Cha for Tea

After living in Irvine for 4 years. This place is my go to boba place.
Area is located in University Town Center (UTC), right across from the UCI Campus. Don’t be frightened once you get there and all you see are college kids. This is the place to be.
Menu is large with many different types of drink & good items. My personal favorites are the Honey Green Milk Tea with Boba and the Crispy Chicken (appetizer). This place is clean, hip & the lines can be outrageous. So plan accordingly.

This location serves the best crispy chicken. I love ordering the entrée that also comes with rice, a salad, corn, and their yummy sweet and sour sauce. My go to drink is the mango green tea. Perfectly sweetened and the boba is always fresh.

Prepare yourself for long lines during college season (or maybe in general?). Tea is overall good and staff is quick with orders. Fried chicken isn’t bad either, little on the salty side but goes well with boba. If you like really soft tapioca pearls — this is your place to go. I usually get half sweet and that’s sweet enough for me.
Overall — would recommend and come back. Note — don’t come until august though, because it’ll be in renovation until then!

This place makes great boba. If you eat a lot of boba, you know some are hard, some are to mushy and some are just right. This is a just right, all the time. They must make there boba several times a day. Our milk tea was on the lighter side and was balanced in sweetness.
The kids loved the mango slushy boba as well. I think this location taste better than the long beach location.

This is the LAST time I will and my friends/​family will EVER eat here again. Their food is mediocre, they boast about having the best Thai Tea ever but I can find better tea from a self making Thai Tea that I can buy on Amazon for a way cheaper price.
Go to ZeroExpress down the way. They know Thai Tea.
The main reason why I won’t come back is because their customer service is incredibly terrible. I’ve been to terrible restaurants … I understand why workers get frustrated working long shifts on a Friday but for a stupid boba shop to be that extremely rude on MUTIPLE occasions and for the short period of time My girlfriend and I were there… We left that mute shop as soon as we can finish their dry chicken.
Save yourself the trouble of being disrespected by college student and go to an actual decent food establishment that will at least make your night enjoyable.
I can tell you this. Those inconsiderate employees really killed our Friday night vibe!

Drinks here are good, but are definitely on the sweet side! Cha is one of the few places where I’ll actually order boba in my drinks.
My go to’s here are the almond milk tea, mango green tea and honey green milk tea. They also have samples of these and samples of their chicken and dumplings so you can see how you like them~
The popcorn chicken here is my all time fav! Except I wish they gave you a little more and that it was spicier! Adding extra spice doesn’t really do much and I just end up inhaling all this powder. No bueno. But still delicious nonetheless.
Anyways. Get a drink. Get the chicken.

Teas here by default are way too sweet. Definitely halve the amount of sugar, if not quarter. I will say that the boba did have a nice consistency here. The two times I have been here, there has always been a line.
Popcorn chicken is fine, but the very spicy isn’t spicy at all (and I can barely handle spicy). Wasn’t a fan of the crispy chicken dumplings, though the sauce that came with it (sweet & sour) made it better.
They had samples available. The honey ginseng one was refreshing, albeit a bit sweet. King oolong was on the other end of the spectrum, and way too strong.
It’s not a bad place to get tea/​boba, as long as you know in advanced to get it with less sugar. However, I didn’t really think it was worth the 15-​minute/​8 mi. drive to get here with other closer options available.

Usually love their drinks and service, but the last 3 times I’ve had the people at the cashier be utter morons.
Today: I order a honey milk tea with boba.
The cashier, Educ, asks me 2x if it was with boba. I say yes both times.
Upon the final order, he repeats it once more, but without boba.
I clarify and say «Wait, with boba.»
He had the nerve to tell me he repeated it twice for without it, even though the guy next to me even heard it for WITH BOBA.
And then expected a tip? Hell no.
I’m disappointed with their service lately.

One of my favorite spots in University Town Center, so glad it’s been here over the many years. My two most recommended items would be the popcorn chicken and royal milk tea with boba.
Though the portion of the popcorn chicken I feel has slightly decreased over the years, the taste and crunchiness are both still on par. You’ll be getting actual pieces of chicken fried to the right level unlike certain places in Westminster and Rowland Heights. If the juiciness and spiciness of the chicken could be bumped up a bit more, that would be prime.
I really love the texture of the boba here at Cha for Tea. It’s not starchy and it still remains chewy even when it’s in your milk tea for a certain amount of time. You know that nasty feeling when boba sits too long and it starts to harden and feel chunky? That’s not happening here. I have to give daps to the milk tea as well. Not too overpowering in terms of the syrup they utilize. It’s the right balance; if it’s still not sweet enough, ask them to add less ice.
I tried out the Taiwanese sausage rice today and it’s pretty decent for a place near a college campus. It wasn’t super filling but it did come with a small salad, a spoon of corn, and rice topped with a few slices of Taiwanese sausage. Surprisingly, it didn’t disappoint at all. All this food was served at a quick pace considering how packed it was and I would say the service was better than average. This spot really brought back the vibes from high school days!

So I was here last night and I ordered the tofu curry. I was starving, got my food, and dug into the salad. Once I started slowing down I made my way to the curry which looked a little strange. I normally get the orange tofu, so this was my first time withheld curry, making me unsure of what to expect. To my dismay, it had chicken in it. Unfortunately, I am a vegetarian (hence why I ordered tofu) and I nevvvveerrrr complain about food that I ordered, but this was unedited tome. I politely brought it up to the cashier (man I wish I knew his name because he was so awesome. It was around 9:30) and be didn’t hesitate to sincerely apologize and tell me he’d bring me a new plate shortly
I was thrilled with how polite he was and, not only that, but the manager came to my table, apologized on his own, and brought me a coupon for a free entry on Mt next visit
Amazing customer service

If you go to UCI, you’ve probably had this place a good number of times. I usually order the lychee or mango tea with ½ or ¾ sweetness & get lychee instead of boba! They also have free samples of their most popular teas as well as samples of their potstickers & chicken too. The service is always good & the workers are extremely friendly and patient. It’s not the best boba that I’ve ever had, but for a quick fix near school — it’s definitely a good choice!

Cha is THE place to go.
It is known.
I LOVE the rose-​bud hot tea. It’s floral and decadent. Perfection in a cup.
Their food is also great! It’s basic crispy treats with great flavor. It’s perfect for late night snacking– especially life-​saving during finals!
The crowd loves them– you can tell by the long lines round the clock. Prices are fair, and service is speedy.
I also love that they have healthy options to everything, from honey sweetener to almond milk– but wait, there’s more: they also have aloe Vera in place of boba, and it’s not soaked in sugar!
It’s always entertaining to watch them put drinks together because their steeping process is peculiar– must see.
If you haven’t had then then you haven’t done University Square right.
#DoYouEvenChaForTea

My friend recommended this place. It was 1 in the morning and nothing else was open. I was legit craving boba. I got the almond black milk tea and wow was I amazed. It’s cool how they have samples for everything including food so you can get a taste of what each item taste like :) I enjoy the atmosphere and how the workers are very friendly. I love how they show you what the most popular items are.
Highly recommend this place. It’s worth the drive

I was not a tea drinker but I was here several times before trying out different boba tea. I have to say that this place has changed my mind about tea, especial milk tea. And when I have a craving this is my prefer tea joint.
I like the fact that you can customize your drink & usually tell you that they will fix it if it’s not to your taste.
Also they have sample of different flavor tea around so you can find out what some of these taste like.
My almond milk tea half the sweetness was quite good. The chai tea is so so (had it better elsewhere) — Mango green tea is pretty yummy.
In short, we enjoy a lot of tea drinks here & strongly recommend.

The quintessential boba shop for all UCI students. Cha for Tea is the only shop that offers boba at UTC, making it a convenient choice for many people. When I am at Cha, I usually order the mango green tea and an order of the crispy chicken. The boba at Cha isn’t the best boba in the area, but it also isn’t the worst boba in the area.
However, I do have many great things to say about the food. Irvine is seriously lacking a fried chicken place, even though Cha only offers crispy chicken (popcorn chicken) it is still enough to satisfy my cravings for fried chicken. When I’m not feeling too hungry, I will order just the chicken alone, but if it’s dinner time and I’m in the area the crispy chicken is a great option. Overall, the food at Cha is surprisingly good for a place that mainly focuses on drinks.
Cha for Tea is your average boba shop that also serves food. It’s main appeal is purely it’s location, which makes it a convenient option for many people. With that in mind, the food and drinks are still pretty good. :)

Food is «HOLY %$!#» bad and disgusting, but I’ve never had a bad drink here so I’ll choose to pretend they only serve drinks here. The iced almond milk tea and the iced honey green milk tea are the two best milk teas, the green tea cooler is an amazing specialty that can’t be beat, passion fruit green tea is the best regular iced tea, and the honey green milk tea is the best *hot* drink (listed twice as hot/​cold cause it’s so good.)
These are all objective facts and 7 leaves isn’t any better than this, although it’s like 60 cents cheaper. You get what you pay for IMO, and most of the people complaining still get $ 500 frappucinos at Starbucks.

This is my gf’s favorite and long-​withstanding boba tea spot so we definitely had to check it out. It was a Saturday night and this place was bumping! There were at least 10 people in line when we left around 1030pm. Since it’s located on campus, it is a hot spot for several of the students living onsite. Luckily, we swooped in during a time where there was no line and I opted for the popular #1 almond milk tea (hot) with boba, ½ sugar. I usually don’t prefer hot milk tea especially b/​c the hot temperature usually cooks the boba longer and then makes them «softer» and less chewy (and I’m ALL about the chew factor) but it was a cooler night so a hot drink was a must! Generally, these drinks can be too sweet so I usually opt for it less sweetened. It took a bit of time for the drinks to be ready, but I was very pleased with the milky creamy goodness and almond flavor of the tea. It was still pretty sweet that when I asked my gf what full sugar tasted like and tried her drink, I was surprised and SO glad that I didn’t get the full sweetness. It’s not bad by any means, and she’s always had it at full sweetness so she can’t have it any other way but given it was my first time, the ½ sugar was plenty sweet for me; especially since the boba are generally cooked in some sort of sugar water or sweetened themselves. I could’ve gone with ¼ sugar and think it would still be plenty sweet for me but I think the majority of folks enjoy the full sweetness. Just know that there is the option to have less sugar added, if you like. The boba were a good consistency, chewy and sweet but not overdone. Again, the hot tea will usually «cook» the boba a bit more as it stews in the hot tea making them softer over time but I really enjoyed the almond tea flavor as a whole and was really glad I got a hot drink even though I know I’d prefer a cold one with boba. They also offer several other drink options including tea without milk, smoothies, traditional teas and some food items and pricing is average or slightly better than some depending on what shops you’re comparing to. I’ll definitely be back to try cold beverage but thoroughly enjoyed the creamy goodness of the hot almond milk tea!

Mango green tea on point!!!
There’s always a lot of people here, so I usually phone order my tea since I don’t like waiting and they’re usually pretty good about it. I love how after they shake each drink, they taste it before pouring it in your cup. Great quality control! Their popcorn chicken is pretty good also!

This is my go-​to spot in Irvine and it’s been a great experience every time. I always get the crispy chicken (you can customize this — more salad, no salad at all and more rice instead, etc.) and the black almond milk tea with small boba. Love, love, love.
I’ve tried the rosebud tea once and was a little sad not to see little rosebuds like in the picture. I’d love to see this place start selling some blooming tea.
The line can be long but it moves pretty fast. Seats can be limited but usually not a problem.
Lovely shopping plaza with a ton of options, although the parking situation has gotten more annoying as the years have gone by. They should stop putting a time limit on so many spots. If you’re in the area, definitely check this place out.

This place is the most convenient place for your milk tea fix if you’re at UCI… At school, there’s like Starbucks, Jamba Juice but not really an Asian drink shop here lol. I’m so glad there’s Cha in UTC. I came across this place when I was going to get froyo at yogurt land. I saw this big line at Cha so I decided to give up froyo and give this place a try!
I have settled with the honey green milk tea (hot) since it have been a chilly day and I always drink cold beverages. The cost for one drink in a small is about $ 4 but so is Starbucks. The tea was very smooth and just the right amount of sweetness it should have! I’m surprised that I did not try this place sooner. However, their tables were not so cleaned so I suggest them to clean up the tables a little more often to provide customers to have a more comfortable environment and enjoy tea/​snacks.
+Tips: try the honey green milk tea if you are craving for a hot drink!

Came here for a boba break with a friend. It’s conveniently located in UTC across from UCI, so you will definitely be surrounded by college kids. Though there was a line, it moved fairly quickly and the wait for the drink thereafter was quick as well. I went with my go-​to mango green tea. I wouldn’t say it was the most amazing tea I have ever drank, but it definitely hit the spot and wasn’t overly sweet.
Definitely would come back if I were to visit friends in UCI and was looking for a quick boba fix.

Cha for Tea. The UCI freshman meeting grounds. Bubble tea, goyza, and chicken-​in-​bag. Conveniently located at the heart of UTC, Cha for Tea was a staple of my freshman

Similar to Tea Station with various boba drinks, entrees, appetizers, and noodle soup, Cha for Tea distinguishes itself from other establishments by using real tea leaves for their beverages and cuisine. I ordered Basil Chicken (simmered marinated chicken in basil sauce) accompanied by rice and 2 sides; the presentation and flavor of the food were average. Although they offer vegetarian entrees, it’s 2 types of tofu or string bean.
Nothing spectacular, a boba drink (~$ 4) and an entrée (~7) add up to about $ 11, quick and easy meal nearby UCI campus. Lots of students study here and enjoy the free AC, so it may be hard to grab a table for groups at times.