Written by Aarav Dixit, Roshan Ramesh, Kaiden Ashvini, and Prathyum Barathi
Pictures by: Kaiden Ashvini, Prathyum Barathi, Roshan Ramesh, and Aarav Dixit
Editing by: Prathyum Barathi and Roshan Ramesh
Research by: Aarav Dixit, Kaiden Ashvini
Boba tea (or bubble tea) gained massive popularity within the past decade and is undeniably loved by many, specifically teens. But what is the craze about?
Boba is a Taiwanese beverage classically containing tea, milk, and a form of sweetener. However, the main appeal for many is the iconic black tapioca pearls: soft, round, chewy, sweet, and delicious, commonly referred to as boba. The drink is also widely popular in lighter, refreshing fruit teas without milk, with countless other flavors including strawberry, passion fruit, and mango. The boba itself also opens up to a whole new world of options, coming in the form of numerous toppings, such as juicy lychee jelly and exciting popping boba to name just a few. It was only a matter of time before the sweet, refreshing drink bubbled up in the United States in the 90’s after it started gaining popularity in Taiwan. As you likely know, there are several tea houses in Fremont, and we all have our own favorite spots. However, if you can’t choose where to go, then we have some recommendations for where you should and shouldn’t try. To keep the reviews consistent and simple, we’ve sampled each store’s classic milk tea with 50% sweetening and no toppings but the classic boba/pearls. Additionally, we based our scoring on 3 main factors: the taste/consistency of the tea, the flavor and texture of the boba, and the price. We tried most of the boba in the area; so you don’t have to.
Tata Teahouse is the first place we visited. It’s a small, cozy joint with a comforting ambiance, located at the Fremont Hub. The store has a wide selection of teas, as well as food and other drinks. With just the milk tea at medium size, the cost is $2.75. To say the least, it was extremely bland, except for a bitter taste in your mouth that failed miserably to offer a prominent tea taste. To be honest, it was terrible. The boba, on the other hand, was actually quite good, and had a nice chewy and soft texture, and was sweet and flavorful. However, the tea is still cheap, and the lack of quality shows. We rate the milk tea a 4.5 out of 10. Their taro tea, which we’ve had before, is far better than their milk tea. If you are going there - don’t. There will be plenty of better options on this list.
We also visited Royal Tea House, a junky corner store on Fremont Boulevard, just across from Washington High School. Despite the below-average ambiance, the tea more than makes up for it. The drink wasn’t too sugary, holding a surprisingly potent taste of strong black tea that, despite the natural bitterness, was perfectly countered and eliminated with the right sweetness. Additionally, the milk taste was also quite nice, fittingly complementing the natural base of tea. The boba had a whole new wonderful flavor and was light and easily chewable. As for the texture of the drink, it was slightly watery but didn’t really affect the tea too much. Nonetheless, this was a drink that was undeniably worth $3.45 and stands at a solid 8.3/10 for delivering an enjoyable beverage through and through.
Continuing on, we also stopped by at Mr. Green Bubble Tea. With seven locations across the Bay Area, the Fremont branch is a popular store in the Pacific Commons complex. The site is fairly clean and does a good job maintaining health precautions including plastic barriers and touch-screen kiosks. Service is quick, and you can expect your tea to be brought before you after a two to three minute wait. Their classic milk tea, known as the Mr. Green Bubble can be customized to match preferences for sweetness and even temperature, with starting prices of $4.20. The tea itself was refreshing and had the perfect balance of sweetness. However, the milk tea did fall a bit short when it came to its viscosity, being slightly watery. The boba, like the tea, kept a good balance of sweetness, with an amazing texture. Overall, we would rate the tea a 7.5 out of 10, for providing a flavorful drink, just with area for improvement when it came to its consistency.
Another place we tried was Teatop. Teatop is located in Newark in Cedar Village, but also has many other locations such as in Milpitas. The boba tea here is very high quality but won’t break your wallet. The tea was just the right amount of sweet - it’ll satisfy your cravings but won’t overload you with sugar. Additionally, the tea flavor was outstanding. To be honest, it’s probably what makes us give the tea such a high rating. The boba's texture and taste were delightful, but a little too sweet, which made the tea a bit sweeter than what you’d expect with 50% sugar. And, while the tea is a little pricey at $5.75, it's definitely worth it. Overall, we gave Teatop a 9/10. It would have been a perfect score if the boba was a little less sweet and the tea was a bit cheaper, but we still really recommend going there.
Finally, we tried the famous iTea. No, it’s not made by Apple - your wallet is safe. Located in Artist Walk on Fremont Boulevard, it’s a brisk walk from Centerville Junior High - but is it worth the walk? From our experience, the tea has proven to be quite exceptional, holding a good taste of light green tea and having a nicely balanced consistency. Additionally, the boba is also up to par, having a quality flavor fitting the tea. Combined, the two elements of iTea boba make for a simply
great drink, but we do have our critiques in place for the tea as well. At 50%, the tea is far too sweet - almost overwhelmingly so - and it almost drowns out the nice tea flavor. This can be simply remedied by lowering the sweetness percentage or adding ice. The boba is also chewier than we hoped, but not terrible. Overall, at $4.25, iTea’s Signature Boba Milk Tea stands at a solid 7 out of 10. (On a quick side note, a personal recommendation for a drink to try is the Super Lime Sijichun, a refreshing, icy slushy).
So that’s it. The good, the bad, and the boba. While all stores might not have gotten such a high rating, they’re all great places to visit if you’re craving some sweet, delicious boba tea. We definitely did not try all the tea houses in Fremont - but we covered the main ones you should know about or try to avoid. At the top, Teatop and Royal Tea House are definitely places where you can get some of the best boba. If you’re looking for something nearby the school and cheap, iTea is our top choice. No matter which teahouse you try, boba tea truly is a great drink, so go take a sip!
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