My Boba Recommendations 

One of my favorite pastimes when traveling is to find boba stores and try out new drinks. I am a big fan of boba and other tea drinks such as fruit tea and other sweet Asian dessert drinks. Just like one of my hobbies is to collect keychains from different cities and countries, another one of my hobbies is to make a list of enjoyable boba stores. Some of the boba shops I have tried are part of franchises and can be found in other cities, but some boba shops are local in the area and those are sometimes even better than the franchise stores. Not all of my favorite drinks are milk tea with boba, but also other fruits teas, and sweet drinks. Here are my 10 favorite boba drinks from different boba stores.  

1. Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea-Passion Fruit Green Tea

I had first tried Yi Fang in Toronto, Canada, and loved the passion fruit green tea. Yi Fang is a franchise store that first opened in Taiwan and spread to the rest of the world, like Canada, California, New York, and other countries. After trying fresh passionfruit a few years ago, I was really curious about how passionfruit would taste in a drink. Passionfruit has a lot of crunchy seeds and is naturally sour. Therefore, the passion fruit green tea is perfect with the sweetness of the tea and the sourness of the passion fruit. If you don’t like drinks that are too sweet, I would suggest you try it with 75% or 50% sweetness. 

2. Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea-Brown Sugar Pearl Latte

Another one of my favorite drinks from Yi Fang. The brown sugar pearl latte is one of the signature drinks from Yi Fang and it lives up to its popularity. The brown sugar makes the consistency of the boba chewier and has a sweet sugary taste to it. When the milk is added to the brown sugar boba, it makes the whole drink taste sweet and delicious. The only complaint I have about this drink is that you can not change the amount of sugar or ice, but the amount of sweetness is perfect for me. There are also other combinations for the brown sugar pearl latte, such as black tea, matcha, or cocoa latte. I have also tried the brown sugar pearl matcha latte and there is a strong taste of matcha to it, but I still prefer the original. One of my tips for brown sugar boba drinks is to flip the cup upside and shake it to mix the brown sugar boba with the rest of the milk in the drink to make it taste better. Yi Fang is a franchise store and can be found in many places, so if you have a Yi Fang store near you, I really recommend you to try out their drinks and boba. 

3. iTea- Super Fruit Tea

Another franchise store that originated from Asia and opened up many stores in the United States and around the world. I started going to iTea more often during college because it was the best and closest place to get boba near campus. Compared to other boba stores, the tea taste may not be as strong, but their drinks are still very enjoyable. I recommend the super fruit tea as it is one of my favorite drinks. The super fruit tea is really refreshing and has many different fruits. There are apples, oranges, lemons, passion fruit, pineapple, and many other fruits. If you are a fan of fruits or enjoy drinking fruit tea, I recommend you this drink.

4. iTea-Japanese Matcha Red Bean 

Another one of my favorite iTea drinks is the Japanese matcha red bean drink. It may sound like a weird combination, but matcha and red bean are a really good match. Usually, nothing can go wrong with a matcha red bean drink, and it is true with the Japanese matcha red bean drink at iTea. The drink has a smoothie-like texture, but the red bean is not blended and is placed on as a topping. If you do not like a strong matcha taste, this drink is perfect for you. The matcha is not too strong, but there is still a good amount of matcha taste mixed with red beans. 

5. R&B Tea-Kumquat Lemon Ice Tea

R&B Tea is one of my recent favorites. When I went, I had forgotten to try their boba milk teas, but rather I had tried a few of their fruits teas and the kumquat lemon ice tea was one of my favorites. Kumquat has a naturally citrusy flavor and is slightly sweet with a strong sour and tangy taste. On the other hand, the lemon in the drink also has a citrusy and sour flavor. Combined together with the iced tea, it has a perfectly sweet, sour, and citrusy flavor. Trying out kumquat in drinks was a new experience for me, but I loved it. One of my suggestions is to order the drink with 50% or 75% sweetness and the taste will be perfect. 

6. Boba Butt-Iced Roasted Oolong Milk Tea

Boba Butt was one of the cutest boba stores I have been to. The theme of the store was corgis, and the cute corgi butt logo is everywhere. My friends and I had come across this store by accident during our ventures in San Francisco and we were surprised how good the milk tea and boba were. I had tried the roasted oolong milk tea and the tea taste was perfect and the texture of the boba was soft and chewy, it was just the right consistency. I have heard that if you order drinks with cheese foam, there is a cute image of a corgi’s butt. This cute boba store only has a location in San Francisco, California though. 

7. Teaspoon Cafe-House Milk Tea 

I came across this boba store during its grand opening near my college campus and it had exceeded my expectations. After my first excursion to this store, I became a regular customer and had gotten boba there at least twice every week. One of my favorites is the house milk tea which is a black tea blend infused with cream and I always add boba as a topping. The tea is very strong and the honey boba is always just the right consistency. The drinks tend to be on the sweeter side, so I suggest getting the drinks with 50% or 75% sweetness. Teaspoon Cafe is also a franchise with more shops around California. 

8. Sweethoney Dessert-Purple Yam Sago Milk

If you are a dessert lover like me, Sweethoney Dessert is the perfect place for your dessert desires. I came across this store during my random walks and walked in to try it. I am a big fan of Asian desserts and this place is perfect for me. One of my favorite drinks is the purple yam sago milk and can be served either hot or cold, perfect for both the summer and the winter. The dessert consists of purple yam, small tapioca pearls, and coconut milk which makes it really fragrant and smooth. It is not too sweet and it has a thick consistency. I have tried many other desserts on the menu, but the purple yam sago milk is the one I always order. Sweethoney Dessert is a franchise store and has many locations all over California.  

9. Mandro Teahouse-Brown Rice Green Milk Tea

Have you ever heard of brown rice being used in milk tea? I have never tried brown rice in milk tea before so this was a new experience for me. I had seen brown rice milk tea on the menu at Mandro Teahouse and I knew I had to try it because it sounded unique. Anyways, I could not taste the brown rice since everything was blended and consisted of green tea, but it was very good and had a nice taste. I had also added boba as a topping and it wasn’t the best boba I’ve eaten, it was a bit too soft but the brown rice green tea made up for it. Mandro Teahouse is a local boba store in Davis, California, and also sells other types of desserts, such as bingsoo. I’ve tried bingsoo for the first time here and it was amazing. 

10. Gongcha-Matcha Tea Latte with Red Bean 

Gongcha is everywhere and the milk tea is average but I really like the matcha tea latte with red bean. Unlike the Japanese match red bean at iTea, the matcha tea latte with red bean at Gongcha is not like a smoothie, but rather is a latte. The sugar and ice levels are adjustable, but I think the 75% sweetness level is perfect. The matcha was not too strong and the texture of the red beans was just right. 

If your favorite pastime is to try out new boba shops and desserts, then here is a perfect list for you to try out. Some of the boba shops are franchise which makes it easier to find, but some are just local small shops. A lot of my recommendations are fruit teas, but I also find other drinks like boba milk tea and salted cream drinks enjoyable too. If you are at a loss when trying out new boba shops, my recommendation is to order the roasted oolong milk tea with boba, the most basic but most perfect drink:)