best boba in SF chinatown

• Yifang
  • Known in Taiwan for fruit tea
  • Come for $6.50 matcha latte with brown sugar boba
  • Staff make s the Boba fresh every couple hours and keep it warm in the pot until you order it
  • Opens until 10pm
  • Could be too sweet for some folks, as they cannot adjust the sugar level on this one.
• Plentea
  • Drinks are actually ok but the portion size is like half of what the other places are for the same price
  • Reusable glass bottle that aren’t actually that reusable
• Itea
  • Like their sauced fries more than I do the drinks
  • Pretty solid drink for the price
  • There’s always a huge line from the downtown crowd.
• Tancca
  • Boba shop on the less busy side of the neighborhood
  • Slightly different selection of drinks as others
  • A lot of seating area
  • Drinks are pretty OK
  • Sort of out of the way
• Good earth cafe
  • Local shop with very nice lady
  • The one time I got an oolong milk tea here, it tasted no good
• Boba Butt
  • I’ve only gotten the cheese tea here
  • Very cute sprinkle of matcha on top in the shape of a corgi butt
  • The tea tends to be too strong/bitter for personal tasty
  • But still pretty ok
• Etea
  • Flat rate boba at around $3.25
  • I find the drinks just OK
  • You get uber cash back if you use the uber credit card
• Metro HK dessert
  • Open until 10pm Fri-Sun with dessert options
  • Everything tastes OK
  • It’s a great sit and chat location
• Urban Ritual
  • Really really good
  • Hipster as fuck
• Sweetheart
  • I get the $7.50 avocado smoothie with boba in large
  • One of my top drinks in general
  • Mom and pop that’s been around since I was in 2nd grade
  • Great for sitting and chatting as there’s a seating area upstairs that never gets too crowded.
  • Open until 10pm
  • Pretty authentic Chinatown experience
  • I also like to order their eggettes to go with my drink.
• Quickly’s
  • Everyone likes to say shit about quickly’s but this one has a special spot in my boba lineup
  • You just don’t see boba for $2.75 anywhere else in the city anymore
  • I come here specifically for the small-sized tapioca
  • Good portions at $3.99 and $4.99
  • There’s a seating area upstairs
• Cool Tea Bar
  • This is my LATE night go-to, since they’re open until 11pm / 12am
  • Roasted milk tea with grass jelly with no sugar
  • Solid drink, good portions at $4.5
  • My mother’s personal favorite because the no sugar makes it more subtle cream flavor rather than sugary
  • No snacks here, not great seating area
• Capputea
  • This place started as a branch of an actual Taiwanese chain
  • I used to come here for their hot boba milk tea
  • Very spacious seating
  • I also buy a bunch of food and snacks from the menu though
• Steap
  • Convenient since it’s right next to YMCA
  • People working there are always very welcoming
  • Interesting thing with Steap is that they have hemp-infused boba
  • Haven’t tried it yet because it costs $9+
• Sharetea
  • Nearest Sharetea from Chinatown seems to be in Metreon or Westfield right?
  • The one in Metreon is pretty pricey since it gets the movie theater markup ($6.5 for a boba)
  • They also serve small Boba, consistency is a little softer than quickly’s
  • My personal go-to for Sharetea is the grapefruit green tea (or grapefruit black tea)
• Ten Ren
  • None

• Boba Guys
  • Kicked off boba craze in SF
  • Ethically sourced and local ingredients
  • No condensed milk unless requested
  • Loose-leaf tea brewed in house
  • Horchata and Thai tea varieties
• Tea on Piedmont
  • Top-notch boba drinks
  • Best-selling hojicha latte
  • Betty Boba reusable glass tumblers
  • Quality teas directly from Asia
• Sharetea
  • Taiwanese chain
  • Creamy-delicious milk tea
  • Okinawa and Hokkaido variations for super sweet options
• Teaspoon
  • Extensive menu of boba drinks
  • Silky mango or strawberry boba
  • Caramel cream with brown sugar syrup
  • Thai tea options
• Purple Kow
  • Fresh-brewed tea
  • Long lines in Outer Richmond, so avoid school let out times
  • D3 signature drink (caramel, pudding, and boba)
  • Oolong and fruit teas available with less or no sugar
  • Soft, sweet, and heavenly tapioca
  • Locations in SF, Berkeley, and Concord
• Fifty/Fifty Coffee & Tea
  • Boba available in any drink
  • Jasmine green tea, honey coconut latte, and matcha latte options
  • Pastries available for snacking
  • Hot drinks have sweet and pleasantly chewy tapioca
• Milk Tea Lab
  • Monthly special drink crafted by “Scien’tea’ists”
  • Fun new formulas/flavors
  • Alien Tonic (sour green apple drink with mango stars)
  • LovelyDew milk tea (HoneyDew milk tea with honey boba)
• Urban Ritual
  • Elevated boba experience
  • Natural ingredients, loose leaf tea, and homemade syrups
  • Matcha Toffee and Bae-Sil options
  • Locations in SF, San Mateo, and San Jose
• Boba Binge
  • New spot in Oakland’s Chinatown
  • Freshly brewed peach oolong and creamy Panda milk tea options
  • Vietnamese coffee and chewy boba pearls
  • Salted cream cheese drinks with creamy salted cheese foam
• Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea
  • Signature fruit tea infused with fresh chunks of passionfruit and pineapple
  • Sago drinks comparable to tapioca
  • Multiple locations Bay Area–wide.

• Best boba in SF Chinatown according to Reddit users:
  • None
• Best boba in Bay Area (includes SF, SJ, Oakland) suggested by Reddit users:
  • Sunright
  • Urban Ritual
  • Boba Guys
  • 7 leaves
  • Tan-Cha
  • Tastea
  • Yi-Fang Fruit Tea
  • Asha Tea House
  • Lilikoi
  • Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea and Fengcha
  • Sunnywich in Sunnyvale
  • Boba Bliss in Mountain View & San Ramon
  • Happy Lemon
  • Pekoe in San Jose
  • Tea Lyfe, TP Tea, and Teatop
  • Truedan in Cupertino
  • Royaltea
  • Itea

• Asha Teahouse
• Black Sugar
• Boba Guys
• Teaspoon
• Urban Ritual
  • location: Hayes Valley
• T Pumps
  • location: Inner Sunset
• Purple Kow
  • location: Outer Richmond
• YiFang
  • location: Irving and 8th Ave
  • makes their own boba
  • highly recommended
  • try the fruit tea without boba
• District Tea
• Little Sweet Tea
  • white gourd milk tea is caffeine-free
• Tea and Others
  • location: Divisadero and Haight
  • relative newcomer
  • no powders or syrups
  • lots of variety
  • highly recommended
  • perfect tapioca pearls
• 1011 Siptea
• Gong Cha
• Bobba Bunni
• Brew Cha
• Sharetea
• Coco
• Foam Tea House
• Wonderful Foods
• iTea
• plentea
  • location: Chinatown
  • highly recommended
  • sea salt cream oolong with boba is amazing
• Happy Lemon
• Coffee/Espresso Milk Tea at Boba guys highly recommended.
• Not a fan of milk foam or stinky/salted cheese toppings on drinks.
• Boba Guys and Purple Kow are overrated.

• By Me Boba Tea is located in San Francisco, CA.
  • Address: 22 Ross Aly, San Francisco, CA 94108
  • It is located in Chinatown on Washington St.
• By Me Boba Tea is rated 4 stars.
• They offer both delivery and takeout.
• By Me Boba Tea is open every day of the week from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
  • Closed on Saturdays.
• No specific mention of being the “best boba” in SF Chinatown.

💭  Looking into

What is the best way to avoid chain boba shops in Chinatown, San Francisco?

💭  Looking into

What other boba shops are in Chinatown, San Francisco?

💭  Looking into

What flavors of boba does Urban Ritual offer?

💭  Looking into

What are the reviews for TJ Cups?

💭  Looking into

What are the most popular boba drinks at Little Sweet and Wonderful?

• Best Boba near Chinatown, San Francisco, CA:
  • Yelp review:
    • Brown Sugar Pearl Latte with Oat Milk was light and perfectly sweetened
    • Boba was soft and chewy
    • Strawberry Milk with boba 50% sweet was the reviewer’s favorite
    • Milk was fresh and perfect with the boba
    • Lychee Fruit Tea was good, but the reviewer preferred it with boba
    • Wants to try the sago next time.

• Best boba shops in SF:
  • Little Sweet and Wonderful
    • one of the OG’s is the #1
    • Coconut boba is a favorite
  • TJ Cups
    • Brown sugar boba is worth it
  • Urban Ritual
    • Matcha Toffee and Creme Brûlée are standouts
  • Brew Cha
  • Tpumps
  • Cuppa
  • Yi Fang Tea (Chinatown or Stonestown mall)
  • Cool Tea Bar (Chinatown)
    • Best if you’re looking for chewy boba
  • Purple Kow
    • D12 has matcha pudding and tcho pudding
  • Matcha Cafe Maiko
    • Hojicha Frappe is a must-try
  • I-Tea
  • Tancca in Chinatown
    • White grape oolong and osmanthus oolong teas are great
  • Boba Guys
    • Bland boba but good drink flavors
• Avoid Boba Guys for good boba.

• Best boba shops in San Francisco?
  • Urban Ritual
    • Matcha Toffee and Creme Brûlée are standouts
  • Purple Kow
    • D12 has matcha pudding and tcho pudding, plus other toppings
  • Matcha Cafe Maiko
    • Hojicha Frappe is a must-try
    • Add kokuto jelly or their kuromitsu boba
    • Sofuto flavor of the month is usually a nice treat

• None

• There is a boba shop in Chinatown SF called Yifang
  • It was a favorite of a Reddit user who posted 3 years ago
  • There are rumors that Yifang might have to close down due to a possible lawsuit
    • They might have applied for the Chinatown branch under a different business name
• Chinatown has policies against chains to help small businesses
  • Some Reddit users mentioned that Quickly and Ten Ren are chains too
• There are other locations in Milpitas and Fremont
• There is an upcoming location in San Jose
• Yifang is still open despite the lawsuit rumors

💭  Looking into

What is the best boba in San Francisco Chinatown?