Pop Tea Bar

Average tea. Should ask for extra sugar because really bland and watered down. Wouldn’t go again though. Rather get tea in Milpitas or San Jose.

The service was so friendly! The two employees were so nice. Even though they had a line, they were still courteous. Other places aren’t as polite. I ordered the lychee milk tea with boba and black tea, 50% ice and 100% sweetness and honey milk tea with boba and black tea, 50% ice and 100% sweetness. Both drinks were delicious. The lychee milk tea actually tasted like lychee and not the artificial syrup taste. The honey milk tea was great and you can taste the black tea, unlike other places, where all you taste is the milk.

Awesome tea, tastes very authentic and fresh. Can adjust sweetness and ice levels. Would recommend classic milk tea or matcha milk tea. Service is great; when we asked for ice water, they gave us cooled water that had been boiled rather than tap (just a small detail that most drink shops overlook). Barista was also very helpful I explaining drink options. Bathroom was very clean and well maintained.

Our main boba place during the daily grind. They have lots of flavors to choose from many toppings as well. I usually get a taro slush, mango slush, & the good ‘ol milk tea is great too. The staff is friendly and it is in a great location near lots of shops and across from a parking garage… Convenient.

This will probably become a regular stop for us when we’re at Stanford for taekwondo. The drinks are huge (my daughter put the other half of hers in the fridge for tomorrow) and very good. Great customer service.
They have an organic milk option; sweet! But we opted for straight fruit teas. Mango passionfruit was outstanding. We all got light sugar, and agreed that next time we would go without any. If you don’t typically drink sugary sweet drinks, you’ll probably feel the same way. I’m on a major sugar buzz at the moment and dreading the crash later. Oh well. The fruit jellies and juice add enough sweetness on their own. My son had grapefruit green tea with tapioca pearls, and his was very good as well.

Pop Tea Bar not only has great boba tea, but also are very kind. My school was having a cultural festival, and being in the Asian Culture club, we wanted to sell boba tea. The problem is that it can be expensive. I emailed Pop Tea Bar, and two days later, they replied. They were very understanding, and we were able to settle a deal that there would be 30% off of our purchase. We bought 80, and when we sold it, it sold out in 5 minutes! Although it’s small, it’s a very nice place. I would rate even higher if I could! Their sweetness level is awesome. I get honey milk tea with black tea, tapioca balls, less ice, and 100% sugar. It’s delicious!

I love this place. I will drive to Palo Alto from MV for their passion fruit milk tea. Their tapioca is soft. At first I wasn’t sure if I liked it or if I preferred more of a chew, but it turns out I’m an old lady with weak jaws. I’m all about soft boba now!
Their popcorn chicken was delicious. Good cuts of meat (very little fat) and perfect seasoning. I was a little disappointed that the first time I ordered it no basil was included, then disappointed a second time when basil was included but raw and thrown on top. Come on… you’re almost there! Maybe I’ll hit the jackpot the next time I order it.
Service is always fantastic! Friendly and patient. My new fave boba place — just wish they were in MV. Though if they were, I’d forego all real meals for boba.

Minus one star because the first time I tried to go to this place — on a Sunday in the middle of the Cal Ave farmers’ market, when both Unilocal and their storefront claimed they were open — they were closed with no note. Boo.
I finally managed to make it inside today, though, and I’m glad I did! They have a fairly simple drink menu for a boba place, which I really appreciated because usually I get totally overwhelmed by the endless possible flavors and combinations, plus a few food dishes.
But what really made me happy was the sign advertising that they carry decaf tea! I ordered a decaf earl grey milk tea with boba, no ice, and 25% sugar. It was great! Their boba has a great texture: soft but still a bit gummy. Plus, they offer 10% off for students!
I’m sure I’ll be back!

Great selection of flavors, but the drinks are soooo sweet, so make sure you ask for less sweet.
I would order: White Agar Boba for sure!

Another mediocre boba shop in Palo Alto.
Pros:
— White Agar Boba — nice and crunchy, sweet
— Option for real milk, soy or creamer
— Super friendly, great service.
— I prefer «less than 25%» sweet with light creamer.
— Jasmine milk tea probably my favorite of the bunch.
— There’s a student discount and punch card system!
Cons:
— Matcha too sweet. They use a sweetened matcha premix (not pure matcha powder)
— Black Milk tea (ask for 25%) tastes like Lipton
Current rankings
1. Gong Cha — Best tea flavor
2. Green Leaf — Best avocado boba
3. Pop tea — no lines, fast service, fresh boba
4. Chatime, Teaspoon — some interesting flavors
5. T4 — Often very slow lines

small shop serving boba teas, fruit teas and various prepackaged snacks… counter order and wait for calling… pick your drink, select your level of desired sweetness and provide ice instructions… customized drinks… taro pearl milk tea will be roughly $ 5…about 5 minutes for drink to be made… standard size and taste…

Originally I thought Pop Tea Bar was associated to the Cool Tea Bar chain but they’re not and they’re actually a friendly family owned café that offers refreshing mixed tea drinks.
Pros
Roasted Oolong w/​seasalt Crema: loved the boldness of their roasted oolong. With a customization of 30% sweetness, you can enjoy the strong flavors of the tea with a salty aftertaste from the crema.
Grapefruit Green Tea: refreshing and not overly sweet. I also like the bitterness from the grapefruit pulps.
Service: the workers were kind and informative about answering my questions regarding their teas.

Such friendly ladies working here!
My cousin and I were gonna go shopping at Stanford Shopping Center but before that we wanted to get boba so Unilocal was used and we found this place.
Parking is all on the streets and time limited. The inside of this place is a decent size, honestly I didn’t stay around long enough to explore it more and take in what was available, but I did notice that they sell snacks as well! I didn’t get any, but maybe next time. Their drink menu is also very simple and I was surprised that they didn’t have earl grey milk tea, I thought that was a standard for most places but aw well.
The ladies here were quick to answer my question and after taking our orders, a roasted oolong milk tea and a black regular milk tea, they gave us a stamp card. The cashier had a lot of enthusiasm even after giving us our drinks which was nice.
Overall, good solid place. The drinks were delicious and my cousin and I enjoyed them.

Very cool boba spot in the seemingly calmer part of Palo Alto. Was worried about finding parking, but there was lots of street parking available (also a parking garage nearby too). I had totally forgotten that this was the same Pop Tea Bar with locations around the Bay. I really enjoy their tea. This spot has a nice little patio set up in the back too. There really isn’t much seating though, but luckily it wasn’t busy when I went. They’ve got a decent food selection here in addition to tea. Overall a cool spot if you happen to need a boba fix in Palo Alto.

The place is in a bit of a random location; it’s on Cambridge, which is a street or two behind Cal Ave, where all the other restaurants and bars are. It’s not a far walk if you want boba after eating lunch/​dinner. My friends and I wanted boba after happy hour about half a mile away, so we walked here. I had been here before and it’s a decent spot in the area. I don’t think there are many choices within walking distance… unless you go towards downtown Palo Alto.
My friend got the Happy Family, which has like 4 different things in it – boba, some jelly (lychee?), egg pudding, and something else. I went with the honey green tea and boba. I think the tea flavor could have been stronger, but overall, a decent drink. Boba is $ 0.50 extra and they didn’t skimp on it! Drinks are on average $ 4 + additional cost for toppings.
There’s a parking garage across the street as well as street parking, but it does get crowded in the area during meal hours. There also isn’t a lot of seating… There’s a small back patio, 2 – 3 tables inside, and 2 tables outside in front of the store.

Mango green tea with egg pudding was a good choice! It had little pieces of shreaded mango, which was a nice touch. Limited seating, but the place was empty when my friend and I were there. Free parking lot across the street on weekends and after 5pm on weekdays.
I will have to come back to try more flavors, but overall I was satisfied with the boba here!

Such high hopes… And an even bigger let down.
After seeing a 4.5 star rating, I was practically squealing with excitement when my hubby drove me to Pop Tea Bar. Sitting on a side road in a dimly lit area, it is certainly one of the most random places we have ever been to for boba. Honestly, how can anyone find this place when it is tucked away from the main street? Thank goodness for navigation because there was no way we would be able to find it ourselves!
Inside, there isn’t much in terms of decoration, just large flat screen televisions utilized as menus, a bookcase of snacks, and the typical counter/​register. Going for the basic drinks, my hubby chose the «happy family» which was a milk tea with a variety of toppings and I got the classic green milk tea.
Service here is a little spotty. The person at the register spoke way too fast and with his heavily accented English, it just made it nearly impossible to understand him. The other guy behind him was also terrible at explaining things when I asked him about one of their toppings. Their menu had something labeled just as «pudding» and I asked him if that was the same as egg pudding. His response? «No, then it would be called egg pudding.»
RUDE. So incredibly rude. I just went for grass jelly instead. If my mood wasn’t already soured enough, the drinks at Pop Tea Bar certainly weren’t poppin’. Undeniably plain and yet overly creamy, it was just a strange drink all around. My hubby’s drink had red bean that was grainy and I barely had any flavor in my tea. In fact, calling it «tea» was a stretch. All we could taste was milk. Just an over abundance of milk. Blegh!
On top of the mediocre service, Pop Tea Bar just wasn’t to our liking. Why this place has such high ratings, we will never understand; But for us, it definitely doesn’t warrant a second visit.

I came in right around when they opened, and I think I was the first customer in, along with another girl who walked in right behind me. There was one guy behind the counter, and he informed us that the cashier had not yet arrived, but would be there shortly, and that we could order our drinks in the meantime. I perused the menu and decided on the Fresh Milk with Wintermelon. The guy asked me what kind of milk I wanted, which doesn’t normally happen at boba places! He told me that I could choose between whole, 2%, fat free, soy, and almond. Yes, they have SOY AND ALMOND!!! I was so happy to hear this, because usually I just assume that my milk tea comes with normal whole milk, or even powdered creamer at the cheaper places. So, even though I wasn’t sure how boba would taste with alternative milk options, I happily decided on almond milk. Sure enough, my drink was delicious. SO good.
When the cashier walked in as the other guy finished making my drink, he kept apologizing for being late, even though it had made no difference to me. He was very sincere, and attended to the two of us in the shop the second he walked in. He even offered me napkins when I struggled to get my straw through the seal… LOL embarrassing.
Five stars for this place, mostly because of their alternative milk options. Not sure if they charge extra though, as I was too busy rejoicing over this fact to pay attention. Not to mention, you can also adjust sweetness and ice level. And on top of this, these guys have fantastic customer service. Two thumbs up!!!

Pop Tea Bar is a small establishment with front seating on the sidewalk and seating in the back. They have a nice decent selection of drinks. Nothing crazy like other milk tea boba places. Really great service from start to finish. We got the Grapefruit Fresh Fruit Green Tea and Honey Lemon Black Tea w/​Mixed Fresh Fruit Bite. Both drinks had a lot of fruit bites and came out perfect because you customize sweetness and ice level. I know I’ve said this many time before and I’ll say it again. Don’t forget to ask for a stamp card.

I gave Pop Tea Bar a couple more tries and things are looking better!
Peach Green Tea (25% sweet, aloe vera topping)
— The tea strength was very strong so that was a plus! The peach flavor was subtle. Aloe vera bits tasted very refreshing and went really well with drink. Overall, a solid fruity tea!
Kiwi Lemon Tea (50% sweet, boba pearls and kiwi bits)
— I have never had a better kiwi boba drink. Most places simply add some artificial tasting kiwi syrup, but Pop Tea Bar’s kiwi flavor is true to the fresh fruit. The kiwi bits also add to the authentic fruit taste. Boba pearls were nice and chewy (unlike the first time I had Pop Tea Bar when the pearls were hard and still floury on the inside).
Classic Milk Tea (Green tea, 50% sweet)
— This is your classic milk green tea with no complaints. The tea strength is moderate. Every boba place has to have a decent milk tea and Pop Tea Bar does have that requirement checked off!
Next time, I will be trying more of their fresh fruit drinks! :D