At this point in my life, I’m certain that my blood is mostly milk tea and residual tapioca pearl bits. I became an avid boba drinker in high school, hitting up Lee’s Sandwiches every weekend for Thai tea fixes. As an adult, I hang on to my incorrigible habit by catching up with friends over milk tea as opposed to coffee or beer.
For many Bay Area residents, boba chains feel as familiar as McDonald’s or Starbucks. Their ubiquity can make them overwhelming, which leads to serious choice paralysis. But luckily, I’ve figured out the best offerings at the Bay Area’s prevalent chains after years of tea consumption.
Gong Cha
Anyone who hits up Gong Cha should get a milk-foam drink. The milk foam takes up about one-fifth of a cup, and it’ll elevate you into an unprecedented state of nirvana. Its sweet, creamy and slightly salty taste balances the bitterness of the tea (usually black or green) that sits beneath it. Some people mix the foam in right away, but I take in sips of it before swirling everything together.
Bambu Desserts & Drinks
Though it serves boba, Bambu is best known for popularizing che, a Vietnamese sweet drink packed with beans, jellies, water chestnuts and Southeast Asian fruits such as longan, jackfruit and mango. As someone who grew up Vietnamese, I don’t think that the che here is as rich as traditional che, probably because the store caters to Western palates. The #1 Bambu Special is the most popular item on the menu. It has a coconut water base topped with fresh coconut, longan, basil seeds, pandan jelly and a big scoop of shaved ice.
i-Tea Bubble Tea & Smoothie
When I worked in downtown Oakland, I frequented this store way too often, patiently waiting behind students for my weekly milk tea. i-Tea offers a selection of gourmet teas in its Oriental Pop Tea Series (perhaps not so aptly translated), which includes Japanese Genmaicha and Tieguanyin teas. Customers love the Fresh Mango Sago, a milk drink with mango bits and sago, which is similar to boba pearls but clearer and softer.
Happy Lemon
The secret to happiness lies in the mischievous wink of this chain’s lemon mascot. Happy Lemon offers citrus drinks, with selections like Pomelo and Grapefruit Lemon Green Tea and Lemon Kumquat Tea in its lemon series. My personal favorite is the Grapefruit Lemon Slushy, an elevated tangy Icee with lychee jelly for added texture.
Boba enthusiasts also flock to Happy Lemon for its salted cheese drinks. The name raises eyebrows, but the cheese isn’t like mozzarella. It’s whipped-cream cheese, a pillowy fluff reminiscent of Gong Cha’s milk foam, but sweeter.
Boba Guys
If there’s a hipster in the boba world, it’s Boba Guys. The San Francisco milk-tea shop started with two guys who lamented the loss of their mom-and-pop boba store in the Mission. Their bright, open storefronts shout “gourmet coffee shop” as opposed to “go-to high school hangout spot.” In terms of the actual drink offerings, you won’t find too many options. The topping choices are limited, with only grass jelly, almond jelly and tapioca balls available. The small menu reflects the minimalism of the brand, but the store does offer one-of-a-kind flavors like Horchata and Strawberry Fresca Tea.
Quickly
Quickly is often packed with younguns munching on fried popcorn chicken and slurping colorful milky drinks. Most teas at Quickly cost between $1.99 and $2.99, making the store a magnet for high schoolers without much disposable income. While most milk-tea enthusiasts concede that Quickly drinks taste pretty average, one of the chain’s major perks is its variety of flavors, which range from Nutella to kiwi. Have cash on hand — most Quicklys won’t take card.
Sharetea
You can’t go wrong with Sharetea’s Classic Pearl Milk Tea, which consistently tastes cold, sweet and refreshing. For a fruity drink, try the Kiwi Fruit Tea with Aiyu Jelly, which gives you the perfect amount of sour. When I studied at Berkeley, I lived a few blocks away from Sharetea and often defaulted to the Okinawa Pearl Milk Tea for my post-exam celebrations. It’s your basic boba drink with added roasted brown sugar for deeper flavor (and guilt).
Purple Kow
Flaunting a pupil-less purple-cow logo, Purple Kow doles out chubby, bowl-size cups that are meals within themselves. The chain offers special iced-milk drinks, which consist of sweetened organic milk with various toppings. My personal favorite is the D3, a heavenly milk drink with caramel, pudding and boba. It runs on the sweeter side, so I always ask for 50 percent sugar or less. Besides their delicious drinks, Purple Kow stores are nice places for studying, with white benches and minimal but colorful decor.
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