Tea Celsius - CLOSED
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
239 reviews
San Bruno, CA
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32 Reviews for Tea Celsius
I love Tea Celsius! My boyfriend lives in downtown Burlingame so we love walking around the area and after the obligatory stops at J. Crew and Pottery Barn, it's usually off to TC for some bubble tea before we continue shopping/walking around. Their bobas here are firm but chewy -- perfect -- and the flavor of the tea itself is superb. He likes Strawberry-Banana, I prefer Taro and Japanese Green Milk.
+1 : for those tea celsius cards that earns you a free drink after you've gotten 9 (great for regulars like me!) and for the friendly staff who asks my bf where i am whenever he goes without me
-1: no set store hours
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I've had the most expensive pearl tea and not by choice.
I had the taro milk tea with soft yet chewy tapioca... a delight! It tasted natural and brightened up my afternoon. You won't find too many places that serve taro milk with tea. Tea Celsius is really really tiny and it's definitely a place to order, grab, and go.
I'm sippin' and skippin' along the shops and restaurants in a pretty good mood. As I walk back to my car, I see the meter reader giving me a ticket! Why is it that you come back JUST in time to see that? I had a good 20 minutes left. Oh silly me, I put money in the wrong meter! The meter lady didn't find it so silly as my explanation fell on deaf ears.
The pearl tea was good and I'm elated that I found another joint besides Fantasia, but not $29 good.
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04.19.07 - 2nd Visit
Try the Ovaltine milk tea! It's delicious!
**********
The honey green tea with lychee jelly was pretty good. I liked that it wasn't too syrupy or sweet. My coworker got the avocado smoothie. I didn't try it, but was impressed that fresh avocado was added to the concoction.
The store, although small, was clean. 1/2 star off for the price ($7.50 for two boba drinks is a little steep) and 1/2 star off for the cramped space.
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Update: 06/13/07
Tea Celsius will close down on 06/15/07.
Sad. Yes I know! I hear they might move to Palo Alto.
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Tea Celcius are my neighbors. My favorite chill spot beverage place. I'm telling you, you will not find a smoothie or a Tapioca drink better than the ones you get here.
Mmmm Strawberry/banana will put a smile on your face.
If you're ever strolling down B-game avenue on a sunny day, don't forget to stop off at Tea Celcius.
Look out Quickly, Tea Celcius is in town. ;).
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This be the hot spot, for realz!
I love Tea Celsius. It is my fave! When I feel kinda bored, uninspired, or blah I come here. Everyone who knows me knows what I mean when I say, "I need my Elixir!"
Tea Celsius supplies the Elixir of life for those searching for it. Yeah it does. Almond Green Milk Tea is bursting! Honey Green Milk Tea is glamorous! House Green Milk Tea is classy. Lychee Green Tea! Every time that I drink bubble tea from here, my mood changes gears (yes, it could be the suga, but I'd like to think it is the Elixir of Life that I have discovered).
I have tried several several Bubble Milk Tea places and have found none that beat this charming 'lil place. It is a little more pricey than others, but it is for a good reason, guys.
WOW factor: Honestly, I think it is the quality of the teas as well as the quality of the Tapioca (balls). The Tapioca balls taste very fresh and they are of good texture - not soggy or mooshy.
Some cons: I have been coming to this place since it's been open. They are definitely growing their business and it has shown. I have come here needing a bad fix and they have let me down. They have been randomly closed or provided conflicting information where hours of operation are concerned. But I forgive them because I love Tea Celsius. :)
Ps - I like the plastic seals they use to cover the cups, such as Goat, Pig, Dog.
Enjoy.
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I love this little tea shop!!! I can't get enough of their chocolate milk tea or Ovaltine milk tea. I have been to some other places that make the same drink and they don't even compare to the drinks tea celcius makes. I desperatly wish they were open in the morning as well as the afternoons so I could stop there instead of starbucks :(
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I discovered Tea Celsius on a side trip from Burlingame Avenue. Small space but a varied selection of smoothies, pearl teas and slushy drinks. I agree that it is a bit overpriced, but good consistency and flavor.
Boba, boba, boba. My favorite word right after pimpslap.
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Still working my way around the area but this is one cute shop! Warning: It is small! The area reminded me of Stone Harbor, NJ! And you KNOW this place is good, with the self-stamped YELP sticker on the door!
Had the taro milk tea, but no tapioca! Looked like they just opened up and made the batch of tapioca...at least I know it will most definitely be fresh! (Just to let ya'll know, it takes about an hr for tapioca to set, 30 minutes to boil, and other half to sit in water.)
It was a bit sweet, but not too much! Had the green tea waffle...I liked it! Didn't taste the green tea part, but it hit my sweet cravings...just enough but not too much.
Dang it, I should've gotten a iced lychee tea! Next time! The guy was nice, asking me do I live around the area and I had to admit that I was playing hooky!.....
Awesome cute cute place. If I wanted slushee type drinks, I'd still go to Tapioca Express...but for a milk tea, this place is IT. =)
This would be my daily 4th period cutting spot on burlingame ave. The milk tea is good, but it's made with powder and isn't fresh. The food is okay, but overall the products are overpriced. The family that owns it is nice, but the service can be slow. I kept coming back here before it closed because the milk tea tasted better than all the ones near San Mateo, but given the opportunity I would go elsewhere for fresh milk tea.
Deathly sweet pearl milk tea. I've never had a pearl tea that I could not finish and had to throw away... until now.
Was in the Peninsula area too far from Fantasia in the South Bay so came here to satiate my pearl tea fix since I read some decent reviews. Tea Celsius a tiny cute storefront on a side street of Burlingame Ave next to the parking lot.
I was looking for tasty and authentic milk tea and ordered the green tea with pearls. And it came out to be the sweetest green tea I've ever had --- I think they put more sugar and syrup in this thing than they did milk tea. It was deathly sweet and I had to throw it away after drinking 1/3 of the cup. Perhaps their tea is great but there was no way in hell I could taste the tea through all the sugar.
The green tea waffle was different but also disappointing. It came out soggier than expected (aren't waffles supposed to be somewhat crisp?) and could barely taste any green tea flavor. I think the best part of the waffle was the whip cream on the side.
And to make matters worse, this young Asian Paris Hilton-wannabe was standing outside the entrance whining away endlessly about her life's problems to her dad... come on, have your calls somewhere else and don't force everyone else to listen to your superficial little problems. I hope you read this review - you know who you are!
Bottom line: Two thumbs down on Tea Celsius. Maybe the guy there spilled half of the bottle of sugar in my cup by accident but definitely did not have the same good experiences other Yelpers had.
I had a yummy jasmine/rose tea that was pretty sweet, but I actually liked the sweetness. The floral aspect was amazing - like drinking exquisite perfume. YUM.
It did take a while for my drink to come out tho - the place is so small that they seem to only be able to fit one person to do both drink making and cashiering.
Yummy stuff tho - totally worth the wait. And it's kinda random with waffles on their menu. I'm always a fan of random.
Love, love, LOVE Tea Celsius!! Their drinks are fresh and the boba is consistently cooked to perfection. I often get a chocolate chip waffle too...always made fresh!! Their prices aren't sky high, which I also love :D
Minus one star for not posting their hours, and being inconsistent with opening times. Then again, this excellent little cafe is run by only two people, and its waaaaaaaay better than most other places with 2 or 3 times as many employees.
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Sorry guys, you hyped up this place WAY too much. My hubby and I are boba snobs having spent our college days in So Cal with regular once-a-week boba runs at Tea Station. Thankfully, there is a Tea Station in Newark.
This store is literally a store, not a sit-down cafe of any sort. It's tiny. On the day that we went there was only one worker who served as cashier and drink-maker, so it took almost 30 minutes for us to get our drinks. When we did get our drinks, we were not that impressed. First of all, they didn't have bobas even though we were the first group of customer that day. My lichee tea was too sweet, and the Ovaltine milk tea my husband got was not that special either.
I think our best compromise for boba in Nor Cal is Eggettes. But the absolute best boba is Tea Station. You've really not had boba unless you've had Tea Station boba.
I'm shocked that one of the best boba places I've been to is off of Burlingame Avenue (the best being Eggettes in South City). This place has some awesome tapioca drinks and also serves some really good organic tea. Their menu is limited, especially compared to the tapioca joints nearby such as Quickly's and Q-Cup. Their teas are never too sweet and their boba has the best consistency. Their little waffle thingies are really yummy too. They also have fresh fruit drinks which is always a plus.
Edit: I can't believe they closed. and now they're a stupid Quickly's/Tapex chain crap joint. I am not down with this. No more good Boba in Burlingame :( If you guys don't want to go too far, Eggettes in South City is the next best thing.
Yum! This place is really fun. It has a nice decor and is probably the only Asian place on Burlingame Avenue. There isn't seating though which kind of sucks, but you can take your drink and shop (or at least look around). The people are also really friendly and they have a fun picture wall. My advice: Don't go around 3. There are WAY too many high schoolers.
Never had I thought that I'd be in the mood to slurp up lychee jelly mixed into coconut milk tea through a straw the size of my thumb, but this place makes me totally in the mood. And I've obviously gone beyond *thinking* about this to patronizing this place way more than necessary... only a month into working downtown Burlingame and already about halfway through with my Tea Celsius punch card. Staff is really nice, too, and indulges all my ignorant white-girl questions ("What IS lychee, anyway???")
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Stopped in here for a refreshment, and having extremely limited experience with bubble tea (or eyeball tea as I like to refer to it) places, was a bit overwhelmed with the menu. I succumbed to pressure as the lady was waiting for my order.
"Honey black tea, please."
"Hot or cold?"
"Hot. And a ham, cheese, and corn waffle."
I took a seat at one of the two tables in the tiny restaurant and further studied the menu. Darn. Those milk teas look good. Ovaltine? Yum. Next time. The lady made the waffle fresh, but it was quite sweet and wasn't what I was expecting. Next time I'll try one of the "sweet" waffles. The tea tasted pretty good but a little lemony.
I'm confident when I get my order right, this will be a good alternative to Starbuck's or Peet's.
Takoyaki n' waffles? No you are not dreaming, and no this is not a Japanese and Soul Food Fusion Adventure.
This quaint little Taiwanese tea drink shop is on Lorton Avenue, around the corner from Sephora on Burlingame Avenue. They've been open about a year, and it turns out the Taiwanese owner is a friend of a friend. No shilling, this is all my honest unbiased review.
There are maybe three tables total, two outside, one inside. They pretty much do to go only, which is a shame considering the overall quality of the drinks and snack offerings, and really not much space to enjoy them.
There are no Chinese characters on the menu, everything is in English. There is a separate specials board behind the counter, one touting various flavors of waffles (pick from mini size or
regular) from buttermilk (plain), chocolate chip, green tea, and one version that has ham and cheese. No chicken to go with it, I'm afraid!
The chocolate chip waffle was a bit too sweet, but did hit the spot. My friend said this was "to die for" if you are a chocolate lover. Well sorry to disappoint, I'm still alive and kicking (and yelping). The sweet waffles are served with 2 paper cuplettes of whipped cream. Spread them on at your own doing, fold it like a calzone/sandwich and munch away. Watch out when the whipped cream melts and turns liquidy, and it might drip off the other end. Not terribly fun if you're driving. However the winner to me was the green tea waffle, and was quite out of the box and very tasty. Sadly these waffles are not crunchy, but ahh well can't win all the time.
They also offer takoyaki which is one of their tea snack specials. I had read prior that it was made to order, but I want to make a correction that it should be cooked to order. The owner went to the back then later came back with 3 little round spheres. I'm wondering if these were pre-made earlier (and I hope this isn't from a frozen batch
from supermarket). He did take a takoyaki cast iron mold and lit up the gas stove behind the counter, and heated them up.
$2.95 + tax for three, and garnished with Japanese mayo and bonito flakes (katsuobushi).
While it was nice and piping hot, the takoyaki balls came apart fairly easily with my supplied plastic fork. The katsuobushi were the supermarket packets of rather thick and big shavings, unlike the thin, smaller, and more refined supple flakes used at other Japanese restaurants for dishes like agedashi (fried and served with dashi broth) tofu or yaki nasau (eggplant) or kabocha (pumpkin) that with the combination of heat, create a rippling dance/wave effect,
wave movements (almost like tropical coral in a sea water aquarium). Sadly the bigger bonito flakes didn't dance or ripple as much and were rather chewy when you take a small forkful.
The filling was a wee bit gooey but seemed to be cooked completely, unlike the uncooked interior goo I had at Gindaco (Japanese takoyaki chain that originated from Tsukiji) in Taipei back in January.
And yes there were nice chunks of octopus legs in there. If you are hankering for takoyaki, check this place out, but certainly do not expect Osaka quality or the fragrance, flavor and feeling of the kind at Mitsuwa's various Japanese themed food fairs that only happen once a year (or even the annual Sakura Festival). It is a good effort nonetheless.
The tea drinks are also a tad bit on the sweet side, so if you have a sweet tooth, this shouldn't bother you. I must say that I was
very impressed with the quality of the tea, as well as whatever sweetener they used. Surpassed all the low end mass
produced tapioca teas all around the Bay Area (aka Quickly, Express, Q-cup yada yada). The tapioca balls itself were not terribly chewy and in fact were a bit on the soft side. Either this was a bad batch, or in itself is a bit of a weak link. Almost like Cupertino Ten Ren's soft tapioca, nothing like the genuinely chewy and toothsome/QQ tapioca of Fantasia Cupertino.
Japanese green milk tea is my current favorite here, and the consistency overall is very smooth on the tongue, with also good green tea (powder?) flavor, literally tasting like at a Japanese restaurant. I'm almost afraid to try the other funky fruity flavors but given how well they did this drink, I'm inclined to try it next time.
They sell some Tea Forte packaged leaves in here. Supposedly made in China but looks rather fancy westernized with
packaging and logo. There were a few poster ads of this brand and supposedly has Oprah's magazine thumbs up. I wonder if they use Forte for their tea drinks.
The standard tapioca black tea with milk was also quite well done, and reminded me of Heavenly, a former authentic Taiwanese tapioca milk tea and cooked food restaurant in Milpitas Square (Fantasia took over that location after they closed in 97/98), and also one brilliant glass I had at a tapioca tea place near The Satay Club at Boat/Clarke Quay in Singapore.
A+ for Burlingame!
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I am a fan of chai tea. The first time I had green chai tea was at Tea Celsius. It had the soothing flavor of green tea, with the subtle spices and milkiness of regular chai. I think I have found my new pick-me-up beverage of choice.
Oh, the green tea waffle I had was a perfect complement to the tea. Yummy!
Althought everyone, anyone could make topioca milk tea, it's not everyone could make it delicious! Tea Celsius has the best topioca milk tea in bay area.
The reasons I like it so much :
1. a lot tea shops mix the milk tea to put in fridge before people buy them. Tea Celsius make it fresh!
2. topioca is made and sold on the same day so that will taste chewy and not too firm.
3.The milk tea is light so it will be good for anytime to drink.
The other thing I also like is the waffle.
The waffle is awesome match with the drinks!!!!
They have me!
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Please, PLEASE post a sign with your hours! There are so many days when I walk by on my way to the train station and wish that I could pop in and grab a latte!
Everything on the menu is 200% better than at the Starbucks across the street. I heart their green tea waffles and milk tea with tapioca. If you do sit down, they always have good magazines laying around to thumb through. Free WIFI is a plus! So many good things going on at this place, with the exception of it being so small and not being open early in the day. It's understandable, though, since it's a couple that runs the place.
Expect it to be packed right after school - all the kids from the high school across the street go here.
Love the Boba here! My only regret is not trying this place early enough. I been missing out on the goodness. My fav is the House Milk Tea.
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FINALLY! A good boba/tea bar close to me.... i was withering away at the local starbucks before i discovered tea celsius. it's a bit small but it was plenty big for me who just wanted a nice lychee iced tea. it was sooooooo refreshing and good. if you want to sit down and chill with a billion of your friends and hang all day at some boba joint then head to quickleys in millbrae or something. bf tried the lychee smoothie and he said it was yummy without being too dense or milky, which is nice. sometimes people can make smoothies not "fruity" enough and too "milky"....not tea celsius! the people behind the counter were really friendly. drinks came a little slow but they're not just mixing powder in water so be a little understanding and prepare to wait a little bit. we also tried their takoyaki and i was pleasantly surprised with how good and semi authentic it was. couldve been a little firmer but for what it is at $3 it was great. no complaints. their bento boxes looked good and prices reasonable but i would have to try it out myself to have an accurate opinion. the location is really cute and i suspect they're still trying to figure out their hours. but i'm a converted regular from now on. it is now my boba/tea go to spot :D
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I like the surroundings and the cute store, my favorite is of course the tapioca milk tea and the toco tariyaki is great too!! You must come and try it!!!
Your relatively healthy snack-shack tucked just around the corner from the busy hubub of sephora. Tea with boba and a bento are always a great combo and totally hit the spot, without either breaking the bank of the gut.
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this little shop is so great and they offer so much. i go there regularly, its like down the street. the people that work there are really nice. the hangups would be that everything takes really long. its cheaper than most other coffee shops. i also love the strawberry banana smoothie and i love the asian style little quarky things about the shop.
Great drinks. I'm partial to their mango smoothie. Perfect blend of ice milk and fruit, not too sweet either. They have really good milk teas too. Of their food I've only tried their green tea waffle and their Takoyaki. The green tea waffle with whipped cream is to die for. The takoyaki wasn't great. They totally buried them in mayo, whatever other sauce they use and bonito flakes. When I finally fished one out of the sauce I figured out why they drowned them. They were burnt (almost black) on the outside, but the strange thing was they were undercooked on the inside, mushy and too soft. I don't know if this was an isolated event or how they make them on a regular, but they weren't anything I would order again. The service can be slow at times, especially when it's just that one girl working and she's trying to fill 5 orders at the same time. Maybe they should think about hiring one more person to work during peak times.
Next time I'm there I'll try their new bento boxes. And maybe if I'm feeling brave I'll order the takoyaki again (it's cheap anyways) And maybe they'll get bumped up to the 4 stars I think they are capable of.
UPDATE 7/20/07: Sadly, Tea Celsius has closed and get this...it's being replaced by the greasy, corporate Quickly! I swear - I saw the bright orange furniture and a guy sticking the sign on the door. I really liked that Burlingame was different and lacked a boba-chain. I mean, there's already a Quickly in neighboring San Mateo AND Millbrae! Why the need for one in Burlingame?!! I will truly miss the waffles and my ovaltine milk tea. They should have warned customers they were closing (and selling out to corporate America) instead of putting up misleading with signs saying they were on vacation! I think the only bright side to this is that there will be a boba place that is open late...just in time for summer! And, hopefully their new location (along the peninsula according to their website) will open up soon. I think they're good enough that I would actually drive to a Tea Celsius (they USED to be walking distance). But, my bitter frustration has to cool down before I can walk back into their establishment.
They're FAB-U-LOUS! Great boba, teas and waffles. My faves are chocolate milk tea and ovaltine milk tea which I can gulp down in 5 seconds! Seriously! Always friendly service. My only complaint is that I'm never sure when they'll be open cuz they don't have times posted. I wish they'd open up earlier especially on the weekend cuz I'd rather get my caffeine fix from them instead of Copenhagen or Starbucks...but sometimes they're not even open by 11am! What's a girl to do?!
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I am so sad they are closing down in Burlingame. Hope they move nearby!
1/7/2007 UPDATE: Introduced bento box lunches (unagi, beef/chicken teriyaki).
I broke my vegetarianism to sample their new bento meals, and every time I return, am tempted to "sample" again!
The bento choices are admittedly limited, but this may be a blessing as they have concentrated their efforts to create very tasty dishes with just the right texture and moisture.
10/24/2006 UPDATE: One star upgrade; from 4 to 5. After coming here dozens of times, I have been treated to CONSISTENCY and FRESHNESS. Without fail, the drinks are always made exactly the same way and are of the same high quality. The fruits, etc. are always fresh. Shoot, even Starbucks screws up on consistency.
Also, they have introduced more solid FOOD: the octopus Takoyaki balls (a real specialty in Japan) are very different from what we usually find on Burlingame Ave. My friend who has tried takoyaki in Japan says that the Tea Celsius ones taste authentic and good.
This is that little boba cafe next to Sephora's in downtown Burlingame. Great alternative when you're tired of the nearby Starbucks. Tea Celsius serves your usual coffees, mochas, all sorts of teas etc., PLUS fresh fruit smoothies, Chinese boba tea, and my favorite, Papaya juice with soy milk. These healthful, somewhat exotic drinks are hard to find locally.
They also serve made-to-order waffles in several flavors--choc chip, green tea, and cheese/corn/ham. A nice complement to the drinks. Other Asian snacks like miso peanuts provide some variety.
Service is polite and helpful.
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okay.
i am biased. i am asian and love the bubble drink but may i suggest these:
the lychee green milk tea with coconut jelly
taro shake
takoyaki
waffles
the hot link is delish!
i love their waffles sooooo muchhhhhhh!!!
especially the one with corn, ham and cheese
i feel so touched that they do have organic tea
the lychee organic tea is my favorite tea ever!!
they also have yummy smoothie with tapioca
they are awesome! :)
you guys should try them all !
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