better). I like how they had plenty of seating, and it was the only place that could accommodate our bigger group, so it gets a plus sign.