Boba

I drink boba on occasion. I’m not, like, a huge boba fan, but I go often enough that I should probably document it.

The first time I remember getting boba was at New Tung Kee in Mountain View. Back then it was just called “pearl tea” and was just a drink you got with food, instead of a thing you got on its own. I’m not exactly sure when things changed, but boy are they popular now.

Places

Here are some boba places. I might have some scattered thoughts about them.

Plentea (in SF, map)

Probably my favorite boba place, not necessarily for the drinks but because of the glass bottles they come in. Most boba places use a ton of plastic, giving you a single-use plastic cup that’s sealed with plastic that needs a plastic boba straw to puncture. Plentea gives you a nice 500ml glass milk bottle. If you bring it back, you get a discount on your next drink. We have like 6 of these bottles, they’re actually really handy.

Recommendation for new people: Their special “Plentea” is pretty decent.

I recently found out they have a location in Berkeley (map).
Mr. Sun Tea (in Mountain View, map)

I really like the boba they make here. They have a drink that involves non-alcoholic Heineken that’s actually pretty good.
One Zo (in Oakland, map)

The boba tapioca balls they make here are pretty decent. I don’t remember which drink I got, but I do remember thinking “wow, I actually like the boba here”.
Ding Tea (various places)

The drinks they have here are pretty sweet. I like their brown sugar boba, or whatever it’s called.
Little Sweet (various places in SF, O’Farrell location map)

This place is expensive, something like 12 bucks for a drink? Their O’Farrell Street location is to-go only, and I remember it taking a while. I don’t remember much about the drink itself, except that it did seem like it involved more effort, but I probably wouldn’t get it again. They only reason we got it in the first place was because my partner was able to expense it.
Teaspoon (various places, Los Altos map)

Pretty decent place. They have a few locations I know of, like one on Polk Street in SF. Interestingly they’re originally from Los Altos.

They have more creative drinks rather than the more traditional black-milk-tea–style boba.
Asha Tea House (SF map, Berkeley map)

Pretty good, as far as I can remember. I know a lot of people recommend it as well. Tends to have pretty nice interior decoration.

Interior of Asha in SF

Some milk tea from Asha in SF
Boba Guys (various places in SF)

I feel like Boba Guys is pretty well known in the Bay Area. I’ve gone a few times, but I’ve never really gone enough to prefer it to other places.
Tea & Others (SF map)

Pretty standard boba. Seemed fine.
Ume Tea (Mountain View map)

Aside from boba, they also have a mochi topping. Not to be crass, but the warm mochi’s texture reminded me of snot, which made it unpleasant. I think it’s a creative topping though, and others like it so I’d recommend checking it out.
Verde Tea Cafe (Mountain View, map)

I feel like this place was the place to get boba way before boba really caught on as a trend. Like, way before you had fancier places like Teaspoon. My cousins use to go here all the time. I don’t really remember their boba, but they seem to still be doing okay.
Rare Tea (various, Rockridge Oakland map)

I got their ice cream boba one time. For some reason I expected something closer to a milk shake, but instead it was chunks of ice cream mixed in with a coffee or black tea base. It was pretty good, but I got pretty wired on caffeine that day.
Quickly (everywhere)

I usually get their popcorn chicken. Their boba, as far as I can remember, was fine.
Gong Cha (everywhere)

Seemed fine, from what I can remember.
Zero& (SF map)

Went here once. Can’t remember what I thought about it, besides it being expensive.
Feng Cha (in Berkeley, map)

I remember this place being pretty good.
Urban Ritual (SF map)

Got it delivered sometime in January or February 2023. I got some kind of crème brûlée drink, which was pretty good.
T4 (various locations)

Went to a location in Redding in like May 2023. Pretty basic boba place, kinda on the same level as quickly.
Tea Chai Te (in Portland)

This is more of a normal tea place, with teas like pu’er, but they also have boba. I got a Hokkaido milk tea here in May 2023. Their boba was kinda chewy, not super sweet, seemed fine though.
Share Tea (various locations)

Pretty basic place. There’s one in the Metreon in SF. This is more of a basic boba than an elevated boba.

A basic milk tea from the Share Tea at the Metreon. It was fine. You’ll notice I have my own reusable metal straw in this single-use disposable plastic cup because I’m a fucking hypocrite.