Tea Station
Categories: Desserts, Coffee & Tea, Taiwanese [Edit]
39115 Cedar Blvd(between Magazine & Mowry Ave)
Newark, CA 94560 (510) 713-9588
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Wi-Fi: None
- Good for: Late Night
- Alcohol: None
31 reviews
Mountain View, CA
"Yum. Yum. Yum. Sort of a hole-in-the-wall at the edge of a business campus environment (behind the Century Cinemas 16 on Shoreline/off…" read more »
70 Reviews for Tea Station
Tea Station in general is a great tea/boba franchise. However, this Tea Station blows. If you dine in, they force each person in the group to order at least $3.00 and it cannot be combined. So if you come in with six people, just because you ordered 4 large tea pots and will be paying $20+, it still won't be enough. Logically, this is the stupidest rule that brings them negative press. It's not that folks don't want to order their own drink -- the portions (and calories) are just too much to expect everyone to order their own. They need to reconsider their rules before I come back. In the mean time, I'll go get my drinks from Tapioca Express or Fantasia, both located in the same plaza.
I have been going there for awhile now...My favorite is the Taro root snow. Being that they always open late on the weekends I like little dishes. But I do have to say that you will end up a paying about 30 bucks if you eat for 2. It is not the cheapest place. Sometimes customer service is not that great as well. With the whole $25 dollars or over thing
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
There's something offensive about this place. I can't pinpoint it. Maybe it's the $5.00 soap-tasting rose milk tea that did not go down well with my tastebuds, or the clueless staff that took away the chair a friend who just stepped away to go to the restroom for the benefit of another patron.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
This place has one of the best green milk teas around. Their pearls are soaked in sugar so its nice and sweet. I always ask them to make the milk tea less sweet otherwise the drink would be way too sweet. They also have good snacks, but in general they're pricier than the average pearl tea joint.
They only accept credit cards if your order is over $25, so bring your cash!
Good food and drinks. The drinks are however overpriced. I had their Stewed Pork. The meat was tender and the sauce it braised in was packed with flavor. Accompanied with this delicious dish was aromatic and fragrant Rose Milk tea. Absolutely the perfect pair! The staff here is very accommodating. My friend who is a vegetarian asked to modify one of the dishes because the vegetarian options are slim to none. They not only accommodated but threw in extra food to compensate for their lack of vegetarian options. Thanks Tea Station for being more hospitable and considerate than Quickly on Fremont Blvd!
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (2)
Wow, this place is not your average Quickly. Our party of 10 got seated promptly which turned into 12. No stink-eye from the manager who was very helpful in organizing the trainees and staff.
The staff was beyond polite and very patient with our group.
This was my first time visiting a Tea Station and I was surprised at all the choices of teas they had. But I guess it's called Tea Station for a reason.
We ordered so much food and drinks, I don't remember all of the names.
All the drinks my party ordered were hits.
The lemon tea was good; super tart and just to my taste.
The popcorn chicken was crisp and not overly salty like at Tapioca Express. The only downside is the highest spice level wasn't very spicy at all.
I'd visit again if I were in the area. 4 stars for good food, drinks, service
So I didn't even know they served food here, but went there for lunch with my cousin one day. It was surprisingly good! Reminds me of Taiwanese food, and it was pretty darn good for the price. Ok, so I only ordered the one thing, but I can tell just from that one item that everything else will be good ;)
It's good food for a decent price, thus, the 4 stars.
People thought this was:
Funny (1)
I absolutely love the barley powder milk green tea and the peppermint milk green tea!! Best boba I've ever had is from this place. More expensive but Tapioca Express and Fantasia are crap. I don't like how you pay more for the drinks when you dine in however. So I'm usually a to go visitor here. Tea flavored chicken, curry chicken, and pork stew are good. Clean restaurant and friendly service. Not really into the ni hao and bai bai greeter machine at the door.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
I was introduced to this joint by my current girlfriend and when I first saw the menu, I had no idea what to order. I tried the lychee slushee with combination jelly and it came to me in a glass cup. The jelly was so good that I crave it all the time. I'm from San Jose so it takes me about half an hour to get here but the trip's well worth it. The reason why I give it 4 stars is because it's much more pricey than your average pearl drink store.
If you are going there for just tea and snacks and maybe the noodle soups, then good choices. But if you are going there for meal, then bad bad, very bad choices. It's a nice environment if you are a fob, well, no offense to you if you are, i mean, I can be a fob sometime. Well, if you are a 247 fob, then you just found your heaven. Hooray for you.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (2)
Cool (1)
"We reserve the right to refuse service." That's certainly right. And they sure do exercise that right.
We showed up with a pretty large group...about 20 folks. The place was empty. The owner (or manager) scowled, "How many KIDS?!" After following her orders to seat the kids away from the wall, we sat across three long rows of tables.
Then, for the next 10 minutes, she kept angrily complaining about why we were taking up so many tables. Again...20 ppl coming. AND, do you have any other customers around? No.
A side note: I'm Chinese. I don't expect much from Chinese restaurants. I'm the sort of guy who doesn't like to complain about his food lest they return a new order with some organic authentic Chinese spit hidden under the brown sauce. But the owner/manager was just plain inhospitable. I mean, I thought people like it when they get lots of business? I guess I am too American.
In any case, after all the drama (and after almost walking out) we ordered and got our food. We didn't order too many drinks, so the owner rolled her eyes. The food was pretty good, though. I had the stewed pork and tried some of the stewed chicken too. Both were tender, sweet/salty with that subtle tea flavor I guess they're known for. It went well with rice (though, they should give more rice).
This place is a bit overpriced, though. I mean, the decor is nice if you're into the modern Chinese thing. But the price-to-food ratio is definitely not in your favor.
So, this place is definitely big enough for groups. And it's definitely not too stuffy for kids, but it seems like there's a clear preference for neither. Exercise your right to eat somewhere else.
Man, my people really know how to make a good milk tea.
Had the day off yesterday so I visited the boyfriend at work and let him take me out to lunch. Stopped by this plaza and there were many options, but I was craving a good milk tea....none of that Quickley's powdered mix.
I remember Ten Ren has good teas (they're famous in Taiwan) and both the boyfriend and I are fond of the Tea Stations of San Diego and LA, so we decided to give this one a shot. bf is a big fan of their stewed pork over rice and I tried their stewed beef noodles (niu nan mien), and we shared a milk tea, no boba.
Their food is actually better than I had expected. Many of these boba places don't exactly specialize in food, only their drinks, so it was a nice surprise that Tea Station offers decent food that's not of the fried variety (fried chicken, squid, fish balls). To top that off, they have a wide range of delicious drinks (teas, milk teas, fruit teas, and shaved ice).
Service isn't the BEST but it wasn't bad either. Average in that respect. Located in a convenient location, with plenty of parking.
Yum.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (2)
Nothing like a teapot full of hot green milk tea on a cold night or a refreshing iced chrysanthemum tea with aloe on a hot day!
This is definitely the fob side of me coming out, but I absolutely adore Tea Station. So I dragged a couple of girlfriends there today to find some relief from the heat.
They really make great tea, and their snacks are pretty good as well. I'd suggest going to one of the surrounding restaurants though if you want a full-on meal because that is a bit iffy.
I haven't tried their food....but their bubble tea is amazing! The tapioca pearls have a good texture, never soft and slimy or too hard like some other places. The best part of the drink is you can actually taste the tea -- not just too-sweet flavor syrup.
Oh Tea Station. Usually come here for lunch during work hours since its only 5 minutes away. Their selection of food is decent, but nothing spectacular. After you eat it a couple times, it all starts to taste the same. As far as the best tasting one there, I would have to say the minced pork with rice or dry noodles with pork.
Their tea selection is pretty huge, obviously because it's called Tea Station. What I find a negative though is that they do put too much sweetener in their tea, making it a little too sweet for my taste.
Aside from the name of this place it doesn't only serve tea and drink, Tea Station is also a restaurant. They serve some actual foods too, which I didn't even want to bother. This is something I am totally.
My friend had kinda dragged me here to this location since he wanted some milk tea. So then I had went with him to Tea Station. I have been here a couple time. Once you enter the place you will hear an annoying shrieking noise from this toy Tea Station had gotten install by their door. It greets the customer in Mandarin and thanking the customer when the customer is leaving. So on a busy day that thing would just overwhelm the whole restaurant like what sounds like a musical greeting card but much more annoying. Besides that, some of the servers here barely speak a lick of English. In order to tell me that I was required to buy something if I was to keep my friend company, the server had to point at a fine print on a drink menu. But I gotta give the server credit on trying to be nice about it.
The restaurant decor isn't anything out of the norm. Their furniture is actually a little nicer than some other restaurants.
Most the time when I'm here I would get some kind of milk tea. Their prices are quite high here. The prices are like an dollar more than what other Asia drink places would charge. As for the taste, their milk tea is pretty good and very light because the amount of milk or creme that they in their milk tea, but not good enough to overcharge for it.
Service here isn't that great and isn't a great place to hang out with friends at all! The Tea Station actually has one of the stupidest policy I ever seen: each person must spend at least 3 dollars! Not everyone would want your overpriced Milk Teas! Force feeding us with your drinks will just make it worse. So the person who isn't thirty would be screwed and ended up buying a drink like what I did a couple of days ago.
I wasn't sure how am I going to rate this place but it going to be low bc of the akward policy they have, but I have to say at the moment: 2 STARs.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (1)
Cool (2)
Tea Station is a great place to visit and the one in Newark is definately pleasant. I suggest: [cha xiang gua zi rou zao fan] 'tea flavored ground pork rice'. It taste equisite -- full of flavor -- not oily, not too salty, but excellent.
Are you still reading this? Go for a visit soon!
If you're looking for boba or tea drinks, with some decent food, try this place. I HIGHLY recommend the iced black rose tea!!!
Also, as for the food, it's not anything exciting and the cost can add up quickly if you don't control yourself. The tea eggs are decent, along with their other appetizers. I have yet to be disappointed by the 'pork stew over rice' entree. And for dessert, you should try the sweet milk over toast... but remember to eat it while it's hot!
People thought this was:
Cool (1)
While approaching Tea Station, I noticed a gentlemen standing inside giving me the stink eye. Naturally, I was a little hesitant to go inside, so I suggested to present company that we should maybe just go to Tapioca Express a couple of doors down. After some debating, we elected to just go inside. Once there, we were seated and the sweet waitress helped us out with our order. Iced jasmine green tea with pearls, spicy chicken and spring rolls. Food was very fried yet delicious, the iced tea was a bit on the sweet side but still tasty, and the atmosphere was very pleasant. I just couldn't get over the young man standing inside staring outside the store though. So after some careful observation of him, I realized that he wasn't giving anyone the stink eye, he was just naturally like that. So all in all, I would recommend skipping out on Tapioca Express and heading to Tea Station for better quality snacks/ drinks, despite the luring hypnotic eye behind the door. Oh, and also, Tea Station is open quite late, making it a great place to visit when everything else is closed.
3.5 stars...
Had lunch here with one of the ICU nurses today... For the record, he's a guy. We're both Taiwanese and have been talking about going to eat for the past year. So we finally got around to it today...
I went with the pig's feet over rice plus a regular boba (milk tea), my friend went with one of the chicken over rice plates plus green tea w/ boba, plus we split an order of the popcorn chicken and chicken roll (wrapped in seaweed).
The pig's feet were pretty good, though not quite as good as at Cafe Taiwan down in Milpitas. Definitely an acquired taste, and mostly tendon and fat (there's more meat on the ones at Cafe Taiwan). The boba was surprisingly good - authentic tasting milk tea. Nice. The popcorn chicken was likewise authentic tasting, like they make on the mother island, though the chicken roll was a little bland.
I'm not going to give them the extra half star... because they don't accept credit card unless your bill is $30+. Ours came out to $28... and they still wouldn't take it. I understand lots of places not taking credit card unless your bill is $20+ (not that cool, but I'll deal with it). But not taking plastic unless you spend $30? That's uber not cool. Boo hiss.
Still, if they opened one up in the PA/MV area, you'd find me there. As it is, I think I'd rather go to Queen House/Tea Era for my fix of Taiwanese street food plus boba, or just Ay-Chung when I'm not looking for boba.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
I used to go to the Tea station in San Gabriel when I lived in LA. I am happy to find a Tea station in the bay area. Compare to other similar place (Fantasia, etc...) I prefer their tea and bigger space/ seat for customer to chat and have food.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Edges out Fantasia, Quickly and Tapioca Express. The tea here does taste a little better then the competition. I'll give them an extra 1/2 star for taste but I won't drive 20min just for tea though.
I was first introduced to this place by some Taiwanese socal friends. They were raving how good their tea is. After I gave it a try I have to agree, it is pretty good.
Since when did the prices get so high? $4.50 for a cup of boba is ridiculous. I better see some gold flakes in my tea for those kinds of outrageous prices...
I'll admit I love the milk tea at Tea Station, but head on over the TenRen in Milpitas if you want the same tea for a better price.
Great place to hangout with friends for a cup of tea with snacks. The place is clean and staffs are friendly. Food is decent and I love their "Honey Lemon w/ Aloe" and "Green Tea". I usually go there for late lunch on weekends or late night snacks at times. Experiences have been great so far =)
Note: They don't accept credit card for purchase below $30, which is okay comparing to places that accept cash only, hehe...
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (1)
The honey green tea & the barley milk tea here are great! The food is good too.
But if you don't speak Mandarin it might be hard to ask questions about the food. Just means you have to try everything.
Tea Station's food used to be a lot better a year ago. I've noticed that the food quality has gone downhill and the combinations they used to offer have disappeared. They used to give you a free tea with your meals, but now they only offer free tea with the lunch specials of the day.
I've had the following:
Spring Rolls
Instant Noodle w/ Egg
Spiced Pork Noodle
House Noodles w/ Deli Plate
Pork Stew w/ Rice
Marinated Chicken w/ Rice
All of the dishes are average/good...nothing spectacular.
Teas are really good.
I also love the concept of serving Taiwanese style dishes....they don't really have another restaurant like it.
3-3.5 stars
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Good tea, better than Fantasia and the like. It's located in your typical newark/fremont/uc strip mall (right down the street from where I went to high school, go cougars!) but the inside is actually pretty nice. Be warned that the staff only seems to speak mandarin and make sure to point at what you're ordering and repeat it loudly so they get your order right. The hot teas are really good on a cold day, anything milk based is pretty good. If you want a quickie and cheap meal, their food is pretty decent.
The ambiance is most definitely fob-tacular. I once saw a group of dorky looking motorcycle riding guys meet up here for tea (manly). But you're not really coming here for the atmosphere, so who cares.
A good solid three...
Tons of options for tea - classic tea, tea with tapicoa, rose tea, green tea, oolong, snow ice drinks, smoothie drinks - you name it, they have it! Even offers snack food items and some simple foods such as ramen noodles and even TEA EGGS (love those!) :) Clean and relatively roomy when compared to other tapioca places, and a warm inviting atmosphere.
Several things:
Please get employees that speak english and can actually hear you.
Make your drinks less sweet! I guess its always a problem for me :(
Also, get rid of that annoying and freakish machine thing that screams hello and goodbye at you in mandarin - you think it's customer service, but really its SCARY AS HELL and does not make me want to walk in there in fear of having a heart attack.
Other than that, I like Tea Station ;) but please get RID of the freak machine!
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Funny (2)
Cool (4)
The first time I went here, I was by myself. I read all the good reviews and wanted to stop by before tahitian. I walked in and was greeted by the staff, but after they became a bit rude. After misunderstanding what I had ordered (Pine nut milk tea is what I ordered, she thought I had said Pineapple tea) , another worker asked me very rudely what I wanted, and corrected it and rolled her eyes at me...very rude! But the pine nut milk tea was yummy! The tea is sweet but has a nutty flavor. The pine nuts are a nice little crunch in it.
Came here again with a friend this time. We sat down and I had the Taro Milk Tea. It was a bit too sweet for my taste. My friend had the Lychee milk tea..that was delicious! We also finished with a cup of pine nut milk tea.
The food on the other hand, is a different story. The spicy chicken pieces were a bit soggy, and we also had these seaweed chicken egg roll things. They tasted like they were just put in the toaster out of a box. Not good.
OMG and i totally agree with Linda C. Please get rid of that machine that greets you when you come in and leave! lol
Overall, I like the tea, and that is enough to make me come back once in a while
This is a cool place to hang out & eat w/friends. They have a variety of drinks & some speciality dishes on their menu. There was a cold noodle dish that i used to order on their menu, but they no longer serve it. The place is clean and the staffs are friendly. FYI, they have 5 branches in So. Cal and only two branches in the Bay Area:)
Personally, I like the pearl drinks from Fantasia Tea & Coffee.
This little strip mall in Newark has the just about the greatest density of bubble tea shops anywhere- at last count, there were four, all within walking distance of each other. So how do they all survive? In Tea Station's case, its about offering a clean, well-lit place where you can get sit-down service for hot food as well as bubble tea drinks.
I decided to get a large honeydew snow icy with tapioca to go- yes, I probably should have gotten one of their fresh teas instead of a powder-based drink, but I was really craving honeydew. In any case, the drink was refreshing and the tapioca was the right consistency- soft and chewy. However, I noticed that ovre time, the tapioca froze a little from being in the drink- they turned hard and definitely a lot less chewy.
Overall, a nice place to get bubble tea. Its a bit pricier than its competitors in the mall, even with a 20% discount for to-go drinks, but their tapioca is pretty good and you won't have to deal with the mass of 'gangsta' teenagers down at TapEx . I'd be back to try some of their hot foods, as well as their fresh tea drinks.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (2)
Given at least 3-4 pearl milk tea stores in this mall, I'd pass on this one. I really liked Tea Station in LA so thought I'd try one up here. However it wasn't as good as LA. I could barely taste any green tea taste in the green milk tea with pearls. The pearls were more starchy than Fantasia. And I got 2 large pearl milk tea drinks and it came out to be $4+ each EVEN AFTER the 20% take out drink discount. That means the regular price is $5+ each - talk about highway robbery!!
Bottom line: Maybe great in LA, but not recommended at this location. And their English here is horrible. If you can't speak Mandarin, point to a menu item but don't try to ask questions or make substitutions.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
This is a nice place to have afternoon tea! Of all varieties and temperatures. I can't remember what I had but it was cold, sweet and refreshing. They offer excellent snacks to accompany your refreshment as well.
I enjoyed the fact that you sit down relax and get serviced.
People thought this was:
Funny (1)
I've been here once or twice. It's weird because there was the automated thing that greeted you in mandarin. The drinks were pretty good, a little too sweet. We also had the chicken their and it was not bad. They didn't speak english very well though.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
NO Syrup! What?!!!
Oh yes, you can get it alllllllllll naturale and fresh here! They also have a vast selection of freshly brewed tea (hibiscus, oolong, and so on)! This is REAL stuff people, you can't get any better than that!
In a nut shell: The decor is very modern and relaxing. The service is friendly and patient (which is great, because it will seriously take you at least 6-10 minutes to decide what to order from their extensive menu) The menu also includes a healthy drink section (haven't tried them, but they sound delish!), for those health conscious people out there. It's pricey compared to other boba hang-outs, but that's what it costs to get REAL natural flavors!
Forget Tapioca, Quickleys, Q-cup, and all those typical fake flavoring boba joints... It's TEA STATION all the way! Freshhhhhh :o)
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
The boba drinks can be very good. More often than not they have the sweetest, softest boba around. But it isn't consistent.
That isn't the reason why I drive there. I drive there for their spiced pork. I don't ask any questions about what they do to the food. I don't ask what's it made from. I'm Asian, I know better than to do that. I love it. I want to still love it. I just keep repeating: ignorance is a tasty bliss. And yes, I am happy. =)
Four stars for their tea drinks. I can't go anywhere else for tapioca tea in Fremont / Newark because this place has the best tea (they use Ten Ren brand tea, which is pretty good quality). Whether you go for hot, cold, flavored, or plain tea, you pretty much can't go wrong. Great slushie drinks and ice treats as well. 25% off drinks to go.
Personal faves:
- Hot royal barley milk tea
- Cold rose black tea w/ pearls
- Hot fruit-flavored tea (served in a cool clear teapot)
Only 2.5 stars for the food, though. Most of their stuff is way too greasy, although it's pretty cheap. I'd rather go grab a tea and then hop on over to Cousin Cafe on the same block for cheaper and better Chinese food.
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Cool (3)
My favorite lychee tea in all the bay.
Gotta love that door greeting!
Two stars - why? They force you to pay at least $10 minimum if there are 4 people. That doesn't make sense! Anywho not going to be back here for a long, LONG time.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (2)
Cool (2)
Ok I have been here countless times. I liked the one in LA so when it first opened here, I came. The tea here is good enough compare to the competition for Tapioca drinks. I will give it 4 and half stars for the drinks, usually I get green tea. I am not sure about the other ones. However, the quality should be pretty consistent. Just a feeling in my gut because of the company Tien Ren. Although it does not have the best authentic tea, but good enough for us.
When it first opened, some of the food is what I expected. However, it has gone downhill. Sometimes it's pretty bad. Recently I avoid the food there now because of the inconsistency.
People Who Viewed This Also Viewed...
Related Lists
-
Bubble Tea Drinks in the…
By no means a comprehensive list, but some of the… -
Chill Places to Hang
When you actually want to hold a conversation with… -
My Neighborhood
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,… -
Resistance if Futile!!!
Sure to satisfy any major sweet tooth cravings!… -
Sweets! Desserts! Yums!
ice cream, gelato, boba drinks, crepes, fro-yo,… -
Lunchtime in…
Working in Fremont, it's definitely a struggle to… -
What's Asian dessert?
sweet sugary treats, blaring music, fluorescent… -
A taste of Taiwan in the…
To get bits of the best of Taiwanese food and…
Hot and New
- La Costena Custom Burritos
104 reviews
Mountain View, CA
- Texas Smokehouse BBQ
95 reviews
San Jose, CA
- 37 C Dessert Cafe
32 reviews
Fremont, CA
- Sibby's Cupcakery
195 reviews
San Mateo, CA
- Z Pizza
31 reviews
Mountain View, CA