There are tons of boba shops within the Bay Area, but today, we are narrowing down our top go-to boba shops within the Bay Area. We evaluated our choices based on the quality of their toppings and drinks as well as convenience. With the Bay Area being known as a place where parking is sparse and car break-ins a-plenty, it’s safe to say that we would rather go to boba places with convenient navigation and/or parking. 

#1 Best Boba Spot: TP TEA

Hailing from the motherland of bubble tea, Taiwan, TP TEA stands for Taiwan Professional Tea.  With its locations in Cupertino, Berkeley, Pleasanton, San Mateo, and San Jose, TP TEA has been making its mark around the bay. We’ve visited their San Mateo location, which has a convenient location with numerous street parking spots. Another benefit is that it is walking distance to and from the downtown San Mateo’s parking lot. We tried out the boba shop classics, such as the Boba Milk Tea, Jasmine Green Milk Tea, and their signature Tie Guan Yin Milk Tea.

First of all, their boba was chewy throughout. We’ve gone a few times, and the texture remained consistent and have yet to experience any undercooked or overcooked boba. We’ve also tried their other toppings like the QQ noodles. We absolutely loved this with our drinks since it’s not something that’s commonly offered. As for the drinks, the Boba Milk Tea tasted just like any regular boba shop. However, their Jasmine Green Milk Tea had a much stronger tea taste compared to other similar drinks that we’ve tried. Whether that’s something you like or maybe prefer a more subtle and sweeter taste, it is up to your judgment. We definitely enjoyed the taste of “tea” in milk tea.

The real kicker of our visit was their Tie Guan Yin Milk Tea. If you tend to prefer a stronger tea, this is definitely a drink you’d enjoy! It truly lives up to the tea in its name. 

#2 Best Boba Spot: Little Sweet

Little Sweet is next on our list. This is another amazing spot with various locations in SF’s Inner Richmond, Union Square, Japantown, and more! Out of all the locations, the one in Japantown is the most convenient. It’s accessible via public transportation and cars with plenty of parking space from a nearby parking garage. The boba shop is also situated inside a karaoke place, making it a fun trip deep inside SF!

Out of the drinks that I’ve tried, I absolutely loved the high mountain milk tea and assam black milk tea. I find myself constantly bee-lining to Little Sweet whenever I’m near one since it’s so delicious. Their boba has also been pretty consistent with the right amount of chewiness. I was introduced to winter melon drinks a few months ago, so I’m keen to try out their white gourd milk tea the next time I visit. To all my lactose intolerant readers out there, Little Sweet uses a non-dairy creamer for all their drinks! I’m glad to say that I’ve yet to experience a gut-wrenching stomach ache after finishing their drinks! 

#3: Happy Lemon

This boba place is a known classic among the people in the U.S. Their abundance of franchises is in major cities like San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and more! We couldn’t leave it out of our list though since it’s still a well-loved boba stop for many. It opened one of its locations in the Serramonte mall in Daly City back in 2019 and it has been an extremely convenient spot for boba cravings since then. Most of its franchised locations are within commercialized areas with consistent foot traffic from shoppers or workers. As for their toppings, we’ve mainly only had their boba, but it can be a hit or a miss. In the various locations we’ve tried, their boba was often inconsistent. We recommend that if it is not to your liking, opt out for any boba with theses drinks.

While Happy Lemon is mainly known for their drinks with salted cheese, different locations have different top drinks. Many of the locals in the Daly City location consistently ranked their Boba Puff Cream as their number one choice. The drink is the typical Boba Milk Tea, but the added puff cream makes it sweeter and has a creamier texture. However, their black tea and green tea salted cheese drinks are definitely our favorite. We often opt for their green tea salted cheese drink during warmer days as it has a more refreshing aftertaste while they enjoy the black tea version on any other day. Other than these three drinks, the abundance in variety as well as their constant introduction of new drinks in their menu truly makes Happy Lemon a worthwhile stop for your boba cravings! 

#4: YiFang Taiwan Fruit Tea

Although I’m not the biggest fan of their milk teas or brown sugar drinks in general, I added YiFang to my top choices of boba shops for their chewy boba, wide selection of toppings, and, of course, their fruit teas! YiFang was the first place I’ve ever tried winter melon drinks in, and it was a delightful and refreshing experience. I typically order mochi jelly with their wintermelon lemonade drink. The drink does come sweet, so I highly recommend asking for less sugar or at 50%. The mochi jelly adds a sweet chewiness to the drink, especially since the topping seems to absorb the flavor of the drink that makes it even more enjoyable.

Their signature fruit tea drink, the Yifang fruit tea, is a popular drink for a reason, perfect for warmer days or when you’re craving for something refreshing! Also, just because I’m not entirely a fan of brown sugar boba drinks doesn’t mean that theirs aren’t good. I still highly recommend their original brown sugar boba as well as their variations. I particularly enjoy their cocoa brown sugar latte, which is perfect for any other chocolate lover. The variations of matcha or cocoa gives the drink more depth and flavor, especially since brown sugar drinks tend to only have milk without any tea to it!

#5: Pink Pink Tea Shoppe

This boba shop is one of my more recent finds although I have been going to their Westfield location in SF for a year or two now. Ever since their opening in Westfield, other locations have opened in San Mateo’s Hillsdale mall and Japantown in SF. Since their locations are typically in a shopping/high traffic area, it’s pretty convenient for quick boba runs! Just know that they’re more likely to close early compared to other boba spots in this list since they’re located inside a mall. Pink Pink’s drinks regularly come too sweet for my tastes, so I recommend lowering their sweetness or sugar level to 50%.

Their peach oolong milk tea is my absolute favorite from their menu! This is one of the main reasons why I would often seek them out when I’m in the area! You can choose to add a salted cheese topping on the drink as well, which gives it a creamier texture. Although it’s not a milk tea or has any inkling of tea, I also recommend their Oreo milk smoothie. The small little chunks of oreo cookie in the drink adds some crunchy texture, which makes it so good and enjoyable for non-milk tea lovers! Adding the salted cheese also makes the smoothie creamier and more delicious!  As for the boba, I find it to be inconsistent as it sometimes comes a little hard in the middle, so I only ever get their boba when I want something to chew on with my drink. 

Recommendations?

Do you have a boba spot in the Bay Area that you love and would like to share? Please let us know as we’re constantly looking for new places to try out! Also, please to check our posts on Facebook for updates!

Make sure to check out our other blogs like the one on the top picks for ramen!

Make sure to check out our other blogs like the our Korean food spotlight!