Tea Leaf Cafe

I taste nothing but sugar. Their bubble teas are too sweet in general even when you ask for little sugar. Besides, they are too overpriced for that quality of tea and tapioca. Probably not going to recommend this café. However, it is a nice place to hang out with friends.

Stopped in with a friend for a bubble tea. I was pretty happy with their large selection of different teas. Black, green, oolong, roobios… they have it all! I selected a regular-​sized black tea with almond flavor and milk with bobas. Super tasty. It was properly flavored and not watered down.
The interior walls of the café are painted black but they use colorful shades on their lamp, bright paintings, and have many large picture windows to illuminate the café. Even on a cloudy day, this place would be bright inside. Lots of college kids hanging around and the ambience was low-​key and not loud. You can carry a normal voice level and still be heard.
Will return to try some of their other teas and perhaps a curry dish.

I ordered a hot tea and my friend ordered a bubble tea. Bill was $ 9. I find paying almost $ 4 for a tea bag and hot water highway robbery and not to mention the bubble tea would put you in a sugar induced coma. My opinion won’t matter much since they seem to be kept busy by the college crowd who don’t mind paying top dollar for over priced mediocre caffeinated beverages.

Best bubble tea place in buffalo, hands down! It’s smooth, which is great because I can taste the powder in some of the ones at other places. I actually hate tapioca balls but I look forward to them here. Only because they are so soft.
I’ve tried a few of the flavors but my go to is always hot taro. I recently had coconut taro and
.god was it good!!! It is REALLY sweet so I recommend diluting it a little bit or adding less sugar.
Its a must go !!

The bubble tea was good. The interior looks run down. The floor and tables were filthy. Hesitantly ordered dumplings. Had no confidence in good food after the state of the inside. They were mediocre at best. Most likely frozen
Went back again months later. Still disgusting inside. Hey hipsters! There is a thing called a vacuum

Okay, this has become one of my favorite café’s in Amherst. It’s perfect for bubble tea, has okay espresso and coffee (it will get you caffeinated, but don’t expect artistry) and a nice layout with couches and plenty of desks (some power outlets, but not too many) with strong wifi.
The reason for the upgrade to the 5-​stars? Their food. They serve food daily from 12pm to 6pm and I think they have some of the best value and bang for the buck. $ 6.95 for a huge plate of Chicken Katsu Curry. Perfectly breaded chicken with a curry sauce over rice. And you get two sides! The crab potato salad is delicious and so is the cucumber salad. They also have Bulgogi Beef, Pork and a Banh Mi Sandwich. My go to is the Chicken Katsu Curry though and sometimes I get their Chicken & fresh mushroom small plate of handmade dumplings. They are also very good (perfectly crispy) and served with a delicious sauce, similar to a brewed warm soy sauce.
All in all, the crowd here is younger for the most part; you get a lot of college kids since it’s so close to UB. The food and bubble tea definitely elevate this place and the Chicken Katsu Curry alone is worth the drive out from downtown Buffalo.

The best bubble tea place in Upstate hands down! TLC has never failed me. My favorite go to bubble tea is taro milk tea with bubbles with lychee jelly. Most places can’t seem to make it right, either too much coconut or too much taro. The bubbles are perfect, not too soft or too hard. They have hot or cold and large or small options. You can get any flavor or mix and match basically anything. TLC offers appetizers, I recommend the pork fried dumplings.
TLC offers wifi for the college students studying and other patrons. There’s plenty of parking outside. There’s tables and chairs to sit outside. TLC offers a punch card, get it if you plan on coming more than once.

Must have: lychee-​pear with green tea and mango jelly. The mango jelly costs a few cents extra but it’s so good and you can still have the tapioca balls with it. *****make sure you get half the sugar otherwise it’s overly sweet and pretty gross. but if you forget to order less sugar like I always do, you can add half a bottle of spring water to it and it really doesn’t dilute the flavor surprisingly!
If you’re looking for something more creamy, get the taro-​coconut milk tea. But I prefer the milk teas at Kung-​Fu Tea (at UB commons) which is only a short drive away. A lot of the flavors here are made with powder and I don’t like the texture it creates. But I definitely recommend the fruit teas here.

Love this place. The bubble tea is spot on. The milk teas are my favorite. Almond or watermelon made with green tea, you won’t be disappointed.

I don’t get here as often as I’d like, despite spending most of my time right across the road on campus.
Anyway, they have some of the best bubble tea around. I always get mine unsweetened, and it’s just as good (better, in my opinion.) I have yet to try most of their espresso drinks, but their chai is amazing and so is the Thai coffee. I had their dumplings for the first time this semester, and they were delicious!
I didn’t give them the full five stars because of their prices. As a college student, paying nearly $ 5 for a drink is a bit of a stretch. Their food generally takes about 20 minutes to make, so be prepared to wait.
Other than that, they have a ton of seating and the baristas are always friendly.

This used to be one of my favorite hangout spots. I’m so, terribly sad to say that this has been one of the greatest disappointments when coming back to Buffalo from uni.
Okay, basically, I don’t know if it’s the new rumoured management, or if it’s the new setup (yay bigger space, bigger café area, cool) but going here makes me unbearably sad. I tried about four times, each with different company, different mealtimes, and different cashiers — all to which I’ve left regretting ever coming here after the *big change*
Their espresso machine hasn’t been working for two weeks, the cashiers give you shit for not giving them a 20% tip when ordering a $ 2 drink, they don’t do meals after 7, and they like to take half an hour (32 mins technically) assembling the bulgogi (I assume they’re killin the cow in the back or something)
But yeah, overall, I’m quite sad at the sudden turn of events — this place used to be the go-​to for spontaneous meetups, enthused moviegoers, cute dates — things like that. The only people I see here now are just hollow shells of their past lives, living in fear of even more change to the disastrous venue this place has become. Just kidding. But don’t go here. Sorry

I’ve been coming to Tea Leaf since high school, and they have yet to disappoint. It caters perfectly to the high school and college students nearby — it’s a great place to study or meet up with friends, and the late hours certainly don’t hurt its reputation. Recent renovations have changed the vibe of the café; what was once a cozy hipster dive has become a sleeker space. However, the essence of Tea Leaf remains the same, and it maintains its status as everyone’s favorite late-​night café.
I can only speak to the quality of the bubble tea portion of their menu, but what I have tried is excellent. The menu is diverse, and there are hundreds of combinations that keep customers coming back for more. It’s difficult to order something that doesn’t taste phenomenal, but I recommend staying away from the Durian tea — it has a very distinct taste that is definitely not for everybody. My go-​to is blueberry-​pomegranate black tea, which has yet to get old after four years.

I do think this is as good as it gets.
Tea Leaf Café exhibits just the right amount of charm and coziness. Not TOO cozy, mind you. Many tables and a couple of sofas. There always seems to be enough space and several open tables when I go in.
The staff has been friendly every time and have been good at conjuring up a beverage for me when I don’t know what I am in the mood for. My go to is usually a coconut mango green bubble tea and it makes me happy EVERY time. In addition, there are so many flavor combinations to choose from, that I am sure anyone could find one or more to enjoy.
I have only tried the veggie spring rolls from the food menu, but they were pretty tasty if small, but you get three and I was satisfied with that.
Lastly, yay for being in Amherst ! A central location for me. It makes a great mid way home after work stop.

I can only review the Drink (Bubble Tea) section for Tea Leaf.
I have frequent Tea Leaf for years and I always come back because they seem to be the only place that a.) Stays open late enough b.) Will do smoothie style Bubble Tea.
I went here last night with my niece for some Bubble Tea and this is always our go to place. As it was 10:30 PM it may have been the ONLY place actually open that served Bubble Tea. There was line which I can only guess is due to the many college students back in town and Tea Leaf is located in the UB area and I have seen the Blue Bus drive through the plaza that it’s located in.
Although I have tried many flavors, my current addiction is the Coconut, Taro Smoothie with the regular tapioca bubbles and lychee jelly. I have yet to find another place that will do it smoothie style and has all the flavors that I like. I never had an issue ordering, wait is very reasonable even with the line, and this place has plenty of seating and WIFI. This is a very comfortable place to relax with couches and the WIFI is reliable so you could settle down and do some work if you wanted to. They have expanded their menu to offer Thai Tea (my favorite) and food which I have yet to get so there may be an update to this review at a later time. If you have bubble tea cravings, this is the place to go as it closes at 11:00 PM on a Sunday night and is also open pretty late other nights as well.

Headed back to Tea Leaf today and ordered my peach green tea with no sugar, as suggested by the super friendly staff. It was delicious! Still sweet but pleasantly sweet. The manager said that the syrups used in the teas all have some sugar but ordering the drink to be made with no (additional?) sugar would probably best suit my taste. She was right. I wouldn’t order the tea any sweeter than «no sugar» sweet. Yum!
I will be back for more tea. Thanks so much Peter and staff!

Tea Leaf Café is a great little place in the city of Buffalo. It’s located by the University at Buffalo, so this place tends to be filled with college students. That doesn’t take away from the fact that this place makes great drinks. Their menu is diverse and they offer many different options. I’m always coming here for their Thai Iced Tea and Red Bean Ice. Both drinks are delicious and they both taste better if you get boba in it.
Their food is pretty good too. They have a diverse selection of snacks and appetizers. What’s worth trying is their Roast Pork Banh Mi and the Beef Bulgogi over Rice. Both items are flavorful and are worth ordering.
I definitely recommend checking this place when you’re around the area. Stop by after leaving the AMC next door or if you’re just craving bubble tea!

I’ve been coming here for a number of years, ever since I was in high school. It’s a quick and easy place to get to and meet people. This is my go to place if I want to meet someone after work and get a drink. It’s right next to The Library and a stone’s throw away from the AMC. It’s a great go-​to place either before or after a movie.
For the most part, I really like Tea Leaf. I haven’t tried much from their food menu except edamame which was nothing to get excited over, but their bubble tea wins the show. I usually stick to the same old drinks when I go there because I know they work. The two sure-​to-​be-​okay flavors are Pomegranate and Kiwi. The taste is super sugary but the flavors work well with the tea. I recently tried the avocado bubble tea (because I’m an avocado junkie) and it was so horrendous that I ended up dumping it all out. I learned my lesson and went back to Pomegranate.
Pricing is okay. You end up hitting around four dollars for a regular, but it’s a specialty drink so I give them some slack. They also provide a loyalty card where for every drink you buy, you get a punch in your card. After the tenth drink, you get a free one. Yay! Free!
I also tried their hot chocolate as well and it’s so good. Super sweet and intense. I think they add the ghiradelli chocolate to a hot chocolate mix so if you’re ever craving chocolate, you’ll get your fix here and then more.
Couple minor gripes here: everyone and their mother knows about this place. It’s hit or miss busy on some nights, but when a movie lets out, you can expect to see a crowd here. They also seem to only have three people working at all times which means service can sometimes be slow. But for the most part, each person that works there does a great job at serving whoever comes through. Besides the crappy avocado flavor, I’ve yet to have a bad drink.
They recently did some renovations to the building, but honestly, I don’t see much of a difference. It doesn’t seem any more spacious to me…
Finally, overall cleanliness depends on the amount of people that come in. If it’s slow, it’s clean. If it’s busy, just prepare yourself for some sticky tables.

My order: bulgolgi bento with spicy crab salad & cucumber salad (not bad)
Pros:
+ They offer food now too! (Well they’ve always had phở, but given the fact that they offer it during certain times, I’ve never been able to try it)
Cons:
— Not the most authentic bubble tea, but considering the area, it satisfies the craving
— The red bean smoothie is poorly done, don’t get it

This place is used to be my hangout place after school or after the movie next door. Don’t matter what day you come whether it is Thursday, Friday, Saturday night, or Sunday afternoon, this place is always busy. I don’t mind the waiting (sometimes) because the bubble tea is always the best I’ve tasted so far.
They just remodeled the counter and the seating area, which provides more room for the customer. However I missed the couch in the back near the counter. They also added more food into the menu. I will try their food someday.
My usual is taro bubble tea with green tea or almond joy (chocolate, almond, and coconut). You can get it with ice or smoothie.
If you come here for the bubble tea and having a little chat with friends, this is the place.
Little note: the ladies/men’s room need to be clean more regularly tho.

You will love this place so much you will want to stay here. Seriously, you will never want tea leaf. Ever.
Get it?
What to get: Bubble Tea w/​Green Tea, no milk.
I messed up with this one. I came here forever ago, and ordered a bubble tea Passion Fruit stylee and was non specific, and I didn’t like it that much. It’s because I got a black tea (bitter ish).
I finally came back and got the green tea instead (I didn’t even realize there were choices of tea), I got the water version not the milk version. I tried Mango Blackberry, and then I tried Lychee Raspberry. They were AMAZING. Might be up there as some of the best Bubble Tea I’ve had.
So I had to re-​do this review so I could do right by the wonderful magical mesmerizing Tea Leaf Café. And now I have, so silence yourselves, earthlings.
To the blonde in the car outside who was staring at Starlight forever. Starlight would have totally asked for your number if you weren’t with that military/​cop-​looking guy, k?
Omg Starlight just pressed a button on my TV remote.
Here is my original review.
This place was named as such because they don’t like you sticking around to drink their goods. They prefer if you order the Tea. Then Leaf. Tea. Leaf. No? Nobody?
How adorable! Having just discovered how wonderful Bubble Tea is, I found this place that’s almost completely geared towards Bubble Tea! I tried the Passion Fruit, and it was good, but I have to say, not only did I not have that many Bubbles in it (which I don’t really care about), but it wasn’t as heavenly or perfect tasting as the Passion Fruit Bubble Tea at Gin Gin, and so for that reason, it doesn’t quite hit the heights. The prices are okay, and the Bubble Tea is great — there are lots of flavours, I’ll be back to maybe try the Pineapple and the Apple sometime.
But Gin Gin is still my go to place in the B Lo for the B Tea. And for Coconut Bubble Tea it’s all about Niagara Seafood on the west side. Awesomeness.