Tea Era
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Wi-Fi: None
- Good for: Dessert, Dinner, Late Night, Lunch
- Alcohol: None
287 reviews
Santa Clara, CA
"Best coffee in the Bay, hands down. Does this place even need another review? I haven't been here much since they changed and simplified…" read more »
97 Reviews for Tea Era
Barley milk tea does taste like Graham Crackers!!!! It's awesome, but I can only do it once. I'm lactose adverse and the experience just isn't worth a second try.
Any soy milk boba out there?
If you're near Mountain View and want pearl milk tea, there's no reason not to come here. My favorite is the simple jasmine milk tea. Tea Era is better and cheaper than either Verde or Tapioca Express. The buy-10-get-1-free card doesn't hurt either.
Verde has better ambiance and Tapioca Express has more seating, but if you're all about tea, this is the place to be.
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I tried out this place after seeing all the rave reviews. I mean for a boba place to consistantly get 4 to 5 stars must be like drinking the nectar of the gods! I ventured a little off my usual fruity drinks and decided to get a honeydew milk tea -- love the fruit and thought it'd be cool to get something like honeydew juice with a tad of milk.
The first sip was okay...got some pearls and enough nectar to chew and wash the boba down. But after about a quarter of my way through the drink, the tea started to taste more and more like starch. The hondew powder was really coming out and I just couldn't drink anymore. I guess if it was fully dissolved, I would have liked it more, but blah. Tried to unload my drink on my gf and she didn't like it either.
Oh well...I'll give this place another try, but for a first impression, it just didn't cut it.
Decent tea place. Standard PMT (pearl milk tea) options and the boba is pretty spot on.
The menu is a little overwhelming because it's rather disorganized, but I usually just get Jasmine Milk Tea w/ pearls or something fruity.
They only accept cash which is pretty annoying and no bills over $20.
They have a punch card tho so I'll probably be back. This place is actually cheaper than Verde, but I think I like the taste of Verde better. I am SO over TapEx.
**EDIT** Just got the roasted barley tea everyone's been raving about... OMG. SO GOOD. The roasted flavor is so nice with the sweetness of the pearls. Mmm... I definitely have a new favorite PMT!
Yet another UPDATE for TEA ERA, the Boba Pimp of the Peninsula (that is until you get to Cupertino Village's Fantasia and Ten Ren )
After burning through at least 7 buy ten get one free cards, I feel it is time to revist this review again.
Tea Era and Queen House next door are run by the same folks, hence the red polo shirt uniforms. Both places are closed Tuesdays, and you can only bring drinks from outside to Queen House so long as they are from Tea Era.
One of the first things you notice when you walk into Tea Era is more or less the bare bones decor. Granted there are two to three small tables and some bar stools for patrons, signage, and help yourself to read in the store magazines (American and Chinese Sunday newspaper gossip celebrity juice supplements), but that's about it.
The meat and potatoes of the shop are no nonsense drinks, pick your flavor, size, condiments, tapioca or not and that's it. This part they nail it down and that's really all that matters. A bulk of their business is to go anyway. Although their tapioca is nowhere near as good as Fantastia in Cupertino (the golden Bay Area standard), it's still better than the WATTE-TASTIC places like Verde and Tapioca Express.
Tea Era is definitely a stark contrast from the afforementioned two stooges, particularly Verde around the corner that suffered from a case of identity crisis, and really really bad motif, arrangement and feng shui gone wrong. Does it wanna be a club in appearance while serving tea flavored water drinks, and moving the cashier to the front near the entrance, and not enough waiting room area for lines, so people have to wait outside in a line of 3 or more..WTF? Yes my friends, Verde makes a killer WATTE. Remember, the pronounciation is snobberish, it is not "wait" but "WAH-TAY" like the coffee drink where you take a glass of milk and infuse it with espresso.By the way, Verde in French means "green". With this black motif they might as well call it Noir meaning "black" . Looks more like a funeral parlor to me, especially with the black curtains by the window. As the Chinese say, "things inside that cannot be seen by the light" (hiding something? WATTEs perhaps?)
Tea Era: Usually two people man the counter, and the guy with the glasses and short hair is the owner, most of the time wearing a short sleeve red polo shirt with the Tea Era logo. He speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, and English, so no communication problems there. No issues with custom orders, like if you want lemon green tea with honey and aloe vera (fung mi ling mung lu hwei in Mandarin), though for this drink I have to give Ten Ren props when they don't dilute the tea, for the best version.
When it gets busy here though, expect to wait a little bit longer, but nothing a quick flip of the latest Taiwan or Hong Kong celebrity juice mags time can't kill.
THE GREAT:
House specials
-roasted barley tea (with or without milk) & Roasted Oolong. Roasted barley milk tea (mai hsiang nai tsa) tastes almost like in Taiwan. I miss having this for breakfast!
- NEW: GENMAI tea! This is roasted rice. Get a cold genmai milk tea and it tastes like SNAP CRACKLE POP!!! Soooo good. Such an out of the box drink. Sadly it's 25 cents pricier than the other drinks, so a large with tapioca will run you a shade over $4. But really good stuff.
Mmm-kay:
- Standard Ceylon milk tea is not bad, but it is no HK style milk tea.
- Macha green milk tea (green tea powder) is not bad but gets sickening after a few minutes
- Jasmine green can be good at times.
- Under seasonal drinks is Kumquat. I wish they used imported Kumquat jam/honey like Ten Ren :-(. Better than the crud at Taipoca Express though.
AVOID
- Banana milk tea. Tasted like drinking cough syrup with milk, bloody foul ass flavor, in which case they might as well call it Robinana (as in the Robitussen) and target market it to the crackheads.
and WTF is CHEESE MILK TEA. I shit you not, under milk tea selection is a flavor for CHEESE. I overheard the owner today (5/9) that he uses cream cheese for this tea...Even in Chinese it is written the way it is pronounced in Mandarin to sound like English, "Chee Se"! Milk tea with cheese powder? Double Diarrhea for the Asian lactose intolerant anyone? Supersize? Add (tapioca) balls? Side order of extra toilet paper?
One of their specials is the lemon ice with aloe vera. Sometimes it misses the mark but if the right concentration is achieved and it is not too watery, it hits the spot during summer.
Overall best value tea drinks (price to quantity and quality ratio) in the Tapioca Tea belt of downtown Mountain View and beyond, even though Tea Era has been a bit inconsistent at times but overall more consistent than your WATTE bars.
4.5 stars. Hats off to Tea Era for maintaining consistency, keeping the real tea flavor alive most of the time and striving not becoming a WATTE bar.
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The only reason I'm reviewing this place is because I want to give Tea Era 5 stars for the only thing I ever order from their menu - their hot barley milk tea with no pearls. It soothes my stomach and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It's the perfect drink when you're strolling down Castro Street feeling chilled. I really don't know where else I'd go for such wonderful hot barley milk tea!
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I had tried them awhile back once or twice and didn't have any particular wonderful feelings about them. I went today again to test them out since their reviews are really good. I got the Jasmine pearl milk tea. Pretty standard, the boba is soft and chewy. Nothing outstanding, but decent. Their teas are definitely better than Tapioca Express I think though...
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Roasted Barley tastes like Cinnamon Teddy Grahams? Come again!!?
On the list for many months, I finally got the opp to try Tea Era today on my way to a mani pedi at my salon in MV.
Driving rain, confusing street addresses, no umbrella, wet hair. Crossing against the light. 411...where are you located. AH HA. Finally! The tiny haven of beautiful Tea Era.
Cash Only. Confusing menus with 'specials' written up all over the place. A wall of frequent Tea drinking cards. Friendly man and young lady who take our orders for Roasted Barley Milk Tea...what else to try here when that's all the Yelpers can talk about??? 'Tastes like Cinnamon Teddy Grahams' from a Yelp review rings in my head as they work up our teas. We ask if they have lowfat milk. They say sure. Then they show us Fat Free Coffee Mate creamer. This is fat free. Ummm...we ask ...do you use milk? We use creamer. Do you want creamer? Ummm not really. But do you have milk? Mass confusion ensues. Finally we say.....give it to us regular-like. Silly Americans asking for low-fat milk.
It comes. It's good. Better than good. Downright tasty. Doesn't even matter that it's pouring cats and dogs and we're drinking icy cold tea. We're confused about the creamer. But not about the taste. Cinnamon creamy goodness. How exactly is this 'Roasted Barley'??? We can't wait to return to find out.
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I went here with Mara since all the Yelpers said it was the best so we went on the hunt on Castro and it took a while to find and of course it was pouring!!!Finally find it down towards Dana street and go inside and huge menu on the wall. We ask for the Roasted Barely milk tea and ask for lowfat milk and the responds saying its Fat Free Coffee Mate creamer. We are like HUH!!! We go back and forth and decide to just try it as is and trust the yelpers. We rush to our nail appointment and I totally forget about it. After my mani and pedi I remember I have it and take a sip and I can't believe how much it tastes like Cinnamin Teddy Grahams!! Oh my I'm totally hooked! I will have to find more reasons to go Mountain view on the weekends now.
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I've searched for the best boba tea from SF to Milpitas to Sacto and this is the best place so far. Prices are reasonable. The have the frequent buyers card. And they have this cool drink shaker to mix the drinks. The pearls are slightly sweet and with the perfect firmness. I've been here once a week since I discovered it. They're from Taiwan so they know how to do it right!
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Wow. Win. Roasted Barley Milk Tea (w/ pearls) is greaaaat! This is what I'm talking about when I want quality boba. Sweetness of the milk tea was just right. Pearl consistency- good, sweet, tasty, chewy, yum. Sign, I'm outa pearls to chew on as I write this.
Location... tiny shop, contains a few seats that are literally made for kids, I guess they don't expect people to stick around long. Cash only. Friendly Chinese lady took my order with all smiles although I was suffering from blues due to a crappy gloomy day.
I'll come back again. Yes, even through this god forsaken stormy weather. I must get my boba!
EDIT: Ceylon milk tea is the standard milk tea "nai cha." Less sweet than the Roaster Barley.
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Tasty and fast, but not somewhere you can expect to go and chill out at. It's very cramped with little seating inside.
The tea is great - I always, always ask for mine less sweet. Otherwise you can practically feel your teeth rotting out of your head after the first sip. the pearls are also a bit sweet, but I kind of like that. Not too many places I've been to sweeten their pearls.
The people working there are fast and polite. I usually go for the strawberry or rose tea (no milk, less sweet, extra pearls!). Delish!
Tea Era, your drinks are powdery and hence difficult to finish. I am surprised that people love you, and each time I come back to try you again, I wish I had never listened.
P.S. Your pearls are ok.
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For the record, I love pearl tea and I've had it many times before, both in the US and Asia--I'm no novice!
I've tried this place twice. First time, I told the person working the counter that I wanted something that wasn't too sweet. Took his recommendation but still asked for extra ice. What I got tasted like chilled cough syrup. I asked very politely if he could dump out half the drink and top up the cup with plain tea. Took one sip of my diluted drink, walked out of the store, and tossed it in the nearest trash can. The drink was still intolerably sweet, not to mention artificial-tasting.
Came back today to give this place a second chance. Asked for the most basic thing: barley tea w/pearls, no sugar, no milk. The tea was okay, and I was able to actually taste the black tapioca pearls this time: they were way too sweet, and a bit hard in the center. I managed to finish my drink this time, although I can't say I enjoyed it. I won't be back.
This place reminded me of something you would find in NYC in terms of the small set up and incredibly narrow space. I felt like I was going into a Giant Shoebox, with a door, and a cash register, and some chairs, and people inside of course... I digress...
5 stars because their Roasted Barley Milk Tea Kicks ARSE! (Pretending like I am from England, or maybe a pirate). And their Tapioca Balls are just Delish!
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Best bubble tea place in the area. In mountain view, Tapioca Express is pretty bad and Verde, while it has some really amazing things, is a bit inconsistent (maybe too asian for me?).
I've loved all 5 flavors I've had here. The ones I can remember are - lavender, rose, roasted barley.
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Me (pearl tea virgin): "Hi, can I get a milk tea with soy milk instead of regular milk?"
Tea Era: "Yes."
Me: "OK, I'd like a roasted barley tea with soy milk please, regular size, with pearls" (thanks previous yelp reviewers!).
[Pay $3.25]
[Pour tea, pour soy milk, add ice, shake machine, add pearls]
Foil top machine: "Hehe, now I get to do my magic and add the foil top while the customer watches and wonders how I work, exactly"
Me: "Whoa, cool machine, how the hell does THAT work? What makes the top stay on?"
[I receive drink and insert the gi-normous straw]
Me: [Slurp 1] "Whoa...weird sensation sucking up those little chewy tapioca balls while I drink. Hmmm. kinda tasty though"
[Chew, chew] "Weird but good"
[Slurp 2] "Yum"
[chew chew, slurp, slurp] Holy &*^% this is good!! Why the hell didn't I get a large? This is all I need: yet another food area to obsess about in addition to Thai, Indian, falafel, and carnitas. I guess I'll have to come back"
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Went here with some friends who live in Mt View and said they really enjoyed their teas there.....got one of my standards, the honeydew milk tea and hubby got the Ceylon milk tea and I was kinda jealous.
His was yummy and kinda a bit more sweet than mine,
The honeydew did kinda tastes more like real honeydew (than the apple) but my only critique is that it wasn't sweet enough. I really like the tea to be sweet, like a dessert. And I kinda wished they had the small boba too.
Also tasted my friend's who had the green apple, that one was good! I think that I'll have to get that one next time.
They also have soy milk that you can get too and a cheese flavor. No one in the group seemed brave enough for that one!!
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I feel like I'm on the fence with this place. It's rather small, so not so much a hang out place. And even if it did have wifi, just not enough space to chill out. Besides the toast, I didn't notice any other snacks on their rather free-form menu that occupies a large chunk of wall. It's nice to have credit card acceptance, which this establishment sadly lacks.
What I did have today at this place was a good soy milk tea with taro balls. While the taro are formed far too large for even the large straw meant for boba, these had a great flavor. And the tea itself was not overly sweet.
I'll have to say that Tea Era might be considered closer to the "first generation" pearl tea shops, one of those get-it-to-go-type places. And I think I'll have to get another tea to go, at some point.
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This is the best boba place that I've found in the area. My BF is obsessed with the place - he wants to go there everyday!
I've only had the Mocha smoothie (I'm such a white girl... ) but I think I'll try one of the milk teas next time. I've heard many recommendations for the apple milk tea so I might try that one. My only warning is that the above mentioned mocha smoothie automatically comes in a large size, so you have to ask specifically if you want a smaller one.
Parking can be lame because it's downtown MV but you can't really count that against them. If it's a problem finding a spot I just drop off my BF and circle the block until he gets the drinks.
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Best, most authentic pearl tea place in the bay area.
Look, I grew up in the town where pearl tea originated. I witness the growth, the history of pearl tea. I still go to the its birthplace a lot, so trust me, tea era is the closest thing to an authentic Taiwanese pearl tea.
Flavors I recommend: Rose, Lavender, and Japanese Macha, with pearls of course. They are all so good, that I can't pick one to be my favorite. But I would say that Japanese Macha is more unusual for a pearl tea place to have.
To comment on some previous review, there is a reason why they call it ceylon and jasmine. Black and green are names of "category" of tea, and ceylon and jasmine are the names of specific tea under the category. In other words, ceylon is a kind of black tea, and jasmine is a kind of green tea. Ceylon is black tea, but black tea is not ceylon. Jasmine is green tea, but green tea is not jasmine. Like monkeys are mammals, but mammals are not monkeys. Darjeeling and earl grey are under the black tea category, but they are completely different. Jasmine and macha are both green tea, but they are not at all similar.
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Cold Pudding Milk Tea (my favorite)
Hot barley milk tea (the classic)
You can get the classics and plenty of specialty flavors. I once got lavender boba (that was interesting...), and cheese boba which tasted like liquified cheese cake.
I'm waiting for a pumpkin boba....
If you eat at Queen house, you can order off the tea era menu and have some bubble tea with your beef tendon noodles!
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These guys make great smoothies! One of my favorites is the Lychee Smoothie with Pearls. Refreshing and great for the summer! They're always friendly in there too. I'm a fan!
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I'm not a boba person but I really did like my cold hazelnut milk tea with tapioca pearls. The tea was well flavored and the pearls were nice and chewy. Like most boba places, the menu was extensive. It certainly satisfies my occasional boba craving.
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I love this place! Great milk tea & pearls. The juices they use for their milk tea are real juice (as far as I can tell), and the tapioca is very good. Soft, but not too soft. They even mix the milk tea with the ice first, THEN put the pearls in so that the tapioca doesn't harden up right away. My favorite flavor is strawberry milk tea with pearls--I love the little chunks of strawberry in the bottom. Honorable mention goes to taro milk tea with pearls, hot. (Good if it's cold outside.)
The only thing I don't like about the place is that I wish they had more flavors. But they probably have to limit the options since they don't use powder flavoring.
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got the lychee flavored tea with lychee jellies & my boyfriend got the peach flavored tea with tapioca.
nothing to really rave about... my lychee drink was pretty sweet & when i tasted the peach tea... the 2 drinks actually tasted kind of similar to one another...
and apparently they put too much lychee jelly because when i was done with my tea there was a lot of lychee jelly left, & it was really hard to suck up from the straw.
it was alright.
My favorite Boba place within reasonable driving distance of Stanford, and perhaps in the US period. High praise, considering that I have happily slurped down 40+ boba drinks in my life - and had just spent the summer in Taiwan, where boba began and where I had a stint at a local boba stand for a total of 6 hours in Taiwan, shaking boba by hand.
An interesting selection of teas, most of which are quite authentic. Actually, in Taiwan it is hard to find much variation in Boba - I was very used to just getting the plain Boba Milk Tea with Red Tea (how they usually make it) or the slightly more adventurous Boba Milk Tea with Green Tea. The flavor variations are great though, and very asian. My favorite is the Rose Milk Tea with Boba, which is simply amazing (yes, they do have amazing rose tea in Taiwan). There is probably a shop in Taiwan with similar boba flavors that I never found.
The boba itself is nothing extraordinary. It is the teas that make Tea Era the best, although the fact that its boba is OK is big (Tapioca Express's boba, and sometimes Verde's is just too hard to even chew - not physically hard but just disgusting). My friend has also tried the cheese flavored boba here, and actually liked it despite the cashier's attempt to warn him away from it.
In terms of decor, it is very Taiwanese. Definitely more so than Americanized Verde or mass-produced Tapioca Express (which I used to drink in socal, but have since sworn off since coming back from Taiwan). The owners are Taiwanese (or some type of Chinese) the people staffing the back and making the boba are also Chinese, typical teenagers (the same ones who would staff a boba place in Taiwan, incidentally). The dirtiness and dinginess is also, incidentally, Chinese.
A little hard to find though, despite it being right smack in the dab of Castro I passed by it MULTIPLE times until Yelp brought it to my attention. But it is a gem.
I have a weakness for rose-flavored desserts, so for my first time here I ordered the Rose Milk Tea, which was subtly flavored - the slight sweetness of the rose flavor lent a nice contrast to the pungence of the tea, but the tea taste was definitely there, not completely muted by the milkiness. Overall a satisfying drink, and not too much guilt associated with it later :D
I ordered a hot Taro Milk Tea with coffee jelly and it was good! I also like their pearls. They're kind of soft and a little sweet. So far I prefer the hot drinks over cold ones. I'm glad I found a place semi-close to work. I'll have to try a smoothie next time. My coworker got one and he said it was really icy, so we'll see!
we ordered the infamous roasted barley milk tea with pearl.
the pearl was really good. better than yoogo gelato.
but the drink itself was so so.
I wouldn't say that Tea Era is better than the best pearl tea places in SF/East Bay but it's pretty good, has a frequent buyer program, offers some unusual tea flavors and provides an ample selection of magazines for browsing. Plus it's on Castro so you can get your cheap Asian snacks at Hong Kong Bakery or have a bowl of ramen or pho and then grab a pearl tea.
I tried the hot roasted barley milk tea tapioca drink and was pleased by the chewy firmness of the tapioca pearls. These were fresh and cooked well (though not the best I've had). The roasted flavor of the drink was very pleasant. I do wish that the tea flavor had been stronger and that the drink wasn't quite so sweet but I find that this is the case with the majority of boba places.
I'm not sure if they have snacks or just drinks? I think they only have drinks. The service was so fast that I didn't even get a chance to glance through the People magazines they had or look at the menu more closely. My drink disappeared quickly as well.
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Without a doubt the best boba place in the South Bay and quite possible all of the Bay Area. One word of warning, this place is closed on Tuesdays. Seating is almost nil; about 2-3 tables inside and the public seating outside. Nevertheless, I go here often.
I'm all for the regular plain jasmine or green milk tea with pearls, and this place does it the best. You can get it hot or cold (always cold for me) and they have this cool little shaker that makes it a little frothy and well-mixed. They have the buy 10 get one free card system, but as a nice little touch, you can decorate your card and leave it there on their wall. Hence you'll see about 200-250 little cards taped all over the wall next to the cashier. Just remember where you left yours. One of these days I'm going to cheat the system and find a card with 9 stamps and say it's mine so I can get a free one. Um, why yes, that's me ... Eileen.
If you're just here for the boba and to walk around, forget about Tapioca Express or Verde Tea around the corner. Tea Era is where it's at.
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I like spelunking, but not this place. Lack of sweetness. Bathroom could be better too.
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Thank you fellow Yelpers for steering me to this place! I have been dying to try it especially now that I work in MV. Woohoo! And I tried the Roasted Barley which sounds groddy to the max but it cup of delicious goodness with tasty BALLS! The price is pretty attractive as well!
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My favorite pearl tea place. Better than the chains like Q-Cup, and others in the area (and not). The tea always has the right balance of sweetness.
Some local art is hung on the walls, there are stacks of magazines and some funky (but kind of common) furniture.
You may have to wait a bit at times, but it's well worth it. Don't forget that you can order drinks from here while seating at the excellent Taiwanese restaurant next door (Queen House).
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I sampled Tea Era last week, as part of my ongoing quest to find the perfect pearl milk tea in the Bay Area. I was pleasantly surprised; the pearl balls had good consistency, and the tea had an authentic flavor (not too sweet) to it. Furthermore, I was the only silly white person in the Cafe, a sure sign of authentic-ness. I asked the woman working the counter if they used powder or real tea, and she replied that they use real tea with milk powder. Though it wasn't real milk, I enjoyed the not-too-heavy flavor of this pearl tea. I will definitely be back again.
Mountain View sports two other pearl tea cafes. Verde, just up the street on Villa, and Tapioca Express. I'm personally not a big fan of TE - it's not the greatest quality. Verde, on the other hand, has the perfect tapioca balls, but is just too sugary for my dentist not to have an aneurysm.
Parking in downtown Mountain View, for those who created confusion on the parking question, is street only, with some public lots. This cafe is not, however, formally part of those lots.
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Love coming here.
Great selection of teas as well as boba teas. also they have free wi-fi and always a movie playing on their flat screen. bathroom is always clean.
I have tried and liked: hazlenut, coconut, taro milk teas with pearl.
I like to think they have the best tasting pearls (boba) that I've tried. Quickly doesn't even rate, even though there's one down the road.
CLOSED Tuesdays! :(
Made a special trip out to Mountain View to try this place after reading reviews on Yelp...
Update: 11/14
Decided to come back again to see what the hype is about the place. My buddies and I were baffled by the "Ceylon" vs "jasmine" Tea...why not just say Black or Green tea?
Ceylon = Black
Jasmine = Green
The drink was frothed, slightly sweet, and pearls had a thick, chewy texture. It was okay by my standards.
The seating area is perfect for children 12 and under. The chairs and tables are super tiny...
They do offer a stamp card...
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Strawberry milk tea was really good. I also had the hot barley milk tea which was amazing as well! Both times the boba tasted fresh.
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My mom walks in goes up to the stereotypical-looking Asian guy at the counter and brusquely asks: "Do you speak Chinese?"
Oh please. As if she had to ask.
She then proceeds to pay for five drinks with a hundred dollar bill. Completely disregarding the sign that says "Cash only. No bills above $20".
The sign was only written in English, no Mandarin characters. Despite her fluency, my mother has a complete knack for turning a blind eye to negative English signs (i.e. No U-turn, Do not enter, No photography, keep off grass, etc.).
They let her. They appeased my mom = 8 stars in my book.
Oh, but the drinks. Drinks are huge and decently priced. Love the random smattering of Chinese and English signs posted along the wall with different combo specials. Their lemon tea with aloe vera and honey was surprisingly good. Their fruit slushees are delicious and use real fruit.
But honestly, when it comes to places like these, it's all about the tapioca pearls. This place is spot on. Chewy, never mushy. Pre-sweetened with a little sugar syrup so they work beautifully in each drink. I could snack on those suckers.
So I wasn't impressed by Queen House, but oh man, Tea Era just became my favorite boba place in the Bay Area. Hey, my sister just found a new way to force me to visit her in the South Bay.
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