Tea Garden - San Diego

It most deff. has been a whileee...

• location:
• Convoy St., San Diego
  
• price range:
  
• $2.75-$3.50 (teas)
  
• $3.25-$4.25(juice/snows/slushes/specialty drinks)
• boba "chewy-ness" quality:
  
• 3 out of 5 <- they gave me older boba =(. [the really squishy and gross kind]
• milk vs. tea:
• more tea/less milky <- their milk tea is kinda Creamy but not really sweet. [reminds me of 85 degrees milk tea, but not as rich flavored]
• overall service quality:
  
• 3.5 out of 5 <- there's one cashier and the cashier is really slow.
• what's so special about this place?
• this place is quite spacey. They also have a lot of games and cards you can play with (even a CHINESE MONOPOLY set). So it's a really nice place to chillax and hangout.
  
• recommended drinks/specialties: you CANT go wrong with their Taro Smoothie made with fresh taro bits to perfection. Also, they have a huge variety of specialty teas that come in pots (perfect for some afternoon tea parties).

85 Degrees - Irvine

~I apologize about how i havent updated in a month, so here goes....

• location:
• Diamond Jamboree Plaza, Irvine
  
• price range:
  
• $2.25-$3.50 (teas)
  
• $3.00-$4.00(juice/snows/slushes/specialty drinks)
• boba "chewy-ness" quality:
  
• 4 out of 5 <- pretty chewy AND a tad bit sweet
  
• milk vs. tea:
• more tea/less milky <- what distinguishes THIS milk tea from others is that their milk tea is rather Creamy and Rich
  
• overall service quality:
  
• 3.5 out of 5 <- it's so packed here that it takes a while for them to make your drink, but i mean this is more rather a cafe than a boba shop.
• what's so special about this place?
• this cafe/bakery known for its bread. fresh out of the oven. also, the drink covers arent transparent like normal boba shops.
  
• recommended drinks/specialties: I dare you to try the sea-salt coffee (i hear it's famous), i love the jasmine milk tea, and also the BREAD IS AMAZINGGGG!!!!

<3 LiLi

The Sweet Booth - Oakland

• location:
  
• Chinatown, Oakland
  
• price range:
  
• $2.50-$3.75 (teas)
  
• $2.50-$4.25 (juice/snows/slushes/specialty drinks)
• boba "chewy-ness" quality:
  
• 4 out of 5 <- the boba here was pretty chewy AND a tad bit sweet
  
• milk vs. tea:
  
• more tea/less milky <- you can definitely taste the tea, but the drink itself is still rather sweet
  
• overall service quality:
  
• 3.5 out of 5 <- the name says it all. the store is the size of a medium sized booth/shack. Again, only two workers max; but the quality of the milk tea was quite nice. My only worry would be the cleanliness issue, since it's an indoor shack.
• what's so special about this place?
• you can have boba with almost ANY DRINK (see menu below). i had no idea you could get boba with sodas and OVALTINE!!!!
  
• recommended drinks/specialties: I dare any of you to try a soda-based boba drink or the OVALTINE boba drink. wonder how those would taste?! 0.o

<3 LiLi

SweetHeart Cafe - San Francisco

• location:
  
• Chinatown, San Francisco (on Grant Street)
  
• price range:
  
• $2.75-$3.75 (teas)
  
• $3.50-$4.25 (snows/slushes/specialty drinks)
• boba "chewy-ness" quality:
  
• 4 out of 5 <- the boba here was pretty chewy AND very sweet, in fact it makes the overall drink REALLY sweet
  
• milk vs. tea:
  
• half and half -> you can taste the tea and the milk at an equal amount. However, the sweetness of the boba makes the overall drink taste rather sweeter than bitter
  
• overall service quality:
  
• 3.5 out of 5 <- it's a tiny little place, but there's a LOT of seats on the second floor. They tend to give a greater amount of ice and boba, compared to the drink, which causes an imbalance of milk tea vs. boba, and you'll have lots of left over boba x.X.
• what's so special about this place?
• the milk tea here is ORANGE colored!!! One of few places where the milk tea looks like a Thai Tea haha. Also, Sweetheart Cafe is one of the more famous places to check out for boba in Chinatown.
  
• recommended drinks/specialties: Try their smoothies & popcorn chicken! My favorite drink is their fresh Strawberry Banana Smoothie! =)

<3 LiLi

Sinbala - Arcadia

• location:
  
• restaurant in Arcadia, Los Angeles (plaza near where LIFE PLAZA, Din Tai Fung, & Phoenix are at)
  
• price range:
  
• $2.50-$3.00 (teas) -> more of a place to eat rather than a boba place
  
• not sure if they sell slushes/snows
  
• boba "chewy-ness" quality:
  
• 4 out of 5 <- the boba here was pretty chewy
• milk vs. tea:
  
• more tea/slight milky -> when you first drink this, it will taste more milky but the AFTERTASTE of tea is quite strong.
  
• overall service quality:
  
• 3 out of 5 <- service was quite slow when compared to usual sit-in cafes that sell boba. took them awhile to make my order, but at least it came before the food.
• what's so special about this place?
• the milk tea is standard priced, but their milk tea had an unusual flavor compared to many that i've tried. i really liked that special tea aftertaste because most drinks tend to be rather milky or strongly tea-concentrated. The sweetness covered the strong tea-concentration but the aftertaste (and also the sleepless night x.x) was definitely a throw-off.
  
• recommended drinks/specialties: if you ever have a chance to try the food there, definitely try their pork chop rice & sausage rice. both are AMAZING... and if you're at that plaza, dont forget to stop by din tai fung for some delicious xiao long bao's!

<3 LiLi

TeaWay - San Francisco

• location:
  
• Irving St. in the Sunset District, San Francisco (Northern California)
  
• price range:
  
• $1.99-$2.75 (teas) *special price of $1.99 for grand openning*
  
• $2.75-$4.00 (snows/slushes/specialty drinks)
• boba "chewy-ness" quality:
  
• 3 out of 5 <- the boba here was rather hard; not exactly as chewy as quickly's
• milk vs. tea:
  
• more milkly/slight tea-ish <-tea is rather diluted, but you can taste a TINY hint of tea
• overall service quality:
  
• 3.5 out of 5 <- service is great when there's no lines; there's only one working in the store (like quickly's) ; more importantly, you can decide what toppings you want on your own like frozen yogurt places.
• what's so special about this place?
• its cheap, fast, and SELF SERVE drink toppings (yes, you choose as much variety as you want; there's a cap on how much but the worker is quite flexible)
  
• recommended drinks/specialties: i heard their popcorn chicken is great. you can definitely try their mango popping boba and lychee popping boba (they're more like tadpoles than boba balls) which have quite interesting textures
• personal note: this is probably one of the first places to have self-serve toppings for drinks. definitely take advantage of it, but personally, mixing jellies and boba isn't my cup of tea (and i tried this myself x.X)

(my two friends who came along w/ me for the TeaWay adventure. i think they loved it, dont you?! =D)

<3 LiLi

Quickly - NorCal

• location:
  
• Northern California chains; particularly Bay Area (e.g. Irving St., Daly City, Clement St., San Bruno Ave., Castro Valley, and the like)
  
• price range:
  
• $1.60-$3.00 (teas)
  
• $2.75-$4.50 (snows/slushes/specialty drinks)
• boba "chewy-ness" quality:
  
• 4 out of 5 <- quite chewy; not too flavorful but slightly sweet
• milk vs. tea:
  
• milky <- cant taste much of the tea because tea is quite diluted. the milk tea flavor is rather sweet here.
• overall service quality:
  
• 3.5 out of 5 <- service is quite fast; however, when there are long lines, you'll have to wait a while, since there's usually only one person working in a shift
• what's so special about this place?
• its cheap, fast, and for those of you who have a slight sweet tooth, the milk tea here is quite simple and sweet. i love the asian atmosphere you get here,
  
• recommended drinks/specialties: check out the popcorn chicken, baby fried octopus, cantaloupe snow, and the watermelon aloe delight.

<3 LiLi