i-Tea Honey Brown Rice Milk Tea with Basil Seeds and Agar Boba: From Taiwan, this bubble tea chain has all the signs of an authentic Taiwanese tea shop: its menu is ridiculously long; you can customize sweetness, ice, and toppings; it's cash only; there's absolutely no place to sit and chat (you purchase your drink and enjoy it elsewhere); and while there are lines out the door, service is fast. Drinks only come in one (large) size but are very reasonably priced. I ordered their honey brown rice milk tea at 30% sweetness, and the drink was one of the b... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional drink boba itea honey brown rice milk tea basil seeds agar 4.5 bubbletea
Mr. Wish Black milk tea with boba: While I found the boba to be a bit too chewy, I otherwise found this classic beverage, which was not too sweet (I specified 25% sweetness) to be good. It is unfortunately too common to purchase black milk tea that doesn't actually have any herbal taste; this one fortunately avoids that pitfall. 3.0/5.0
recommended drinks boba milktea mrwish black milk tea 3.0
Belly Good Cafe & Crepes Black Milk Tea with Boba: To accompany the crepe I purchased at Belly Good Cafe, I purchased a cup of black milk tea with boba. It was probably the single worst bubble tea I've had in my life. The tea had zero herbal flavor and tasted of watered-down sugar water with a bit of dairy. The boba was also complete mush, with no give and a slimy exterior. I hate wasting food, so I did force myself to drink the entire thing, but I will be scarred from drinking bubble tea again in the near future. 0.5/5.0
avoid drinks bellygoodcafecrepes black milk tea boba 0.5
Boba Guys Coconut green tea with boba: On a Sunday afternoon, the line for the Mission Boba Guys in San Francisco was entirely too long, with about a 13 minute wait to order. I ordered their coconut green tea with organic milk and boba. At 25% sweetness, I still found the drink to be a tad too sweet, which is consistent with my experience at this Boba Guys (compared to the one in NYC, which doesn't seem to add as much sugar). The drink came out at room temperature, but the ice helped bring it down in temperature after a few mi... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks bobaguys coconut green tea boba 3.0
Happy Lemon Lemon Jasmine tea with boba: I revisited the Boston location of Happy Lemon to try a citrus-based drink this time around and purchased this beverage at 50% sweetness. The boba texture was very good – firm but still chewy. Much better than other boba options in Boston. The drink itself was highly acidic, which was refreshing but masked any of the flavor from the jasmine tea. Still, a very solid drink. 3.5/5.0
boston drinks recommended happylemon lemon jasmine tea boba 3.5
Kung Fu Tea Lychee tea with boba and lychee jelly: Purchased from the Kung Fu Tea in Edison, NJ, this tea drink was far too sweet despite specifying 25% sweetness. The boba was also disappointingly soft. The jelly, though, had a decently firm bite. It's too bad there is so much variability with drinks from this chain. 2.0/5.0
drinks tea kungfutea lychee boba jelly 2.0