Why does your milk tea taste lighter than milk tea from other boba shops?
The short answer is that we use different tea leaves from many traditional boba shops. Our teas are selected for a broader purpose across both milk teas and fruit teas, so the taste and texture may feel different from what some guests expect.
Our goal is to make drinks that are refreshing, flavorful, and a little different from the usual Bay Area boba experience. That lighter profile comes from the ingredients we choose, including the teas we brew and the milk options we offer.
Our milk choices, including half-and-half, whole milk, soy milk, almond milk, and oat milk, create a lighter feel than the powdered creamers commonly used in some milk teas.
For our tea bases, we focus on quality and innovation. They are chosen to complement our fruit teas, which means our milk teas may not taste like the ones you are used to. For example, our green tea uses a specific jasmine flower and roasting method from mainland China. This jasmine tea is rare and distinctive, and it helps set our drinks apart.
In the end, it depends on personal preference. Some guests think our tea is too strong, while others think it is not strong enough. Many guests find it just right.
How sweet are the drinks?
Because we do not use artificial flavorings, our drinks are generally less sweet than drinks from many other boba shops. Their 50% sweetness may taste closer to our 100% sweetness.
Some fruit teas can taste bitter with no sugar, so we recommend at least 50% sweetness for a more balanced and enjoyable drink. We still offer a sugar-free option for guests who are watching their sugar intake.
What is Seasons Tea?
Seasons Tea is a Taiwanese oolong tea known for its signature floral aroma.
What is Golden Tea?
Golden Tea is an oolong tea with an osmanthus floral aroma. It is not related to golden turmeric tea.
Why are your drinks priced higher?
Our pricing reflects the quality of our ingredients. Our custom tea is already more expensive to source, and many of our drinks also use fresh fruit.
Fresh fruit is delivered and prepared every day so guests can enjoy the best possible ingredients in their drinks. It also takes a full team to prepare those ingredients and serve each order with care.
Why is the wait sometimes so long?
Wait times are affected by the time of day, the day of the week, the weather, and how many orders are already in progress. If the shop is quiet on a rainy Tuesday morning, a small order may only take a minute or two. If there is a long line on a sunny Saturday afternoon, the wait may be 25 minutes or more.
We also receive large orders, sometimes 20 drinks or more, along with online orders from delivery services such as Uber Eats. Those orders can add extra time for in-store guests.
The website said the wait was only 5 minutes. Why did I wait more than 30 minutes?
The actual wait depends on how busy we are at that moment. The website wait time does not update in real time and does not account for every order already in the queue.
A few small orders may take only 5 minutes. Multiple online orders combined with a long line of walk-in guests can take closer to 30 minutes.
Why do you charge extra for no ice?
When a drink is made with no ice, the ice is replaced with more tea and/or other ingredients. The added ingredients increase the cost of the drink.
