Tapicha

This is the best bubble tea I’ve ever tasted. It’s made by this very polite woman who works it every way, and wow, does she know what she’s doing.
Some reviews on this site are low, and that’s probably because bubble tea is different for everyone. If you order chocolate powder with chai tea, it’s not going to taste good, hence the low ratings. If you don’t know how to make bubble tea, simply ask :)

Probably one of the most disappointing bubble teas I’ve had. There was no sugar in the tapioca balls, and it took a long time to get my tea even though the line was not too long. I will say this spot has the most flavors I have ever seen, but it’s not worth it if it doesn’t taste good, right?

I consider myself a bubble tea fan and have tried all kinds of bubble tea. I chose to go here today because it was close to where I live. I ordered a regular bubble milk tea. The tea didn’t taste like tea and it was overly sweet. The tapioca balls were mushy and tasteless. However I did ask the lady to not give me ice and she gave me more tea instead.

I only ever order the taro milk tea with lychee jelly from here, and it’s bc this woman is magic bc this drink is magical. Idk if she uses powder or not, but I don’t care. If you can make powder taste like that idc if it’s powder.

Not the best boba nor the worst boba I’ve ever had.
You pick the type of tea and the flavor as well as the type of «bubble.» Flavors are magic powders and syrups. The cup is loaded up with LOADS of ice. This keeps it cold. RE: the reviews complaining of too much ice. I got myself a large (fat girl) lychee green tea with tapioca pearls.
The tea itself is refreshing and sweet and cold. I like this. The tapioca was perfect when I was there, not too mushy and not too hard.
I do have a serious love for bubble tea so though this bubble tea isn’t orgasmic I’ll be back and drinking it often.
Also cash only.

Stay away. Tapioca boba are mushy and slimy — I personally like the ones that have a little bounce to it.
The lady adds ice just to fill the drink up to the top — rip off. Save your money and go somewhere else.
I do give them credit for having so many flavors but unfortunately I will not be going back to try anything else.
If you still decide to go, bring cash and don’t say I didn’t warn you…

This is a no-​frills drink stand inside Porter square. It hits the spot, especially in the area where options are limited. There are better options in China Town, but again, for the area, this is great.
Prices are also reasonable, but CASH ONLY. BofA ATM just behind the stand, which is handy (and free if you bank with them).

I should’ve walked away when I saw the woman pull out the tub of non-​dairy creamer. I asked for an avocado bubble tea. I was served something orange colored and vile tasting. And the tapioca wouldn’t go up the straw and was left at the bottom in a giant clump. It was gross.

Best bubble tea in the area!

My 11 year old is currently addicted to this wonderful little place. Authentic bubble tea if there is such a thing, made by hand by the very nice woman who runs it. Lots of flavors and options. Good stuff.

Tapicha-​Porter Square
⁰⁄₅ stars
Kiosk in Lesley U, next to the asian restaurants. Texture of the pearls is unbearable, there is no chew, you can taste the center is uncooked. The tea is super diluted and they use non-​dairy creamer and white sugar for the milk and sugar. The flavors they offer are via syrups and powders. The old chinese lady added extra ice in the non-​standard boba cup with lid when the tea didn’t fill to the top. Presentation– F looks like something I would make at my kid’s bakesale. UGH. we need a decent boba place in BOSTON!!!

I love the bubble tea here and the lady is so nice. I just wish she would keep more consistent hours. It’s always hit or miss if she is there =(

I want to give them a higher rating, I do, but I just a cannot.
While I generally enjoy bubble tea and those yummy tapioca balls, I find I really can’t bring myself back to Tapicha. All their flavors (including their milk) are all powders and have that sort of synthetic taste. Sometimes it is better than others but usually it tasted like artificial flavors and sweeteners. Also, certain flavors are just too mega-​sweet. Also, their equipment (spoons, stirrers, storage) all seems a tad dirty for my liking (and I am neither a germ-​phobe nor a neat freak).
The tea and tapioca they use seem to taste good however. If really have a hankering for bubble tea, they are ok but you can probably do a lot better elsewhere.

Possibly the best bubble tea in Boston!
I love that you can choose not only the flavor of the tea (and there are *many* flavors), but the type of tea as well.
While I’m not a fan of tapioca balls, theirs are the best: not too soft, and not grainy at all! The jelly (I think it’s lychee) is also very delicious.

I’m surprised to see the negative reviews here, perhaps things have gone downhill since I last sent to Tapicha in ’07. Vin is a delight, and if you frequent Tapicha enough, she’ll recognize you.
Tapicha was founded by a Tufts alum, which might also be why I have a bit of a soft spot for this place. If you’re not quite sure what you want, the staff is helpful w/​recommendations. The strawberry milk tea, taro tea, and mango w/​black tea were always favorites. The boba is consistent here in being of a good consistency and properly sweetened. When I had a cold, Vin had recommended a hot ginger boba, which had hit the spot.

Dig it. One off for using a powder mix, and the flavoring not being as sweet (the mango and passionfruit were on the tart side, taro was a little too watery) as I would have liked, but those are my only two complaints. The coloring of the flavors was a bit off, in my opinion, but I’m not that superficial.
I love, love, love their tapioca balls! I think they’re the perfect consistantcy. They’re not too warm, not too frozen, but gummy and sweet. It’s what every boba tea boba should be.
They also don’t use ice! They keep it chilled with a cocktail shaker and strain it, so you get so much more bubble tea for your money.
The price was about right too. $ 3.10 or something for a large? The service was a bit bored looking, but was nice enough. I also really dig their T’s. I might come back with more cash and buy one the next time I’m around.

Some of my favorite flavors:
chocolate, soursop *no longer available*, thai ice tea, almond, ginger.
I never knew they had hot boba before this place, it’s pretty good!
They have funny Tees that say «Got balls?» on the back.

Many many moons ago, Tapicha broke my Bubble Tea cherry if you will. Now, many months later, and copious amounts of Bubble Tea and balls later, Tapicha is at the bottom of my list. First of all, it’s all a powder mix. At first, when I was young and naïve, I thought this was the norm, so I dealt with it. Oh, but with the likes of Dong Khanh and Xinh Xinh I’ve realized that powder is not enough! Bubble Tea doesn’t have to taste watery and flavorless, but it can be creamy and delicious.
While Tapicha gets some points for having a wide variety of options when it comes to Bubble Tea, the taste just doesn’t cut it. Also I remember in my Bubble Tea virgin phase I didn’t understand the wonder of boba. I think it was because I was so turned off by Tapicha’s offerings, that I didn’t realize how good those lovely balls really were.
So while I will always cherish Tapicha as my first time (after all, don’t you always remember your first?) we all know that the first time is never the best.

So I give the woman my money
wait a couple of moments for her to get it ready for me
she gives it to me
I stick it in my mouth and suck
there is a rush of fluid and warm squishy balls into my mouth
i was disappointed
When I had walked up I had such high hopes because of their interesting flavor combinations. They have a good assortment of things to choose from and they like to offer various flavor blends but they let me down by being a bit too short on the chilling and letting their boba get to mush.
It’s a place that I want to like but until they can get their boba better and get the operation looking a bit more ship shape I won’t be paying them any more visits.

Meh. This place has its moments, but overall wouldn’t be my first choice for bubble tea. However, it’s in my neighborhood, so I keep coming back (damn bubble tea addiction…)
The pros are that there are a ton of unique flavors, and there are 3 different tea options to choose from (black tea, jasmine green tea, or Thai tea). I strongly recommend getting the Thai.
The cons are that the flavors come from a powder and you can tell, the jasmine green tea sounds good in theory, but when combined with other flavors tastes terrible, and the coconut jelly is gross. Skip the coconut jelly and just opt for the tapioca balls– they’re not bad.
The woman who works here is super nice and I appreciate that this place is around. But you can do better– try My Thai in Allston, the Boston Tea Stop in Harvard Square, or pretty much anywhere in Chinatown for better bubble tea.