Teado Tea Shop

My always go-​to for tea, fruit tea drinks. I like their attitude about their drinks, very precise with sugar and tea level. I’ve tried almost everything on their menu so far, after coming to here for about 5 years now. My favorite drinks are the strawberry green tea, and lychee black tea, and their rice balls are always good (good portion, and it comes with one-​time use gloves) very convenient.

What I ordered: green matcha milk tea with rainbow jelly.
Although I couldn’t taste the matcha as heavily as from some Japanese shops, I enjoyed the overall taste of the green drink. It was sweet, flavorful, and refreshing :)
Unfortunately tapioca pearls weren’t ready at the time I went (around 12:30pm) and would be a 15 minute wait. The pricing is typical of bubble tea shops.

They use lactaid whole milk (only)! Win for people who are lactose intolerant like me. I searched all of Chinatown looking for a bubble tea place that served lactose free milk. I thought the almond milk tea would use almond milk but it’s actually flavoring added to lactaid milk. Nevertheless, my stomach is happy.

I’ve been here more times than I can count. It’s my favorite boba place in Manhattan, one of the few with real tea used.

This is my go to place in Chinatown for some quality service and milk tea (they use only Lactaid free-​milk; great for many Asians’ tummies). Been coming here for a little over two years now. Friendly staff.
Teado is a quirky small tea café located a few doors away from Kung Fu Tea.
What makes Teado different from its neighbor? I depends on the drink you want. I find that Teado makes the right jasmine milk tea for me. It’s likely the quality of tea leaves they use in combination with how they measure out the simply sugar syrup.
* You sample a taste of your order before they make it.
* Fresh fruit drinks are seasonal.
* As with most establishments in Chinatown, this is cash only.
* Onigiri (Japanese rice balls) snacks made per order. (Highly recommend the eel.)
* «Teado salad» is another great choice.
* Very limited seating.
Teado uses only fresh brewed tea, unless you get some weird «fruity flavored» tea that is typically powdered based. Fresh fruit smoothies are offered, only if in season. Look out for watermelon in the summer time.
Jasmine milk tea with a hint of sugar (25%) is my favorite default. Iced with herbal/​grass jelly for the summer, and hot (no topping) for the winter. The ginger black tea is another amazing choice for the winter.
Their matcha beverage, and with the «clouddo topping,» is another great choice during this fad of «matcha everything.»
I don’t normally drink my milk teas with boba, so the other reviewers here can vouch for it.
The tea café is tight and very limited in seating. You can take your drink over to the park down the street on Chrystie Street and enjoy it there on a fair day.

We got the Oolong milk tea and matcha clouddo and they tasted perfect! Much better than I expected.
The person who is making the drink also ask us to taste the milk tea to make sure we like it. I will come back here for more clouddo before going back to San Francisco!!!

Boba shop that uses Lactaid milk for their milk tea! It’s the best of both worlds since it tastes like milk but it doesn’t affect the lactose intolerant people!
Toppings only cost 25 cents extra and they have aloe vera!
–early grey black milk tea with aloe vera: not too sweet and I haven’t had a lactaid milk tea so you can really taste the milk. Love the lactaid option!
–coffee clouddo: coffee with milk foam, I’ve had better
BARELY any space inside but they do offer limited seating
NOTE: CASH only

Yet another bubble tea option in good old Chinatown! I really like how expansive their menu is. Especially appreciate the ability to choose among several bases: earl gray, jasmine green, and oolong options. They even have matcha! Most bubble tea places focus more on the flavoring and toppings than the actual tea, but I really appreciated that this one had many options for all aspects of the drink.
Seating is basically limited to around 6 people so don’t really expect to chill around in here unless you just happen upon some space as others are leaving. Right near Hong Kong supermarket so I definitely want to come back and try other items on the menu! Plus drinks are a good size and are very cheap (around $ 3.50 a pop).

Interesting shop serving great tasting drinks.
I had coffee clouddo. Highly recommended during morning or early afternoon. The whip cream was whipped in front of my eyes in a clear plastic container with good effort. I’m not sure what was used to whip the cream but it would be great if they switched to a plastic-​free bowl.
I usually don’t feel much effect by caffeine but this one hit me. Drank at night, kept me wide awake until well after midnight.
Lots of decorations in small space. Made neat use of the small space in front of the counter with a bench, table and a fireplace!!! (super cute)
Suggestion for renovation, the café has potential to provide much more of an experience if the front counter was pushed back 4~5 meters. Music instead of television. Warm and bright lighting. Lively vibe of customers could really change the feel of the place. I felt bad for the nice guy working there.
Make sure to tip the cat the cool tip catcher ;)

This is my favorite bubble tea spot in NY! I can drink one for every meal of the day if it wasn’t for all the sugar. The Japanese matcha is the bombdiggity and toppings are only 25 cents!

This might’ve just replaced Kung Fu Tea as my new favorite bubble tea shop.
Like Kung Fu Tea, they use lactaid milk and allow you to adjust the sugar level (0, 25%, 50%, 75%). They also let you customize the strength of the tea (light, mild, regular), so you can happily enjoy a cuppa in the evening without worrying about not being able to fall asleep at night. The care they put into making your bubble tea just perfect for your taste is above and beyond what you get anywhere else: they’ll give you small tasting cups with your tea at different sugar levels so you can tell them you want something between, say, 25% and 50%.
That said, the wait can be long before your tea is ready. The shop is small, and there’s usually just one person filling the orders. Try to come in the afternoons – it’s somewhat quieter.
If you want something slightly different from your regular ol’ bubble tea, try the clouddo. It’s basically bubble tea with a sweet cream layer on top. It’s wonderful.

Quick and consistent. Cute store.
A small place for a quick snack or drink. This place uses lactaid milk, which is great for people who are lactose intolerant. I don’t exactly have milk allergies, but sometimes my stomach does get sensitive, and it is great they use lactaid.
Whenever I come, I get the rose milk tea. I don’t think it’s real rose tea, but who cares? I like it! Smells good, looks good, and tastes good. Recommended!

So good. Best boba /​bubble tea in NYC for me! Tiny place. Great menu and quality drinks. Good job guys!

stopped in for some thick toast with condensed milk, and it was perfect! very cute & clean shop, with great service. free wi-​fi, too!
prices seem a little higher than other shops in the area, but worth it!

There aren’t too many joints in Chinatown that has fresh rice balls. Here at Teado they make it fresh and miniature. Wanna know how I know? Well, their rice isn’t ready until 12pm and they make it in front of you! The person who usually makes it (possibly the owner), crafts the rice balls to perfection (well worth $ 3.5 for 3). Warning: if you don’t want to wait 15 mins then you better call in advance. Also their tea is just as stellar; brew to your taste bud’s liking (light/​strong, unsweet/​sweet, toppings/​none).

A Chinatown gem that stands out from the rest for milk tea (or bubble tea, as it’s called here; as a California girl I’m still getting used to this…).
Perhaps the best part of Teado is that they give you a tiny sample cup of your freshly made drink so you can check the taste and sweetness. What a great idea! And not only that, it shows their commitment to creating drinks that each customer will be happy with.
Teado features flavors like osmanthus oolong and genmaicha (my absolute favorite and one that I rarely see in bubble tea shops) alongside more regular ones like almond and taro. I’ve tried the genmaicha and jasmine oolong and they were both great. I’ve never seen jasmine and oolong in the same drink before, but it works so well! New favorite flavor for sure. It has the potential to be overly flowery and fragrant, but they do a good job of preventing that.
30% sugar has worked well for me at most places. But after ordering my drink at 30% here, for the first time I actually wished I had gotten it sweeter! I tried 50% on my next visit and it was great. Definitely a first, but I’d rather have my drink be under– than over-​sweetened as a default.
The place is barely big enough to hold 4 people, but there are 1 or 2 bar seats available if you really want to sit. At $ 3.50, prices are decent and you’re paying for quality. They sadly don’t have a stamp card, but if they did, you know who’d be lining up to get her free drink right about now!

Teado is a super tiny tea shop off The Bowery in Chinatown. It has all kinds of bubble tea, from plain to fancy. The shake comes when they mix their tea concoctions. Wow, the whole building shakes like an earthquake! Being from California, it took me a few seconds to get used to it and not run for the door LOL.
The bubble milk teas are delicious and no worries for the lactose intolerant. There are only a few chairs inside, and a bench outside. Just grab and go.

Their riceballs are priced around $ 3.50−4 for a set of three mini riceballs. I tried the eel and dried meat, both were really good and they were literally fresh made (they were cooking the rice when I ordered). Just because it’s small doesn’t mean that the filling is small in portion, it’s actually just right for the amount maybe a little more.
I also got the peach and lychee juice with aloe for $ 3.50. It doesn’t taste sweet at all, it’s more of a natural taste and I like it. The drink didn’t really have any peach or lychee flavor but nonetheless it was good.

Small teashop with limited seating. There is free WIFI. I ordered the classic bubble milk tea and some onigris (Japanese rice balls). After drinking their bubble tea, they have officially become my favorite spot for getting bubble tea. I can say it’s the best bubble tea I’ve had. Ten Ren was my favorite, but now it’s Teado. The bubble tea tasted very refreshing, not too sweet, not too milky, the tea they use is just makes your taste buds happy, and the bubbles are just perfect. Everything about it was just perfect.
It’s the difference in ingredients that they use that makes their bubble tea stand out, none of that powdery stuff or artificial taste. No wonder the bubble teas are priced at ($ 3.50), it’s so worth it. I would pay a little more for better quality. The onigiris are smaller than the usual ones you get from other places like Yaya Tea Garden nearby and they are pretty good, makes a good snack. But, I still prefer Yaya’s onigri. They have that amazing sauce.

This small little tea shop is perfect if you are in need of a quick refreshment. I ordered the coconut slush with tapioca balls and was most pleased. It wasn’t too sweet but that’s just how I wanted it. My husband got the strawberry and coconut slush and it was even better than mine. My friend ordered a regular green tea with the balls and was happy until she tasted ours, after which she experienced buyers remorse!
The shop itself is only small but that doesn’t mean they haven’t made an effort with the interior. There’s brio on the wall, a hanging Mario from the ceiling and plenty of other things to look at while you wait for your drink to be made.
There are a couple of seats but nowhere for bigger groups.
The staff are friendly and even give you a sample of your drink to check it’s the right amount of sweet.