Posted by After a long day in the Los Angeles sun, I can’t help but crave a good ol’ boba tea. Sipping on those colorful variety of tasty flavors paired with delicious tapioca pearls (optional, of course) through an extra thick straw always cools me off and brightens my day.
Luckily, there are tons of awesome places in L.A. to indulge in tons of boba (a.k.a. bubble tea) with an wide selection that’ll leave you never bored — this city’s got alcoholic boba, horchata boba, and even a tea shop were you can order via drive through.
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So without further introduction, and in no particular order, here are our favorites.
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1. Boba 7
Tucked in the back of Downtown Thai restaurant Soi 7 is this so very unique boba joint that dares to go boozy with its drinks. Boba 7 (a.k.a. the “labobatory”) boasts such delicious alcohol-infused favorites as Green Tea Heineken (using the whole bottle of beer), Applejito (an apple-flavored mojito), Mango Fett (a “mangorita” with mango flavored soju), and many others. You can even build your own boba adventure with alcohol, or without. And yes, they have really delicious virgin drinks, too, such as horchata boba and Boba Graham (with Teddy Grahams!).
2. Boba Tea Lounge
If the sweetness from the tapioca pearls isn’t enough for you, this Covina cafe serves its teas with the pearls as well as Kit Kat, Twix, Butterfinger, Fruity Pebbles, Lucky Charms, and so many more in its signature boba shakes. They’re totally worth the drive to the San Gabriel Valley. For the less adventurous, Boba Tea Lounge also as your standard milk teas and some really yummy sandwiches on the menu.
3. Cafe 70 Degrees
This Culver City cafe offers black, oolong, green, white, herbal, flower, and fruit teas for your sipping pleasure in several different ways: Milk tea, icy slush, icy snow, or even blended boba mocha blast. If you take your drink to stay, Cafe 70 Degrees has lots of classic board games like Connect 4 to enjoy with your friends — and the food’s pretty good, too.
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4. Boba Avenue Express
In a hurry? Buy your milk tea bobas without getting out of your car at the Arcadia location of the Boba Avenue brand, which now has three locations in Southern California. The Baldwin Avenue drive thru also serves coffee and provides soy milk substitutes. So convenient.
5. Boba Truck
This tea shop on wheels has an impressive menu of flavors, teas, combos and it doesn’t limit your drink to just tapioca pearls. Boba Truck gives you the choice of including boba, mini boba, lychee jelly, and mango jelly, really mixing it up for something different. What I’ve always liked about the staff is that they’re willing to adjust the sweetness to get it just right for you — now that’s good service.
Today only! Come in to our store at 8323 Reseda Blvd at Roscoe and try the SHAMROCK! 🍀🍵 pic.twitter.com/yCM5ic9mF7
— The Boba Truck (@TheBobaTruck) March 17, 2015
6. Urth Cafe
I always used to go to this quintessential L.A. eatery for its delicious savory salads, but then I discovered what many other Angelenos already know: Urth’s boba drinks are amazing. You can get green tea (my personal favorite) and milk teas. The teas are perfect to pair with the amazing food at any of its four locations around Los Angeles.
7. Ozero Tea & Desserts
If you like to smell the roses and drink ’em, too, this Little Tokyo spot is the place to be. Ozero serves yogurt drinks (called “Yo-Yo”), shaved ice “snowies,” milk teas, and “fluffies” in a variety of flavors. So what’s a “fluffy”? Apparently, it’s made with a creamier, fluffier milk that has patrons coming back again and again. “Our take on what a tea latte should be,” says the menu.
8. Coco Fresh Tea and Juice
I still remember being shocked at the menu at Coco — pudding in boba, really? Oh, but it’s totally a tasty thing at this drink shop’s locations all over the world. The milk tea with boba, pudding, and grass jelly is known as the “3 Guys,” but you could also get any of those three things separately with your teas, as well. But why not opt for pudding? You only live once.
9. Half & Half
We have this San Gabriel Valley tea house to thank for making the original hot honey boba and iced milk drinks as Half & Half declares at its eight locations around the L.A. area. You could go with their classics, or you could choose one of their many milk smoothies (coffee, wintermelon, taro, red bean matcha, and milk candy among the options), tea lattes, hot grass jelly, and old fashioned black tea.
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10. I Love Sweetea
You may think of Southern sweet tea when you see the name of this place, but this Mid-City cafe serves way more than just iced teas. Drinks like red velvet cupcake snow tea, slushes, snow, and fruit tea flavors are served in “hugs” (small) and “kisses” (large) sizes. Too cute. Supposedly, you can get a free upgrade to “kisses” if you check in on Yelp.
11. Bon Bon Tea House
Get your boba on up in Northridge at Bon Bon Tea House, where you can get milky drinks with honey boba, snowy milk, egg pudding, lychee jelly, and so many more with endless flavor options. Word is you’ll get a free upgrade to the “power” size if you check in on Facebook.
12. Factory Tea Bar
Need an energy boost, but don’t want to turn to coffee? Factory Tea Bar in San Gabriel has got you covered. Their “Energy Up” drinks blend kumquat, lychee, apple, or kiwi with Redbull, which will be sure to give you wings with amazing flavor. Factory Tea Bar also offers milk teas, flavored milks, blended yogurt drinks, and sour drinks. The snacks and desserts look pretty epic as well.
13. Bon Appetea Cafe
The Alhambra cafe offers a comprehensive food and drink menu, which includes milk teas (Hokkaido, Caramel, Rose, Lavender and more), flavor teas, slushies, yogurt drinks, those trendy potted plant teas, blended juices, and coffees. Options for toppings include honey boba, egg pudding, grass jelly, crystal jelly, aloe vera, konjac, green bean, and red bean. Drink up!
14. It’s Boba Time
With a name that’ll ensure it’s the answer to anyone who asks what time it is, the Koreatown haunt is a favorite among Angelenos and boasts lines out the door to prove it. Hot and cold drinks fill the menu, which features milk teas (taro, Thai, honeydew, and red bean among the flavors), iced teas (pomegranate, kiwi green, orange passion), shaved snow and ice, frappes, shakes, and so much more.
Where do you love to Boba in Los Angeles? Let us know your favorite spots in the comments below!
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