Listen, there are a lot of boba shops in NYC so how could I just leave it at 20? I had to continue my journey! Obviously. For the sake of being fair to all the boba shops out there. Not for any personal reasons or whatever.
We have the same victims going with us this time around, but just to recap: Everyone has their own taste, so it’s hard to figure out whether a drink someone claims is a ‘MUST-HAVE’ is one that you’ll actually like. In an effort to help you all decide which of us shares tastebuds most similar to yours, we’ve listed some information about our individual boba preferences so that you can figure out which one of our recommendations (if any) to listen to!
Victoria:
Favorite Classic Drink: Green Milk Tea
Favorite Topping: Boba
Favorite Chain: Kung Fu Tea
Sugar Preference: 30% or no sugar
Milk Tea or Fruit Tea? Milk Tea
Daphne:
Favorite Classic Drink: Thai Tea
Favorite Topping: Grass Jelly
Favorite Chain: Coco
Sugar Preference: 30-50% sugar
Milk Tea or Fruit Tea? Milk Tea
Elizabeth:
Favorite Classic Drink: Mango Green Tea
Favorite Topping: Grass Jelly
Favorite Chain: Gong Cha
Sugar Preference: No sugar
Milk Tea or Fruit Tea? Fruit Tea
Sammy:
Favorite Classic Drink: Passionfruit Green Tea
Favorite Topping: Grass Jelly
Favorite Chain: Coco
Sugar Preference: No sugar
Milk Tea or Fruit Tea? Depends on the mood, usually fruit tea
Jacqueline:
Favorite Classic Drink: Taro Milk Tea
Favorite Topping: Boba
Favorite Chain: Gong Cha
Sugar Preference: 30% or no sugar
Milk Tea or Fruit Tea? Milk Tea
Dennis:
Favorite Classic Drink: Passionfruit Green Tea with Grass Jelly
Favorite Topping: Grass Jelly
Favorite Chain: Kung Fu Tea
Sugar Preference: No sugar
Milk Tea or Fruit Tea? Fruit Tea
Here's our calendar for WBB (winter break boba):
Let's get it!
21. Tiger Sugar
Address: 197 Canal Street (Multiple Locations)
Website: tigersugarrec.com
Drinks: Fresh Taro + Boba + Taro Pudding Milk with Cream Mousse ($6.20), Brown Sugar Mochi + Boba with Cream Mousse ($5.97), Black Sugar Lemon Oolong Tea (0% sugar, $5.97), Brown Sugar Matcha Latte with Cream Mousse ($6.20), Brown Sugar Chocolate Malt Milk with Boba + Pearl + Cream Mousse ($5.97)
Insane because I once waited on line at the Flushing Tiger Sugar for over 2 hours for one of these drinks, but at this storefront I was able to order these six drinks on their handy ordering screen and collected my drinks all in less than 10 minutes. I’m super pleased with the service, ease of ordering, and their lactaid milk option.
The boba here is very similar in texture to that of Xing Fu Tang. When we went there, I described the boba as “soft in a weird way,” and I’d agree with that sentiment– they’re really missing the Chew Factor. When you bite into them, they slice pretty cleanly in half and then they have this way of dissolving on your tongue. I do like that they give you a mix of both mini pearls and regular sized boba though! It switches up the textures and keeps the drink fun & funky & fresh.
Quick comments on each of our drinks: the fresh taro was good but very sweet, the brown sugar chocolate malt milk was very much just glorified chocolate milk, the brown sugar mochi was strange because of the way the mochi was sucked up the straw, and the lemon in the lemon oolong tea was overpowering.
The Drinks
Victoria: Brown Sugar Chocolate Malt Milk with Boba + Pearl + Cream Mousse (3.5/5)
“Was this just glorified, slightly sweeter and caramel-y chocolate milk? Yes. Was it good chocolate milk? Yes. But also it was literally just chocolate milk. With boba though! And I’m a fan of the mix of both small and big boba. Keeps you on your toes.”
Daphne: Brown Sugar Mochi + Boba with Cream Mousse (2/5)
“Almost had a peanut scare. Liquid had granules in it. tasted like a nut. Bobas actually really yum. Mochi was like wot its a blob up my straw.”
Elizabeth: Brown Sugar Matcha Latte with Cream Mousse (4/5)
“I’ve tried brown sugar boba enough to know that I don’t like it, so glad that got me matcha. It was yum yum in the tum tum.”
Sammy: Fresh Taro + Boba + Taro Pudding Milk with Cream Mousse (3.5/5)
“It was very sweet and too much stuff going on. Tasty but chaotic.”
Dennis: Black Sugar Lemon Oolong Tea (3.5/5)
“I like it because it is 0% sugar. This is not a drink for many boba drinkers. The taste of the lemon flavor really stood out over the tea it self. Some boba was chewy, but some was soggy. That was the negative. It is not my favorite drink. I would probably order something else next time.”
Jacqueline: Fresh Taro + Boba + Taro Pudding Milk with Cream Mousse (4.5/5)
“This was very good. It had so many different textures with the chewy boba, dense taro, and slimy pudding. It a lot but it all worked well together. I would definitely get this again!”
Conclusion
Average Rating: 3.5/5
Recommendations: Brown Sugar Boba Milk with Cream Mousse, Fresh Taro + Boba + Taro Pudding Milk with Cream Mousse
Most of us would come back!
22. Moge Tee
Address: 140 Lawrence Street (Multiple Locations)
Website: mogeteeusa.com
Drinks: Cheese Foam Strawberry Tea (50% sugar, $8.15), Cheese Foam Mango Tea (Full sugar, $8.15), Orange Yakult with Grass Jelly (No sugar, $8.64), Super Fruit Green Tea with Grass Jelly (30% sugar, $7.90)
I am by no means a cheese foam expert, but now that I've had Moge Tee's Cheese Foam Mango Tea I can confidently say that I've had bad cheese foam teas before. And Moge Tee is my new standard. My Mango Cheese Foam Tea was so refreshing and was so obviously made with fresh mango that I could cry. My cousins got the Strawberry Cheese Foam Tea and they also found it to REDEFINE the phrase “Strawberries and Cream.” My dad loved his orange yakult, which, AGAIN, was made with real, fresh fruit. I’m about to cry again just thinking about it.
The only drink that seemed to fall short for us was the Super Fruit Green Tea. It advertised a bunch of different fruits, and even though there were a lot of real fruit flavors inside, the lemon flavor was too overpowering.
On to the boba. The boba was interesting because they did have really good chew/bounce and flavor, though I found them to have a strange artificial aftertaste. Kinda like Splenda boba? Or some other weird sweetener. We also thought the outside was a great texture, but when you bit into the center it became oddly crumbly/crusty. It was like the texture boba becomes when you put the drinks in the refrigerator for a bit, except we hadn’t put them in the refrigerator; they just came like that.
I have previously described paying for overpriced boba as “a shot to the groin” and “pain like I’ve never felt before,” and paying $47.01 for 5 drinks at Moge (even after a 5% discount because I paid with Venmo) was no different. They didn’t give me a receipt, so I’m not sure exactly what the breakdown was, but that’s $9-10 for one drink. We got larges, but they were no larger than the large cups at other stores. I honestly find that paying over $8 is too much for me, and even though these were delicious, thinking about forking over that much money for one drink again is sending me into a spiral. This is definitely a treat-yourself kind of place.
Finally, a shoutout to the fact that I had to take the attached photo because my drink did not have boba in it and if I had not taken out my drinks from the bag to take the photo, I would not have noticed. (and shoutout to the people working the counter, both of whom checked the drink and also could not tell for a hot second if there was boba or not so they had to stir it up a little. They had forgotten the boba. But they promptly added some :))
The Drinks
Victoria: Cheese Foam Mango Tea (4/5)
“Very fresh and could taste the fresh mango. It was like a mango smoothie basically but no complaints. I wish I could taste more of the tea. The boba had good chew but a weird aftertaste?? It tasted like it was sweetened with Splenda or some kind of alternative sweetener. Also once you bit into the center it was a little crumbly. But not crumbly crumbly but crumbly. I don’t know how to describe it. But overall yuh.”
Daphne: Cheese Foam Strawberry Tea (4.895/5)
“MM MM MM! THE FLAVORS WERE MELTING ON MY TONGUE. DEEE LISH. STRAWB AND CREAM SO YUM AND REFRESHING BUT ALSO ROCH. BOBS WERE SUCH GOOD FLAVOR SO delish. THE ONLY REASON WHY ITS NOT A 5 IS BECAUSE A FEW OF THE BOBAS WERE LIKE SOFT OUTSIDE AND THEN THE OUTSIDE WENT AWAY AND THEN CRUSTY INSIDE. YOU KNOW? LIKE BOBAS THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE FRIDGE FOR TOO LONG. YOU FEEL? SO THATS THE ONLY YIKEYS.”
Elizabeth: Super Fruit Green Tea with Grass Jelly (2.5/5)
“I didn’t really like this fruit tea. Too much lemon flavor for me.”
Sammy: Cheese Foam Strawberry Tea (5/5)
“Super good very tasty.”
Dennis: Orange Yakult with Grass Jelly (4.5/5)
“I love this drink. As usual, I always do no extra sugar. The yakult drink was really tasty. The solid component of real orange fruit and herbal jelly was almost the right amount. My only complaint would be that the orange could have been less chunky as they were not as easy as the herbal jelly in traveling through the straw when I tried to slurp it.”
Conclusion
Average Rating: 4.2/5
Recommendations: Cheese Foam Strawberry Tea, Cheese Foam Mango Tea, Orange Yakult!
All of us would come back!
23. Shiny Tea
Address: 2667 Broadway
Website: shinyteanewyork.com
Drinks: Passionfruit Premium Green Tea with Grass Jelly (no sugar, $6.50), 3Q Milk Tea (no sugar, $5.50), Jasmine Green Milk Tea with White Boba (30% sugar, $6.50), Fresh Jade Green Milk Tea with Shot of Coconut (30% sugar, $6.50), Grass Jelly Milk Tea (80% sugar, $5.00), 3Q Milk Tea with Shot of Coconut (30% sugar, $5.75)
This hole in the wall on the upper west side is very curious!! It is truly brain-tickling!! We don’t know what to do with ourselves here. Our opinions on this store had more range than Ariana Grande.
The store itself is kinda what I feel like boba should be. Literally a small sliver of space that you might miss if you’re not looking for it. No seating or anything, just order your drinks and go when they’re done. There were only two people working the store when I was there, and my six drinks were ready in about 15 minutes. They put it all in a bag and I was about to leave when one of the people there was like, “WAIT WAIT WAIT!” And I was like “WHAT?” because I thought I mis-paid or something. And then they pulled out a STAMP CARD. They wouldn’t let me leave without giving me a stamp card and they gave me an extra stamp with a lil “happy holidays,” wish and it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Their boba definitely has the chew factor that we look for, but they were missing taste. In general they tasted like nothing at all. I personally enjoyed the mix of the white boba (which are essentially just mini boba) and the regular boba because it lended itself to a fun & funky for texture, but other people in my family didn’t like the white boba because they kinda just disintegrated in your mouth.
I honestly thought one of the coolest and most unique things about this place was that they let you add flavor shots to your drink. My sister and I went for the coconut shot and it was super yummy. The flavor shot mixed really well with the tea so that it didn’t taste like powder at the end. It was just another level of personalizing the drink to make it for your taste that I haven’t seen at other stores!
And finally, their prices were the most reasonable I’ve ever seen. We got a lot in the $5 range and a few in the $6 range, but none over $7! Which is almost unheard of in NYC these days and made me smile.
There were quite a few drinks that were great, but there were also many that missed the mark. It was the inconsistency that got to us.
The Drinks
Victoria: 3Q Milk Tea with Shot of Coconut (4/5)
“This tea was so good for some reason?? The coconut shot melted into the tea so that it was just straight up coconut milk tea. I loved the mix of small and big boba but the pudding was a little too firm and the boba didn't have much flavor. very sad.”
Daphne: Jasmine Green Milk Tea with White Bubbles (1/5)
“If I could I would rate my drink a ZERO. Or maybe a 0.1. You don't even understand. It was so bad. To begin, let me give you an image. you’ve just gotten out of the shower and you are putting your eczema ointment cream on your face. It’s cortisone. It's great for your eczema but oh no! you get some in your mouth. You try spitting it out but it coats your tongue with a bitter, toxic taste. That's what the tea tasted like. The only difference between cortisone and the tea was the fact that the tea tasted milkier (cause its milk tea lol). Anyways. the tea was NARST. so I decided, maybe the bobas would make up for it because this place was meant to be famous for its white bobas. WRONG. They literally disintegrated in my mouth. The bobas were non-existent except for a tiny crumbly center. Very disappointed in you shiny tea. I was hoping for better with such a good store name.”
Elizabeth: Fresh Jade Green Milk Tea with Shot of Coconut (4/5)
“Pretty yum and good bobs. Dunno what the jade is tho.”
Sammy: 3Q Milk Tea (2/5)
“The drink was very mediocre… also three qs? Where there was only boba boba and pudding.”
Dennis: Passionfruit Premium Green Tea with Grass Jelly (4.5/5)
“I love this drink. The tea was really tasty. The flavir of passion fruit was real. I enjoyed it very much. I would order it again and again.”
Tony: Grass Jelly Milk Tea (4.5/5)
“Smooth taste. Tea was not too dark.”
Conclusion
Average Rating: 4.2/5
Recommendation: Passionfruit Green Tea
Most of us would come back!
24. Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea
Address: 67 Bayard Street
Website: yifangfruitt.com
Drinks: Yifang Fruit Tea with Grass Jelly (30% sugar, $7.25), Yifang Fruit Tea with Boba (30% sugar, $7.25), Multi-Floral Honey Mountain Tea (50% sugar, $6.50), Passionfruit Green Tea (30% sugar, $6.95)
What an interesting grab bag of items and mediocre opinions we have here!! Even though I’m a milk tea person, I thought I’d be setting myself up for failure if I were to get a milk tea at a store with “fruit tea” in its name. I got my passionfruit green tea with 30% sugar, but it was so insanely bitter and sour. Like Olivia Rodrigo sour. I want to say that I’d enjoy the drink if it had a little more sugar, but I don’t actually think I would? I just did not like the given flavor of the tea at all.
My family members who got the Yifang fruit tea were divided on the tea. One of them thought it was both bad-tasting and too sweet, while the other thought the fruit tea was decent. The honey mountain tea was a mellow choice but refreshing.
However, though our tea opinions differed, the thing we could all agree on was how MID the boba was y’all. Why were they so small? Who knows. Why were they so MUSHY? Who knows. I like a boba that fights back and I always look for that chew factor. These were just too soft and had no flavor at all. I actually found that my drink tasted better when I straight up swallowed those tiny bobas whole (without chewing them) so I basically risked choking and death in order to make my drink taste better which is not what we like to hear.
Many of our drinks also had real fruit seeds in them. Some of us liked them because they added texture, and I think I went into it thinking I would like them, but they were a little TOO crunchy. Think bean sprouts… but crunchier.
Overall, the drinks are probably a 3/5, but these were a bit too pricey. Anything that crosses the $7 mark makes me clutch my heart in slight pain. And the fact that we paid that much for drinks that were just okay was what hurt the most.
The Drinks
Victoria: Passionfruit Green Tea (1.75/5)
“This drink was so sour. Which may be my fault because I got 30% sugar, but the taste was still just not great? Even with more sugar I'm not sure if I would have liked it. The drink really seeps into that tongue of yours and stays there. The aftertaste is wack and the SEEDS. THE PASSIONFRUIT SEEDS. They were as crunchy as BEAN SPROUTS y'all. I thought they would be a nice lil texture addition, but they really made it so I could not hear anything while I was chomping down on those seeds. The boba is way too soft and tiny for some reason? I realized the drink was better when I didn't chew anything. So I was out here risking choking and death by just swallowing bobs and seeds whole. I finished it with pain.”
Daphne: Yifang Fruit Tea with Grass Jelly (3.14/5)
“very much meh. before picking from the menu i was like yo i should look at the reviews and people were like the yifang fruit tea is yum but a lady was like BEWARE cause she got 50% sugar and it was still really sweet so she told the people for the future to get 30% so thats what i did. BUT IT WAS SO SWEAT. sweat sweat sweat sewat seet sweet. i like the passionfruit seeds at the bottom nice grunch. theire grass jelly is also really good. but the tea is narts.”
Elizabeth: Yifang Fruit Tea with Boba (3.5/5)
“Drink was 4 cause I like the fruit tea and the crunchy bits in it, boba was like a 2.5 cause too soft.”
Sammy: Multi-Floral Honey Mountain Tea (3/5)
“Tea was mellow and refreshing. Boba was mid not qq pretty mushy.”
Conclusion
Average Rating: 2.85/5
Recommendation: Yifang Fruit Tea
Half of us would come back.
25. Wu Qi My Tea
Address: 55 Bayard Street
Website: https://wu-qi-my-tea.business.site/
Drinks: Coconut Milk Tea with Boba (30% sugar, $6.00), Taro Milk Tea with Boba (0% sugar, $6.00), Mango Yogurt with Boba ($7.25), Matcha Milk Tea with Boba ($7.00)
This is what it’s come to. I’ve been saving that one star and that five star for a special occasion and today we hit one of those milestones. Unfortunately, this store was not the high mark that I was hoping for. We’ve reached the one star. Rock Bottom.
This is a bubble tea review, but the one positive of this store was that they serve a mean popcorn chicken. It was extremely juicy and tender and crispy and was served lovingly hot. Loved that they offered it with different flavors too (I had garlic!).
And now for the rest.
I’ll start by saying I’m not against powder. Plenty of chains use powder and are able to make their drinks tasty and, at the very least, consumable. Three of our drinks (Taro, Coconut, and Matcha) were made with powder. The taro basically tasted like sugar water with a hint of taro even though I got it with 0% sugar. The coconut also tasted like water, but when you took a sip there were tiny granules of coconut powder that left residue on your tongue. By the time I got to the bottom of the cup, the drink tasted so toxic that I couldn’t finish it. The matcha was similar. Even though the tea was not awful, there were leftover matcha granules that settled when you took a sip.
The other drink, if we can call it that, that we got was the mango pudding yogurt. We shouldn’t have been surprised, but the drink was EXACTLY as it was named. It was made of plain yogurt, mango pudding, and the boba we added. That was it. It was not a drink; my cousin had to eat it with a spoon.
Alright, the boba. The main event. The thing we get our drinks for. This boba was wack, y’all. They were very strangely soft and slimy on the outside. Even though they did have a bit of a chew, it was not enough to make up for the almost gelatin-like texture that was on the inside. They tasted very fake, like chewable, slippery, water. I don’t know how to accurately describe how much displeasure we got from this boba.
The store was a bit run down on the inside even though I know the store is new on the block. The floor was dirty and the ceiling was made with thin wood planks that ran up/down and across the ceiling that opened up to reveal the space above it. HONESTLY the inside of the store doesn’t necessarily matter, but I guess the fact that my tea wasn’t great just makes everything else worse in my mind.
A couple of our drinks passed the $7 mark, which was absolutely insane and criminal for the quality of drink that we got here. I don’t even want to think about it too much. What’s done is done.
The Drinks
Victoria: Coconut Milk Tea with Boba (1/5)
“Send help everything was bad. The milk tea was made with powder which I understand and am used to as an avid coconut milk tea drinker, but I could taste the little granules of coconut powder that was like residue that settled on my tongue?? It was like lil bacteria that remained even after I swallowed the drink. Coconut flavor was very artificial. Don't even get me STARTED on the boba. The outside is so slimy. Why were they ice skating on my tongue. Why was the coefficient of friction between the boba and my tongue literally 0.01. They had a bit of a chew, but it was so overpowered by the fact that they were a bit crumby and gelatin-like inside. I don't know if that's the right description but ???? So yeah 1 star. No redemptive qualities. Bad tea, bad boba, bad time.”
Daphne: Matcha Milk Tea with Boba (2.14/5)
“Very disappointed. Tea not the worst but granules could be felt on my tongue. Very sweet even though I got 30% sugar. Boba was too soft. Mediocre overall.”
Elizabeth: Taro Milk Tea with Boba (1.5/5)
“Too sweet and tasted like sweetened water with a hint of taro. The boba was too soft. Maybe they are still trying to figure out how to make their boba cause it’s a new store.”
Sammy: Mango Pudding Yogurt (1/5)
“I give this drink a singular point for the packaging and for their honesty. When I ask for mango pudding yogurt they gave me exactly that. This was not a drink. It was plain Greek yogurt with mango pudding and boba inside. I have never slurped so hard in my life. I switched to a spoon to eat (not drink) the rest.”
Conclusion
Average Rating: 1.4/5
Recommendation: None
None of us would come back.
26. MomenTea Kitchen
Address: 213 West 40th Street (multiple locations)
Website: https://www.momenteausa.com/
Drinks: Lychee Fairy ($6.75), Honey Lemon Black Tea with Boba and Grass Jelly (30% sugar, $6.30), Cheese Foam Peach Green Tea with Grass Jelly (No sugar, $7.00), Coconut Milk Tea with Boba (30% sugar, $5.80), Galaxy Yogurt (No sugar, $5.25), Passionfruit Green Tea (No sugar, $6.50)
After Wu Qi, we REALLY needed some redemption here (when I ordered my coconut milk tea, I did so very hesitantly and while having vivid flashbacks to that previous drink). But we’re happy to report that (for the most part) MomenTea delivered!
The teas themselves here are in general super refreshing. They weren’t necessarily the best teas we’ve ever had but they definitely weren’t the worst either. If you’re in the area and want to have a nice lil drink with a meal (they have a HUGE selection of hot food items as well!), this place is a really good option.
The boba had the texture that we love (chewy, with some bounce, and not too soft), and they didn’t have that super sweet brown sugar taste that you might be used to from other stores, but they were very lightly sweetened so they didn’t taste like plastic or chewable water. If you like a pretty firm boba, you’d definitely enjoy the boba here.
Our drink average came to around 3.5/5, but we rounded down because of how much time it took to make them. We waited approximately 30 (THIRTY) minutes for these six drinks which is almost unheard of. If a drink order is going to take THAT much time, a heads up beforehand would be nice.
The Drinks
Victoria: Coconut Milk Tea with Boba (3.75/5)
“This was the coconut milk tea redemption I needed after wu qi oh my god. The coconut was blended into the drink so no powder leftovers and it had a real solid flavor. The only con was that it was everrrrrr so slightly on the watery side. Boba had good Bounce and Chew. They weren't flavorless- they had an ever so slight tinge of sweetness. Love.”
Daphne: Honey Lemon Black Tea with Grass Jelly and Boba (4.13/5)
“GORGEOUS GORGEOUS GIRLS LOVE SOUP. so this drink is very nice and refreshing. not like EXTREMELY delicious but very good. THE GRASS IS DEELLIIIIICCCCIOUUUSS. SO NICE AND STIFF AND GOOD FLAVOR I LOVE. and im a grass conossieur. BOBS WERE PERFECT TEXTURE. ALL IN ALL VERRRRYY GOOD. only downside is that after drinking i have a rlly bad stomach ache so not a 5 LOL”
Elizabeth: Cheese Foam Peach Green Tea with Grass Jelly (3.5/5)
“Pretty good tea. Cheese flavor isn’t cheesy enough I feel.”
Sammy: Lychee Fairy (4/5)
“Delish, love the clear boba. Was pretty sweet though and sugar isn’t adjustable.”
Dennis: Passionfruit Green Tea with Grass Jelly (4.5/5)
“The drink is really tasty. This passion fruit green tea without sugar is one of the best. It has the right amount of grass jelly, and it has the right texture and sweetness. I would definitely order it again.”
Lucy: Galaxy Yogurt (1/5)
“I asked for a drink that does not taste sugary. This one is noted a favorite of the shop. It does not taste like yogurt nor Yakult. It just tasted sweet and watery with jelly. A drink is more than just ingredients put into a cup. It should have thoughtfulness and nurturing added in. This drink had neither.”
Conclusion
Average Rating: 3.5/5
Recommendation: Passionfruit Green Tea
Most of us would come back!
27. Modern Tea Shop
Address: 300 West 49th Street
Website: N/A
Drinks: Brown Sugar Boba Milk ($7.50), Super Mixed Fruit Tea (No sugar, $7.25), Fresh Orange Tea with Grass Jelly (No sugar, $7.25), Jasmine Green Tea with Grass Jelly (30% sugar, $6.00), Pink Ombre (No sugar, $7.70), Black Milk Tea with Pecan and Boba (30% sugar, $7.25), Osmanthus Milk Tea with Boba (30% sugar, $6.00)
This is just a solid boba place, you know? It’s not necessarily show-stopping, and maybe we did not see the world in sparkles and rainbows upon one taste, but it was GOOD.
I ordered the black milk tea with pecan (and boba) since it came recommended on the menu and I was very intrigued as to why they were daring enough to add both whipped cream AND pecans to milk tea. The whipped cream melted on top of the drink so it mimicked a cream mousse or milk cap, and the pecans just added a little crunch in some sips. The crunch was a little weird but I got used to it and then I was kinda vibing with it. The milk tea was pretty standard- it had a nice tea flavor but was just a bit watery.
The brown sugar boba milk was one of the best we’ve had, the fresh orange tea was good but extremely pulpy, the jasmine green tea was bitter with just 30% sugar but definitely tasted like fresh tea, the pink ombre was refreshing with a nice lychee flavor, and the osmanthus milk tea was lightly floral.
We were super impressed by their boba! They were a good size (not too small) and definitely had a good bounce and chew. Flavor-wise, they weren’t steeped in brown sugar or anything, but they were lightly sweet and sweet enough that we weren’t left feeling like we were gnawing on plastic.
But of course, as it always happens, these drinks were real expensive. Most of them crossed the $7 mark which is somewhat normal in our current boba environment but it doesn’t make it any less painful. Each topping was $0.75, and each drink’s base price was around $6-6.50.
The Drinks
Victoria: Black Milk Tea with Pecan and Boba (4/5)
“Tea was a little weak. Like watery. Pecans added an interesting crunch if I slurped them up but not much. I’ve never had whipped cream on boba before and I’m surprised to say I didn’t hate it. It kinda melted on top and became a cream foam. The boba was a good texture and was slightly sweet.”
Daphne: Jasmine Green Tea with Grass Jelly (3.99/5)
“Ok so my drink was so bitter like bitter to the WAZOOOOOOOO. even with 30% sugar. But. AND BIG BUTT. this tea didnt taste nasty bitter. it was like i was drinking a healthy tea. it was like nai nai drink but better so its BETTER. anyways so the grass jelly was gorgeous. i wish i wish i wish it couldve been less bitter because i feel like it wouldve been an enjoyable drink. i have hopes for this place. i com back next time with extra sugar”
Elizabeth: Pink Ombre (4.5/5)
“So yummy! Love the lychee flavor and the pink color. Also the cheese was nice and cheesey.”
Sammy: Pink Ombre (3.5/5)
“Very mellow flavor but was tasty and refreshing”
Jacqueline: Osmanthus Milk Tea with Boba (4/5)
“I’ve never had osmanthus tea before, so I don’t know what it’s suppose to taste like, but I really enjoyed the flavor of this drink. The tea had a light fruity, floral accent. The bubbles were big and had a nice chewy texture. I was really impressed with these bubbles because they also had a slight brown sugar flavor.
I also had a taste of Brandon’s Brown Sugar Boba Milk, which was amazing! The bubble texture held up nicely, they were still warm when the drink was made, but they weren’t soft. They bounced back! It’s the best brown sugar boba milk I’ve had so far!”
Dennis: Orange Tea with Grass Jelly (3.5/5)
“This drink is not the typical bubble tea that you get from most of the places. The tea was filled with slices of orange and orange pulp. I would venture to say that drink like this may be targeting certain bubble tea drinkers. I would have it occasionally but not all the time. The drink did taste great. The herbal jelly was too soft for me. I have to scoop up all the pulp at the end.”
Lucy: Super Mixed Fruit Tea (4/5)
“Refreshing, thoughtful, lots of real fruits in the cup”
Conclusion
Average Rating: 4/5
Recommendation: Pink Ombre, Super Mixed Fruit Tea
All of us would come back!
28. Raccoon Cave
Address: 275 Bleecker Street
Website: https://www.raccooncaveusa.com/
Drinks: Raccoon’s Milky Way with Boba ($6.30), Peach Dragon Milk Tea with Herbal Jelly (half sugar, $5.50), Coconut Wonderland Drink with Boba (half sugar, $6.20), Taro Heaven with Boba ($6.30)
Boba, at this point, is everywhere, right? So in order to stand out, you need to level up somehow. Leveling up can come in the form of the drinks, toppings, or the store itself. Raccoon Cave levels up big time in this last category.
Right when you enter the small shop, you notice how bare and minimal it is (leaning into the ‘cave’ aspect), with just a few chairs on the right side of the wall for people to sit and wait for their drinks. The walls and floor are all gray, mimicking rock in a cave. The drinks are raccoon and animal themed. And, of course, you get your drink delivered to you via a raccoon’s paw in a window. It’s so totally unique and makes buying/receiving the boba a true experience.
Raccoon Cave is from the people at Biao Sugar (which we haven’t *officially* been to on this tour yet, but we have been there before), and Biao is known for their brown sugar. The first drink on the menu is the “Raccoon’s Milky Way” which is essentially their brown sugar drink. Because Biao is known for their brown sugar, I was expecting a really good brown sugar drink. Unfortunately, it was too milky and the brown sugar taste was too subtle. It can basically be compared to chugging half and half. The Taro Heaven, which is the brown sugar drink with taro flavoring, was good but left a strange coffee aftertaste. The Coconut Wonderland was super fresh and definitely contained at least some real coconut, but the flavor was a little muted. It could have benefited from some extra coconut syrup or flavoring to enhance the fresh coconut.
The peach dragon milk tea (which is the equivalent of peach oolong milk tea) was super yummy but the customization options were limited. The lowest amount of sugar we could adjust to was half. On the same note, they only had one size cup (no large) and, though the delivery method for their drinks was fun, they don’t have bags readily available for people who buy multiple drinks (it was a good thing we brought a bag).
Also, as I mentioned, the peach dragon milk tea is equivalent to a peach oolong milk tea. We had to ask the person working the cashier in order to figure that out because none of the drinks on the menu had descriptions. It was super cool that they had unique names for their drinks, but some descriptions would be super useful and I’m sure would also be useful for the people working there so they don’t have to explain the drinks to the customers every time they ask (this also just holds up the line). These were just a few of the things that made the shop feel just a bit unfinished (aside from the literal construction papers that were still taped to the window).
The boba itself was a super great texture. They weren’t too soft and had good bounce AND chew. They were slightly sweetened but we all thought that they could have a little more flavor.
The Drinks
Victoria: Raccoon’s Milky Way (3/5)
“I think because this was from biao sugar and their brown sugar drink is literally listed FIRST, I just expected more? The drink was very gently sweetened with brown sugar-- it was mostly just very milky. I felt like I was drinking sugary half and half. The boba was a real good texture though. It was nice and firm and bouncy and chewy- they were just smaller than usual and lacked some flavor. The store was super cute though and had a theme that they committed to. Definitely admire it and makes the whole experience more interesting.”
Elizabeth: Taro Heaven (3/5)
“It was pretty good but I feel like it had a weird coffee after taste that I did not like.”
Jacqueline: Coconut Wonderland (3.5/5)
“I loved the theme of this place! It felt so much like a cave that we thought it wasn’t open when we saw it from the street. The person taking our order kindly told us about all the drinks because NONE of them had descriptions. It was a soft opening day so I assume they’ll improve on this soon because it does hold up the line. It was cute to get our drinks from the raccoon paw, but it also meant that we didn’t get a bag for our 4 drinks. Thankfully we brought our own! Yay!
While I loved the theme, I feel like I’ve seen it all during this one visit and the gimmicky decor won’t be something I am longing to see again.
The drink itself tasted fresh. I loved that the coconut flavor was natural, but it also felt like there should have been more flavor. Maybe they could have toasted the coconut to give it more depth, or added some coconut syrup to enhance the natural coconut. I just wanted more coconut. The bubbles were a little bland, but they were cooked well.”
Dennis: Peach Dragon Milk Tea (4/5)
“The peach oolong tea was very good. I usually ordered 0% sugar and a large size drink. This place does not have these options. The herbal jelly was also too soft for my taste. Because of that I do not think that I will come back again.”
Conclusion
Average Rating: 3.4/5
Recommendation: Peach Dragon Milk Tea
Most of us would come back, but only if we were in the area.
RESULTS
To be honest, none of these shops quite lived up to any of our top three listed in my previous boba post, except possibly Moge Tee(!!), BUT here are the results just considering the 8 from this series!
Favorite:
Victoria: Moge Tee, Shiny Tea
Daphne: Moge Tee
Elizabeth: Modern Tea Shop
Sammy: Moge Tee
Jacqueline: Tiger Sugar
Dennis: Moge Tee, Shiny Tea, MomenTea Kitchen
Least Favorite:
Victoria: Wu Qi My Tea
Daphne: Wu Qi My Tea
Elizabeth: Wu Qi My Tea
Sammy: Wu Qi My Tea
Jacqueline: Raccoon Cave
Dennis: Modern Tea Shop
... In conclusion, please don't go to Wu Qi My Tea. Sometimes I still think I can feel those granules in my mouth.
That's it for this one though! I may be back for another round during the summer. Catch you after graduation :-0
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