2022 January 1st
Blog by: Maelynn Le
All photos were taken by Maelynn Le
Photo: Matcha Brown Sugar with Boba at Tea and Others
Boba balls are tapioca balls that are sweet, chewy, and soft. They are edible spheres produced from tapioca which is starch extracted from a cassava root. These are typically used in Southeastern Asian cuisine and they are the perfect sweet topping for almost any dessert! You know that the boba texture is good when the boba is soft, chewy, not too mushy, edible, and has a nice amount of sweetness. In this article, I’m going to recommend my top favorite boba spots you MUST check out in various parts of the Bay Area.
Boba Bliss (Dublin/Mountain View, CA)
Photo: Avocado Milk and Mango Milk
Boba bliss has by far the best boba and milk tea flavors in the Bay Area hands down! I will literally drive 30 mins just to get their boba and I don’t care about traffic at this point. If they have this drink, I would recommend their avocado milk tea. I know what you are probably think; it’s too healthy and it’s not going to taste good. Literally, it’s one of the best tasting milk teas I ever had. Avocado is super strange but I love the fat and creaminess the drink has. I also recommend their creme brûlée because you get that torched sugar flavor throughout the drink and it just tastes very creamy and rich. The boba texture over there is perfect. You get a nice chew to the boba and I can just eat their boba all day. It’s that perfect and I highly recommend trying this place out.
2. Dr. Ink (San Jose, CA)
Photo: Black (Nougat) ink latte and Ruby black teacup topped with boba
When you want a certain tea, you are ACTUALLY going to taste how strong their tea is! Located near San Pedro Square in San Jose, Dr, Ink has been one of the newest and best boba places you will find in Silicon Valley. Compared to other boba places, their teas are very strong so for example, if you want Jade Green milk tea with boba, you WILL get that Green tea flavor you want on your milk tea! Their teas are strong, sweet, and very well balanced! The boba over there has the perfect smooth and soft texture that every boba ball should have. This place is a must go if you are in Silicon Valley! You have to trust me! Any milk tea you get will NOT disappoint you nor ice cream.
3. TP Tea (Berkely, San Jose, and Cupertino, CA)
Photo: Winter melon tea latte, Cheese cream mango tea, Jasmine green milk tea
There are 3 TP (Taiwan Professional Tea) locations in the Bay Area and all of them are absolutely great! I've been to all 3 locations including the one in Seattle and almost all of their drinks I've tried were up to par! I recommend their Jasmine Milk tea the most because you get that strong tea flavor of jasmine and the sweetness from the sugar cane that will satisfy your boba and milk tea cravings l! It’s so delicious I’m not even joking! I love their mango cheese foam drink too because it taste frothy since the cheese give the mango absence of lightened drink. I really recommend that drink to anyone as well! The boba textures on all of the locations are perfect and you get that nice chewy and sweetness in the boba as well. Overall, their teas are brewed strong but not overpowering, and really will satisfy you very much!
4. Tea Lyfe (San Jose and Saratoga, CA)
Photo: Strawberry Horchata and Vegetarian mushroom and Inari banh mi
Tea Lyfe has two locations: One in Little Saigon in San Jose and another is in Saratoga. The Saratoga location is the only one that has snacks and food so keep that in mind. Their drinks were so fresh and delicious especially their vegetarian Banh mì! That banh mi was legit the best banh mi I have ever tasted! I love warm the bread was and all the flavors to make it a stellar banh mi! I also recommend their strawberry horchata drink because you get those horchata flavors but the strawberries make the drink even better. The boba texture was excellent. It was chewy but it also had that soft texture that was addicting as well.
5. Tea and Others (San Francisco, CA)
Photo: Dirty Matcha Latte and Sunnyside up (Salted egg yolk) drink
Tea and Other's is locatedin between Haight-Ashbury and Hays Valley in San Francisco, CA. The dirty matcha latte and the sunny side up drink are the two newest drinks at this cute boba shop! The dirty matcha latte is made with organic matcha with that sweet brown sugar boba! The boba texture was just right for me in terms of being a bit on the softer side but you still have that chewy texture that every boba pearl should have. The brown sugar with that matcha latte was really perfect! The Sunny side salted egg yolk drink tasted like you are literally eating a salted egg yolk moon cake or something like that! I loved their concept of making a classic egg into a rich sweet drink! Which two drinks would you want to try?
6. Urban Ritual (San Jose, San Mateo, and San Francisco, CA)
Photo: Creme Brûlée and Honey Oolong
Urban Ritual has been one of the hottest boba spots to get some great quality boba and milk tea. They have 3 locations and I'm sure all of their locations do not disappoint. My friend and I both went to Urban Ritual to see if the hype is worth it. Of course, a lot of people told me that they recommended the Creme Brûlée drink so I had to try that for myself and my friend ordered the Honey Oolong drink. Honestly, the creme brûlée drink is one fo the best creme brûlée drinks I ever had! You get a cup of torched sugar that you put on top of the drink and I think that's so cleaver. The creme brûlée drink is so creamy, rich, and you get that amazing torched sugar flavor throughout the drink. It was one fo the best creme brûlée drinks I ever tasted. The boba texture was a bit on the hard side but it wasn't too hard that I couldn't chewy on it. It was sweet and nice to chewy like gum. My friend told me that the Honey Oolong drink was pretty good but he's not a sweet tooth so he didn't enjoy it as much as I did. He did like the flavor of the Honey Oolong but he told me he wouldn't order the boba next time haha.
7. Sana. 19 (Pop up in Fremont, CA)
Photo: Black Sugar Creme Brûlée, Strawberry Coconut, Sparking Mango, Mandarian Orange Spring
San.19 is technically a pop up boba shop. This one I went to was taken in San Carlos, CA and I heard they popped up at Fremont, CA now. You will really taste very fresh quality ingredients in this cute boba shop in San Carlos/Fremont! I love their drinks so much because it’s light, no artificial flavors nor preserves, and it just tasted so fresh and has a nice tart flavor. My favorite drink was the strawberry coconut because you really getting that coconut flavor infused with the strawberry and they complement each other very well! As far as the boba pearls go, texture was perfect and I wouldn't as to change a single thing. I want to go back and try their mango coconut too and see! Highly recommend checking out this place!
Comments