Best Baguette: 5.0/10

FIRST OF ALL, MERRY CHRISTMAS! We hope that your day had a wonderful beginning (now possibly made better by this review). Even when it's cold outside... or wet in the case of Oregon, warmth can always be found amongst family and friends.

Second, speaking of Oregon, consider this a Special Edition for Portlanders. I am back in my hometown for winter break; therefore, I thought it would be fun to revisit some boba places here. Quite frankly, I have a much greater appreciation for LA boba and the plentitude of shops that exist there. Ya'll get both the quality and quantity, Portland is not so lucky. I may try some other boba shops as break goes on, but enjoy this review on Best Baguette for now.

Honeydew smoothie w/ boba + mixed jelly.
Milk tea w/ boba on the right.

BEST BAGUETTE
(BEAVERTON, OR)

Drink Taste: 4.0/10

Boba: 5.5/10

Cost-to-Size: 7.0/10

Available Drink Options: 7.0/10

Available Food Options: 7.0/10

Customer Service: 6.5/10

Ambience: 6.5/10

Recommended: Yes, but for their banh mi.

Summary of Scores: Generally, I try maintaining a standard by ordering milk teas. My parents got a smoothie which was good. Don't get too excited though, it was merely good, thus unable to counter how not good the milk tea was. Good news: the milk tea had the right color. The bad: the little flavor my tastebuds could make out was a confusion between milk and thai tea. The tea was extremely watered down, which is scary due to the little ice there was to begin with. The honeydew smoothie was generic, followed the typical powder recipe, hence the good. Nothing memorable. Cost versus size... it was alright. $3.85 for milk tea, a little more for a smoothie. No tax though :) A common problem in Portland are the tapioca pearls, often being bland and overcooked. Amongst the several times getting boba here, it is too soft on the outside half of the pearl. Unfortunately, this happened again. Opt for jelly -- which they have 10 flavors of. Drink options are not too shabby, with ~20 flavors of smoothies to choose from and milk/thai tea. Food: ok, now if I was reviewing banh mi, Best Baguette's score would be off the charts. They're really quite good, that must be why their name is "Best Baguette" and not "Best Boba". Customer service is meh, very down to business. Ambience: the place is clean with plenty of seating but do not plan on studying here. It is very much a dining-only type joint. Overall, I would only recommend food, but if you are really craving boba... get a smoothie with jelly. Oh, there's also durian for the adventurous spirits like me. That gave them an extra 0.5 points towards the overall score of...

Overall Experience: 5.0/10

That's about that. Once again, Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Holidays! Yay to surviving the Mayan Apocalypse! 

-T

Banh Mi Che Cali: 6.75/10

Boba boba boba... banh mi? We decided to stop by Banh Mi Che Cali today to get some boba FOR CHEAPZ. If you don't already go here for their sandwiches and other Viet deli items, I'd recommend it. Especially because you will not drop more than a honest Abe ($5 bill) on a light meal. The only item I would not recommend is their banh pate chaud (apologies for lack of textual accent marks) because it has a slice of sausage inside instead of ground pork. So wrong. ANYWHO, we review boba. This place is limited to only milk tea with tapioca pearls, but IT IS BOGO for $2.25 ($2.45 w/ tax). Bottoms up.

Milk tea w/ tapioca pearls.

BANH MI CHE CALI (ALHAMBRA)

Drink Taste: 7.5/10

Boba: 6.5/10

Cost-to-Size: 9.0/10

Available Drink Options: 4.0/10

Available Food Options: Viet cuisine

Customer Service: 6.0/10

Ambience: 6.0/10

Recommended: Yes, especially for the budget-saavy or someone wanting a quick lunch

Summary of Scores: Even though their milk tea comes from a spout, it has a surprisingly pleasant depth and richness which makes for good milk tea. Good balance of sweetness, imo. Today's boba was pleasant with its chewy consistency. However, mentioning that today's was good... Banh Mi Che Cali definitely has off days where the boba is overcooked and sad. Their boba is mini and not flavored, which I'm indifferent about. Cost is excellent, where two 16oz milk teas are $2.45 with tax. You get the portion control and when split with a friend, you get boba for super cheapz. Food options are great, with the various banh mis, pastries, noodles, and rice dishes. Drink options are literally: milk tea (w/tapioca), green milk tea (no tapioca)... and I do not remember the other two. But really, your only boba option is the milk tea. Though I'm sure they'll add tapioca to the green milk tea at your request, but you may be charged extra. Since Banh Mi Che Cali is so cheap, with so many options, it is always busy. So customer service and ambience is lacking. Overall, the recommendation is a definite yes for the going in-and-out for a quick and affordable meal.

Overall Experience: 6.75/10

It was hard to give an overall score because BMCC is not a boba specialty shop. Their boba is not outstanding, but the drink will still hit the spot and the price/convenience is fantastic. Therefore, a 6.75 was the most fair score for BMCC relative to other boba places reviewed. I hope you agree! :)

-T

Half & Half Tea Express: 6.5/10

Greetings Boba Friends! It's been a long time, apologies. Apologies to Esther as well because I am stealing her review (though she will write one about Ten Ren this upcoming break, keep your eyes peeled). This was my first Half & Half experience, versus Twee and Esther's one thousandth time. To me it was "aight". And I'm aware of the Half & Half die-hards, like Twee. Maybe it was a fluke. Maybe my taste buds be lackin'. Maybe it's because we were at the Express location. Maybe I should give Half & Half another try. Either way, there's always a shoulda coulda woulda situation. But I will attempt to justify my score to you now.

The Half & Half specialty.
Photo credz to Esther.

HALF & HALF TEA EXPRESS (PASADENA)

Drink Taste: 7.0/10

Boba: 7.0/10

Cost-to-Size: 7.0/10

Available Drink Options: 9.0/10

Available Food Options: Not Existent

Customer Service: 6.0/10

Ambience: 6.0/10

Recommended: Sure... if you're in Old Town. 

Summary of Scores: I got the milk tea with boba and pudding. The milk tea was good but nothing remarkable. Boba was good because it was honey flavored and warm. Though I think the whole "drinking boba while it's warm" is still... not kosher. But peeps be in to that, and all the power to 'em. Their cups are squat and reasonably priced for their size. I don't like the cups since they don't fit in most car cup holders. IF ANYTHING BRINGS YOU HERE -- let it be their drink options, it gets pretty crazy. Apeshit crazy. Such as strawberry jam topping... yogurt tea... ginger milk tea... I consider Half & Half the Phoebe in Friends. No food, probably due to its "expressness". Since I like food, I docked for this. Customer service, meh, not great. The cashier gave me the wrong change and the dude that made my drink was a robot. I'm no princess but the environment was not as welcoming if compared to other places. Ambience score is a given. Express location = coziness is impossible. 

Overall Experience: 6.5/10

In retrospect, my score might be a tad harsh. But we gotta dish some tough love sometimes. I also think this location just did not have a chance because it was an "express". However, I do dig their mini menus. I also like their spunk. If you choose to try this place, look for mine, Esther's, and Twee's initials scratched into a table! You can see it etched in our image above ("TET"). HAPPY NEW YEAR! Get it?

-T

OZERO: 8.0/10

Yes yes... We are a little Cofftea biased. But really, I think it's me. Due to rising gas prices (almost $5 per gallon!?) I have been more hesitant to drive 10-some miles and risk unsatisfactory boba at a new place. But don't worry folks, further reviews will come. After all, Esther is in the midst of writing a Half & Half Pasadena review! But for now, I'll review OZERO Little Tokyo to help ease the passing of time.

Courtesy of David Sacci
(Future hand model of milk
teas worldwide.)

OZERO (LITTLE TOKYO)

Drink Taste: 8.5/10

Boba: 8.5/10

Cost-to-Size: *8.0/10

Available Drink Options: *7.0/10

Available Food Options: *7.0/10

Customer Service: 7.5/10

Ambience: 7.5/10

Recommended: Yes, if you're downtown.

Summary of Scores: Drink taste, still dependable, light and refreshing. Boba is almost as good as Alhambra's, though today's might have just been a fluke. The categories of cost, available drink and food options are *asterisked because they are identical to the Alhambra location, so the grades and comments are the same. To summarize, OZERO has a $3-6 cost depending on your drink type and topping(s). I don't spend more than the lower end of $4. Drink options are enough to fulfill cravings for the classics. They do have the fantastic-looking fruit teas with seasonal fruit chopped in which I have never seen elsewhere. Customer service was meh, nothing worth noting. This location is more quiet in my opinion. It may be due to limited street parking and the fact that peeps avoid driving downtown unless need be. Although... it can be argued that for good boba, we'd climb mountains and storm the raging seas.

Overall Experience: 8.0/10

Another note -- the same rewards points and rules still apply to this OZERO. I do like this Little Tokyo location, but personally, I'd still make my drive out to Alhambra's OZERO by Cofftea. As Caroline would say, they are always "on point". I mean, CHECK OUT THIS THAI TEA AMAZINGNESS (DOUBLE BOBA'ed):





Sidenote, they're also hiring.

-T

REAL TARO SMOOTHIE

... so it does exist.

We have been to Cofftea 3 more times since our Cha outing. What can I say... we're human and we naturally resist change.

However, I'd like to update that there are now some male hires. (Influenced by my post? I'd like to think so!)

But most importantly... I got a smoothie for the first time in a long time. I ordered taro and yes, the smoothie is NOT purple. I have never been fortunate enough to get anything but that artificially sweet purple stuff other boba places offer. Don't get me wrong, I do like that faux taro, that's why I ordered it. But this Cofftea Taro was delicately sweet and had a very real taro texture (+ honey drizzled on the side). All I can say is: NOMS.

-T

Cha For Tea: 7.0/10

Cha: the universal word for tea. Despite having the catchiest name, Cha For Tea is probably the most modern and brightly lit boba shop blogged thus far. For a tea house, CFT provides more room to breathe, seats to sit in, as well as wall images to admire. Heck, there's one wall of just mirror, perfect for scoping out the cute person sitting across the aisle from you. The employees are ultra friendly, who constantly offer samples of their newest tea and adjustments for your beverage. By far, the most contemporary boba, dare I say "Americanized", shop blogged thus far. So if you're unfamiliar with boba, not of Asian descent, or both -- I think Cha is a good baby step into the boba world.

Honey green milk tea w/ boba.
Regular size!

CHA FOR TEA (ALHAMBRA)

Drink Taste: 6.5

Boba: 8.0

Cost-to-Size: 6.5

Available Drink Options: 8.0

Available Food Options: 8.0

Customer Service: 9.0

Ambience: 7.5

Recommended: Yes for the sweet-toothed folk.

Summary of Scores: There is a reason why Cha For Tea always asks if you need your drink adjusted: the standard is very sweet. Almost candy-like for any fruit tea or smoothie. However, I think Cha For Tea's specialty are their unique fruit-infused teas and I do know people who love it. But I do think that we all agree a side of water will be necessary to quench any thirst. On a different note, Cha's milk and thai teas taste good, but nothing out of the ordinary. Cha has smaller-than-usual tapioca pearls, so be weary of the rapid-shooting-of-boba-up-straw effect. The boba is soft and chewy, with a hint of sweetness. Regarding prices, Cha is less wallet-friendly than the usual boba shop. You do get the choice of a regular or large size, but the cost of a small will range from $3-4.50 and a large could be upwards of $5-6. I also think the sizes are slightly smaller than Cofftea because Cha uses the plastic cups with separate plastic lids. For drink options, Cha has a large selection. They have plenty of smoothie varieties, all the classic teas in addition to their fruit concoctions. They have the usual toppings like boba, pudding, and jelly. Food-wise, I've only had their shaved ice, which is decently sized and fairly tasty, but limited in topping choices. You get a pho-sized bowl of plain shaved ice, condensed milk and a choice of three toppings. The toppings are: boba, red bean, jelly, 3 lychee pieces, and pudding. It's enough to fulfill that late night craving without driving to Guppy's. For only $5. I feel bad that I've made Cha sound mediocre, but to properly review shops, we have to establish larger differences between the places. Therefore, the one thing I REALLY noticed about Cha is that their customer service is really good, even fantastic, relative to other boba shops. I think they instilled the Cold Stone policy of having to be chipper and sing-songy to every customer. In fact, we've even been asked how we like our drinks or if we need anything TWICE in one sitting. Yes, twice. Granted, sometimes the interactions are awkward or I'd prefer to be left alone to sip tea and surf the web. But it is nice to know that I am being taken care of. The ambience got a "meh" rating simply because there's a lot of noise. I would only go to Cha for social outings, never homework. It seems like a lot of high schoolers come here too... and I don't know about you but that is minus a few brownie points. No offense to any youngins reading this blog, but you'll feel this way one day also.

Overall Experience: 7.0/10

Lychee black tea w/ boba, large size.

This could be either a good or bad thing, but I currently cannot think of any dine-in versus to-go rules for Cha. Since there's free wi-fi, and no lunch is truly free, I assume that Cha assumes that every dine-in customer will order sooooomething. No one likes a loiterer anyways. Also, Cha gives a small discount for cash vs. card transactions. There's also a large parking lot and Cha is next to a Radio Shack. I hope that last sentence was useful to someone <<<.

-T

Factory Tea Bar: 8.0/10

Herrrrrros Boba Friends!

Factory Tea Bar was pretty popular even before its debut in the "626" by Fung Brothers ft. Jason Chen.  This video really pushed Caroline and I to try it out one Saturday morning. We came back once since then, and we agree that it's one of the better boba places. Others seem devoutly IN LOVE with this place though. In fact, we witnessed a bride, groom, and small wedding party come in to order boba. If FTB convinced a newlywed couple to spend 20 minutes of their most important day at a teashop... well, dang. Kudos FTB, and thank you for also hiring guys.

FACTORY TEA BAR (SAN GABRIEL)

Drink Taste: 7.0
Boba: 8.5
Cost-to-Size: 7.5
Available Drink Options: 7.5
Available Food Options: 7.0
Customer Service: 8.0 
Ambience: 8.5

Recommended: Yes, give 'em a whirl

Summary of Scores: Drinks are a little on the sweeter and richer side for our tastes, FTB emphasizes flavor. For example, the almond milk tea tastes strongly of almond extract, it's not a slight nuttiness like Cofftea. We also tried their oolong milk tea and factory milk tea, which were just as flavorful. FTB boba retains its chewiness and are a tad smaller in size. The portions are fair (~20oz) for around $3-5, and FTB uses plastic cups with lids and cute paper sleeves. The drink menu has all the classics, as well as house specials, like Nom Nom tea and yogurt blends for the adventurous. We haven't tried the food, but it seems like the usual teashop affair. This place gets buuuuuusyyyyy, so thank goodness that it's a relatively spacious teahouse. FTB is fairly dark inside, with comfy furniture and neat decor, great for socializing. We have tried doing homework here, but the music and chat volume are loud, so it's not ideal for the easily-distracted. There's free wi-fi and a private (but cramped) parking lot. Oh yes, this place also opens at 1:00pm, so make sure to have breakfast (maybe even lunch) elsewhere.

Overall Experience: 8.0/10

I should also add that there are a few rules here, as for most tea shops. FTB is cash only. All to-go drinks receive a 10% discount and to-go food is an extra $0.39. Dine-in has a minimum purchase of $3.69. Speaking of prices, FTB has a 69 fetish.

-T

OZERO by Cofftea: Final Verdict

Hi boba friends!

Apologies, but this was the only image of Cofftea's boba that I have. Looong story. This is Cofftea's lychee snowie. Since we're on a mission to try as many other boba places as possible, I feel that I won't be returning to Cofftea anytime soon for pictures. But if you need more visuals, Yelp will fulfill your needs :)

We decided to do a report card on general things we, and hopefully you, look for when at a boba shop. If there is an element missing that you'd like us to take note of in the future, feel free to leave a comment. The scale is a standard 1-10, where 1 caused disappointment and 10... well, we'd quit blogging and go there for the rest of our lives.

OZERO BY COFFTEA (ALHAMBRA)

Drink Taste: 8.5
Boba: 9.0
Cost-to-Size: 8
Available Drink Options: 7.0
Available Food Options: 7.0
Customer Service: 7.0 
Ambience: 8.0
Recommended: Yes and yes.

Summary of Scores: The boba is chewy and delicately sweet. You get a 20-something ounce drink for $3-5. From the menu, there are decent options, but I would not go here to just eat. Their brick toast and popcorn chicken are ok. I think I'm harsh on customer service because of all their rules... and that they're enforced more by some employees than others. They really make us work for a free drink, when it should be more of a thank you for visiting us over the other 100s of boba places. That's my opinion though. Cofftea is a good study spot in the daytime, more of a social spot during evenings. It's quite small, so seating is limited and tight. The location is easily accessible and findable, with its own private lot. And have no fear... there's free wi-fi.

Overall Experience: 8.75/10



And as promised... the Cofftea Rules (that we have uncovered, anyways).

• Drinks to-go are granted a 10% discount.
• To-go orders are given 1 Reward point for every $3 spent.
• After accumulating 8 points, you can redeem your free drink as TO-GO ONLY! Free drinks exclude smoothies, coffee, and anything fancy. Basically, it's tea or milk tea. Any boba or toppings are not so free, it'll cost you $0.50.
• Drinks for dine-in are full-priced.
• Dine-in orders are given 1 Reward point for every $5 spent.
• Cannot redeem free drink as dine-in, must be to-go.
• Every one in your group must purchase at least $3 worth of food/drink.
• You can have your drinks in a to-go cup instead of mug, upon request.

Discovered more? Do share to spare us any more embarrassing rule breaking.

-T

OZERO by Cofftea: 8.75/10

Hi again, this might be premature because I posted our first entry 2 minutes ago.
However... this could not wait.

Brief intro: during my freshman year of college, a few friends took me to Cofftea by Ozero in Alhambra. This was my first boba experience in SoCal. I am glad that this place was it.

I mentioned Cofftea in the prior entry, and in fact, I am almost done with my tea. Why this entry could not wait was because today, THIS PLACE RAN OUT OF BOBA. Sort of anyway, we had to wait 10 minutes for the boba to finish cooking. Cofftea is that popular. I think for good reason, too.

Cofftea provides
-fairly decent collection of teas, milk teas, smoothies and snowies*
-greeeeeaaaaatttt boba. My current favorite actually. I don't know what brand they use or how they cook it, but I always find that my boba is chewy and pleasant. It doesn't freeze up or harden in cold drinks.
-unique building consisting of just windows
-large portions, whether you get your drink in a mug or as to-go
-on the topic of cups, their to-go cups are durrrrrrable. I have collected 7 and they are fairly useful for refilling Brita pitchers, etc.
-ok pricing, I don't find myself spending more than $5, even with double boba added
-wifi. Though this should be given.


However, nothing's perfect. Cofftea could improve with
-making their "points" program rules more clear. Dine-in rules even. I could probably create a separate entry on just what you can and cannot do here. In fact, Caroline could write that. Look forward to this soon. But just for you curious cats out there, here's a taster. I recently found out that your "free drink" must be taken to-go and can only be either tea or milk tea (basically). You also get charged 50 cents for your topping.
-*snowies. I asterisked this because this is literally a slush -- NOT SMOOTHIE. Cofftea makes a milk-base drink and adds chopped ice to it. Not that this is a bad thing, just don't assume this is synonymous with smoothie like we did.
-dining space. Don't dine-in if you're claustrophobic.
-hiring guys. I have only seen 2 men work here, ever. I for one would not mind a cute guy making my drink every once in awhile.

Ok, I really just wanted to say that Cofftea is up there in favorites. I highly recommend oolong tea (for those who like a clean, refreshing drink without much of the guilt). My friends would vouch for any of their milk teas, my personal favorite is oolong and green milk tea. I have also tried their taro smoothie, which is really quite good too. The flavors are delicate and refreshing, not too sweet. They put the perfect amount of ice, so the drink is cold but is not diluted.

Tina's rating: 8.75 out of 10. Would be higher but their rules are too much for my simple mind.
I suppose they can afford that because they are a popular spot, regardless. I am definitely not upset enough to stop returning.


Look forward to future blogs! And don't be suprised if Cofftea is sprinkled in here and there.

-T

The Beginning

A few friends and I have joked about making a "Boba Blog" and I cannot believe that at this very moment... I am typing for one.

We were initially hesitant because
1) We're in college. Why in the world would we want to type up more stuff outside of lab reports and essays?
2) We don't have the finances to support our boba consumption.
3) Then as a dear friend would say, "We are now attempting to justify our boba addiction with this blog because we'll NEED to try more places, more flavors, more often."

But despite these seeming obstacles, a few hours ago something moved me so much that I clicked on the "create blog" button and now find myself typing away on this entry (while drinking some oolong tea w/ boba courtesy of Cofftea in Alhambra). I google searched "boba blogs in LA" and found one lone blog. I am shocked at the very least, especially because there must be half a dozen tea shops in every square mile of LA. Maybe more in K-Town or Little Tokyo. It would be a monumental task for this one lone blogger to research, commute to, and try even a fraction of the tea shops available. Our combined efforts might not even make much of a dent. But... we will try our very best to. And how much our wallets permit us to. All with the intentions of serving boba justice - it deserves more than Yelp.

However, I will give one disclaimer. I don't want to make us seem like self-titled "Boba Connoisseurs". We absolutely are not. We're just girls who really like boba, think about boba more often than we'd like, and have tried a fair amount of places already, so why not blog about them. With that said, I will mention that we all may have been born with boba-specialized taste buds. So I think we are credible sources.

Therefore, this is the beginning.
I hope you all find this blog helpful for your next boba run. Or were at least humored for the last few minutes by reading this.

Cheers!
-Us