House of Chá

House of Cha was my hidden staple in college and perfect for a day date. It’s unique, has some solid tea and is right by downtown.
I popped back in to kill some time and answer emails before a Lawrence event and have to say I wasn’t exactly loving it this time around. The atmosphere looks pretty much the same as I remembered, but the rest of it was just ok.
First off, the service wasn’t feeling it on this day.
In absolutely no hurry at all, I kind of moseyed up to the counter and looked and the guy helping seemed pretty put out that he had to make another tea. I ordered everything (almond milk bubble tea with ice) and he was like, «OK. It’s going to take time, just so you know.» Well damn, I thought it was going to instantly appear without any time passing! He wasn’t kidding as it did take time, which is fine.
Overall the staff wasn’t really feeling the small rush they’d gone through. I worked service for many, many years and in college and I always stressed to my employees and myself to never take out the frustration of anything personal onto customers, and especially not to take the stress of a rush out on them. If there was a rush that means people are supporting your biz! In fact gutting out a smile in a rush earned us loads of tips and made us feel better, but I digress.
The tea was fine, but not as good as I remembered. I believe they use a milk powder and I’ve always wondered is there actual tea in these drinks? They do a nice oolong straight up tea, but do they include these in the bubble teas? I’m not 100% sure.
These are treats so I won’t complain much about the price but at almost $ 5 it was gone pretty quick, and I was trying to nurse it.
I’ll give House of Cha another shot and try something else, but I was a bit disappointed that it didn’t live up to the lively, friendly little shop that I used to frequent.

Can honestly say this place has the best boba in the area; however, that doesn’t really mean much in the midwest. I usually go for the almond milk green tea and it usually satiates my boba craving. The quality of the boba is spotty: sometimes it’s good, and sometimes it’s obviously old stuff.

Worst boba EVER! Not to mention the über pretentious tea maker who was obviously annoyed that we interrupted his Pixies cover band project. Homeboy had a little keyboard on a table and could not have been more displeased with taking our orders. We were told all of our drinks would be served with less than the normal amount of boba pearls because there was a boba shortage… which we found hilarious. Oh, Kansas! The drinks we’re watered down and majorly bland. I kind of wonder if the dude manning the drink station has ever had actual bubble tea. Bubble tea cafes are fun little k-​pop/​j-​pop havens and this place takes itself waaaay too seriously. For a café that takes itself so seriously I’m surprised they don’t keep it clean – there were cobwebs everywhere. I’ve been to bubble tea cafes in the states and overseas and this is the worst one I’ve ever been to.

Great place. Love the atmosphere!

Horrible customer service. Stay away. Did not give me what I ordered and told me not to come back because I asked for my money back

Best bubble tea in the area! Chewy pearl and very good tea! We love this place! Jasmin green tea is very good!

After my friend told me how good there bubble tea was I decided to go there. The first time I went there the guy at the counter yelled to me «I’m sorry we’re closing for maintenance and I have to leave early so umm yeah.» this was at 3 in the afternoon. Who closes a shop 6 hours before their posted closing time. At least put a sign on the door just so your customers know. I decided to give it another try a couple of days later oddly enough it was the same guy. The service there was freaking horrendous and their bubble tea isn’t that great. It shouldn’t be named house of cha but house of crap.

1. The powder was unevenly mixed into my tea, so I inhaled some clumps. It was not beautiful, although I did know going into the place that they use powder for their tea.
2. The man working there — a slightly heavy Caucasian male with tattoos — was very brusque. He asked what we wanted, and I hadn’t been there before and wanted to look at the menu. The impression my friend and I got was that it was a burden for him to wait for our order… and the place was empty. If I come back, I would see who was working inside. If it’s him, I’d walk to another place to get a beverage. Sorry, but I expect common courtesy.

This used to be my favorite bubble tea place in college but returned last month to find it has become somewhat rundown and the flavors weren’t as good as I remember. I think they need more staff so that customers don’t have to wait so long for their tea. The place needs a good cleaning to get rid of the dust and dirt, but it will always be my first love (the first place I ever had bubble tea). Coconut milk tea with pearls, please.

Probably the best boba tea in Lawrence. Still not worth it. It’s not an inviting space for customers. This place is a «tea house»?! They have virtually no selection, their tea accessories are nil and hidden in the corner. The walls are practically bare and EVERYTHING is dusty. There is an inch-​thick layer on all light fixtures and all level surfaces. If they don’t value cleaning their front, they probably don’t value thoroughly cleaning the food prep area either.

Every time I come to town I have to grab a Coconut Chai w/​Bubbles @House of Cha. I LOVE THIS PLACE.
Granted the décor is kind of eclectic and odd, but I have always been treated with great customer service and a GREAT product when I go here.
House of Cha ROCKS!

Okay, I’m sure this place is pretty cool but not the day I was there. I walk in there and the place is tiny and full. I go to the counter and order… okay. (iced thai tea bubble tea)
sit down.
wait…wait…wait…
so about 3 mins later he calls an order a couple gets up and grabs their drink. I look around and no one has drinks, then realized shit, I’m like the 10^th person waiting on their drinks, look up, he’s the only one working and another line comes in.
so 20mins waiting now, I’m very tempted to walk out of this place, but I wanted my drink and surely it was coming soon.
I think I waited at least 35mins. :(and it wasn’t that great.

The boba tea here was fantastic — I can say it was probably the best I have had in a very long time.
We came in during a busy weekend in Lawrence, a little after they opened, and there was line of teenagers in front of us. *cue sigh* After about 15 minutes they all got their drinks and finally moved out of the way so we could look at the menu!
I was expecting the guy behind the counter to be a little on edge after all the teenager nonsense, but he was so calm and friendly. Very pleasant.
We took a look at the menu and I was pleasantly surprised at the flavor choices, one side black tea and one side green tea based. I wish I would’ve taken a picture of the menu. Regardless, I got honeydew and my companion got coconut and lavender.
We took a seat while he made our drinks, I realized I forgot to order blended, but figured I would give the iced tea a try. When the drinks were ready we stabbed the lids (always a joy) and were immediately overwhelmed with delicious flavor! I typically choose honeydew as my go to flavor and I was a big fan here. The coconut and lavender worked together in a complex way. In addition, the boba was excellent and seemed very well prepared. I would love to come back to Lawrence and try several flavors off the menu as well as some of their hot tea.
Count me as a fan.

My point system: 50 points available for food, 25 available for service 25 and 25 available for atmosphere = 100 Total possible points. 1 – 30 = 1 star, 31 – 60 = 2 stars, 61 – 80 = 3 stars, 81 – 95 = 4 stars & 96 – 100 = 5 stars
Boba in Lawrence… Hmmmm.
Food (or in this case Drink) = 35 out of 50
Overall the boba is not too bad at the House of Cha. Looking over the menu they have a decent selection of both boba and iced tea selections. I wanted to try a couple of items so I ordered a small Red Bean and then a mixture of Almond & Taro. The Red Bean was pretty good. The tapioca was an ok consistency. Not the best that I have had but it wasn’t bad either. The flavor was great. It was not overly sweet which I appreciated. The Almond & Taro was awesome. It almost tasted like a tin of those little butter cookies that you get around the holidays. Again it was not overly sweet and the tapioca was an ok consistency. Over all the tea flavor could have come through just a bit more on both drinks. I do like how they use Soy Milk products for people that are lactose.
Service = 25 out of 25
The service was great! Walking in and not being familiar with the menu the individual behind the counter walked me through all of the selections and led me to my first of the two drinks. After I had finished the first drink I went back to the counter and asked him for his favorites. He gave me the suggestion of the Almond & Taro blend along with a flavor description. He was right on & the flavor was great. Over all it was a great service experience.
Atmosphere = 23 out of 25
The House of Cha is a small «coffee» house type setting with local band and business flyers on the counter and hipsters everywhere. They have simple yet effective seating and being a big guy I did not feel too crowded even at the height of the lunch rush. It was cute/​cozy and would be a great place to catch up with a friend or get some reading in.
Total Points: 83 out of 100
Total Stars: 3 out of 5

I’ll give House of Cha credit for giving me the option to get boba in Lawrence. Didn’t even think this was possible!
Had tons of pearl milk tea in my life in Taiwan, China, and Cali, so yes, my tastebuds are a bit choosy. The green milk tea here was decent, though it could have had a stronger tea flavor to it. I do appreciate that they don’t over sugar the milk tea so I don’t bounce off the walls :)
The boba/​pearls were of decent consistency, though not as «Q» as I would have liked. But not shabby.
Cute décor, and comfy place. Would be a cute place to catch up with a gal pal, do some journaling, or read a fun book. Will come again when my boba craving strikes.

Maybe my expectations were too high because I’ve heard good things about this place… but it didn’t meet my expectations.
I ordered a small milk tea with pearls ($ 4.35 total) which would always be my baseline when I try new milk tea places. I’m not a milk tea expert though I’ve had A LOT in the past and this milk tea does have potential to be good. I can taste the black tea; however, it was watered down but it was still drinkable. It’s hard to say if it was just this one time that the milk tea was watered down so if I’m ever in Lawrence, KS again, then I’ll try this place again. The pearls, on the other hand, were cooked correctly and were chewy.
This place was small but had a good setup (in my opinion) to sit down and study while sippin’ on some milk tea.

House of Cha… why of why did it take me so damn long to visit you? I feel like all of my bubble tea experiences in Lawrence before you are… well, they are minimal, but they are all a disappointment compared to you.
So, I rolled in here craving a bubble tea. The staff, all two of them, were awesome. So friendly, so helpful, so «shooting the shiz» for lack of a non-​Yelpapropriate phrase.
I had a Almond bubble milk tea, which was about $ 5 or so for a large… fair deal. It came to my possession so quickly… always a plus when you’re thirsty and in crave.
So the flavor… very little sweetness, which I approve of. Some place (cough couch Tea Drops Westport cough cough) have tasty Almond flavoring, but it can be a bit sweet. Not here. It was the perfect interplay of sweet and savory. The pearls were awesome… nice and moist, not at all chewy.
Will I return? Oh… yes. Yes, yes, yes.

I had heard almost all positive things about House of Cha before going. It was the place to go for quality bubble tea. And this much was true. There was a great deal of choice for the flavors, so if you’re looking for options it’s top-​rate. I went with a basic flavor because this was my first bubble tea and I wanted to learn the ropes, so to speak, and the tea didn’t disappoint. It was a refreshing drink and I enjoyed the texture of the «bubbles». I was quite fond of the novelty of the drink, but it wasn’t the revelatory experience that some people had; it was pleasing but my socks remained firmly on my feet, fully un-​knocked.
The major problem I had with my experience was interacting with the counter worker. As a bubble tea tyro I had several questions, especially given the wide selection of options before me. I extracted what information I could get from her, though she seemed rather annoyed at me for no perceptible reason. (Granted, helping me out was undoubtedly less interesting than the book she had out behind the counter, but it would have warmed my heart if she could have attempted to mask her disdain with a weak smile — though I suppose I should have been content with a simple icy glare.) She was impatient from the first moment and answered questions in a decidedly condescending way. It was the most unpleasant interaction with a server in my recent (and even extended) memory.
I do put a premium on service when I go places because that is where the relationship with an institution is made. I cannot imagine returning to a place where I felt so unwelcome no matter what the quality was. I’ll admit my experience seems to be an aberration, at least from reading the reviews here, but it was my experience nonetheless. It’s possible that the server was simply having an off night and that every other employee is sugar-​incarnate, but I will not find out. It is not worth my time and money to gamble my evening at a place where I might receive that kind of «welcome» again.
Review: 1.5 stars (without service problem, it would be higher, but I score the entirety of the experience.)

As I write this, I’m finishing up a large red bean bubble tea, savoring the last few perfect tapioca pearls, wanting to run back and get another already. This is my second bubble tea in less than 48 hours.
Sadly, I am about to leave Lawrence in about three weeks. This means the possibility of running into town to get the best bubble tea in this area, I daresay, the United States will be no longer. I will just have to make it a must when I’m back in town visiting from Kansas City. OK, so that“s only 45 miles away…
Buuuut, I’m afraid it just won’t be the same. I’m an impulsive gal and I like giving in to my cravings immediately. I feel full of regret that I took HOC for granted. But, I suppose that even Vincent Cassel takes Monica Bellucci for granted sometimes.
House of Cha, won’t you open in Kansas City?

The milky tea there is a piece of shit! I never had such awful boba tea before, i will never go again.