Volcano Tea House White peach oolong tea with boba: At 25% sweetness, this herbal oolong tea had a light and refreshing white peach flavor, though it did taste syrup-y. The boba was quite good-neither overly chewy or soft and just a tad sweet. Good enough that I would consider revisiting this Sawtelle-based bubble tea shop in the future. 3.0/5.0
recommended drinks bubbletea volcanoteahouse white peach oolong tea boba 3.0
Wanpo Tea Shop Oolong milk tea with boba: I've had bubble tea in Japan at a handful of shops, and most have been very disappointing, with watered-down powdered tea and overly soft boba. When I saw that there was a Taiwanese chain of bubble tea shops near Ueno station whose wall is lined with loose-leaf tea canisters, I thought they might be different. Luckily, my suspicions were confirmed, and I was actually able to communicate with the shop in Mandarin, a big win for me as I normally feel pretty useless with the little Japanese I... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended bubbletea japan wanpoteashop oolong milk tea boba 4.0
What8ver Black milk tea with boba: A nice milky and herbal tea drink. Refreshing on a hot day. Not too sweet, but I'd personally prefer it to be a little less sweet. Boba was a bit too soft for my liking but had good flavor and decent chew. 3.0/5.0
boba milktea blacktea bubbletea cupertino drinks what8ver black milk tea 3.0
Wonderful Dessert and Cafe Grass jelly drink with boba: Wonderful Dessert and Cafe is a small shop lined with bulk candy bins. Counter for bubble tea in the back. Painted window signage declares that this shop has the "best tapioca in town." In actuality, it was one of the worst I've had from any establishment, with a mushy texture and no flavor. The herbal jelly tea was no better, with a medicinal metallic taste. Was hopeful given high online reviews and this store's location in Inner Richmond, which feels the most like Flushing, Queens as I've... (read more) 1.5/5.0
avoid sanfrancisco bubbletea innerrichmond wonderfuldessertandcafe grass jelly drink boba 1.5 drinks
Yaya Tea Clean Clothes kiwi and mango fruit tea with boba: This Little Italy-based tea shop has mixed fruit tea flavors with bizarre names like “Blue Blood” and “My First Car.” I ordered one of the weirdest ones, a mango and kiwi fruit tea called “Clean Clothes.” Somehow the tea managed to be simultaneously super artificial tasting yet also incredibly diluted, with a sweet yet sour flavor that reminded me of those Chinese jello snacks and Jolly Rancher candies. The boba was similarly subpar - overly hard and lacking any taste. Definitely the worst... (read more) 1.0/5.0
avoid nyc drinks bubbletea yayatea clean clothes kiwi mango fruit tea boba 1.0
Yifang Matcha Brown Sugar Bubble Tea: I was delighted to come across the Taiwanese bubble tea shop Yifang in Shin Okubo, the Koreatown of Shinuku in Tokyo. I wish I were able to read the menu of fruit tea options, but I had to go by the pictures and decided to try their matcha latte with brown sugar, a drink that has a fixed amount of sugar (unlike some other menu items, where you can adjust how sweet you'd like it to be). I did find the drink to be sweet for my taste, but the combination of bitter matcha with sweet brown suga... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended drinks tokyo taiwanese boba bubbletea yifang matcha brown sugar bubble tea 4.0