I love boba!  I think on average, I will get it once a week, sometimes 2 or 3 times during just one weekend.  Although sometimes, the 2 or 3 days in a row makes it a little too much to handle.  Anyway, a while back I did some boba reviews and I think it’s time for an updated one.  But just for fun, here are the old ones first, the new review below, and lastly, a fun story.  Enjoy!
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Friday, November 05, 2004
my two cents on boba
–boba bliss sucks, the milk tea didn’t even TASTE like milk tea, in fact i couldn’t even tell what it tasted like…lets just say..trying to save money by going to a non-asian place (no offense to non-asian people) was not a good idea
–quickly is ehhh, their milk tea taste like coffee, i don’t like coffee and milk tea isn’t supposed to taste like that, in fact their snow bubble or whatever tastes weird too, the only good thing at quickly is slushies on hot summer days
–tea n more is okay for its special 1/2 off after 9pm, they have tiny cups and the milk tea tastes as good as its priced, for the half price deal that is
–tapioca express is satisfying, expensive in SD but much cheaper at home, although not worth it for its almost 3 dollar charge, in fact i can get a large at home for the price of a regular here in sd, it tastes good…it tastes good when the boba is good, they should have more 99cent specials
–tea station, i used to not like tea station because the milk tea was so sweet, but i have come to like it, the green tea that is, i only get green tea at tea station and green tea house, and every once in a long while at tap x, anyway…pricey as well, but tastes good, and they have fun straws
–green tea house cafe, best stuff, pricey but good, good green milk tea, good green boba, mmmm that stuff is so good, add a scoop of ice cream and if you know me well, you can hear me say, mmmmm this is soooooooooooooooo goooooooooooood, and this is only if they make it right, once they made it wrong and forgot the sugar and it tasted like water, and then we asked for a new one and they overloaded the sugar and nearly killed us all, so now every time i do go, I’m skeptical, i say, “i hope they made it right this time”, but its been alright since then

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life plaza, hmm I’m not sure where to place life plaza boba, ive only gotten boba there maybe once or twice believe it or not, guess I’ll have to try it out when I’m home before i give my opinion on it

Wednesday, November 02, 2005
I Love You No More…
What happened to you?  You used to be so great.  I used to brag to my friends about you.  I told them you were the best.  I took every opportunity to see you and I looked forward to being together.  You used to be so sweet.  This last time we met, I could almost feel a slight bitterness in you.  When I pointed that out, you tried to sugar coat it, but you couldn’t.  I already felt the bitterness and you tried to turn it around, but it just wasn’t the same. Sometimes you’re too mushy, other times you’re not enough.  It’s no longer consistent.  Every time we meet up my mind is already filled with the doubt you left me with last time.  I no longer know what to expect anymore.  I’m not sure I can do this any longer.  Sorry, green tea house cafe, your boba is no longer good enough for me…

Oops, forgot the date, too bad.
Boba.  Yep, a whole section devoted to tapioca.  I went to try this new or rather, different boba place earlier tonight.  It was called Tapioca Heaven.  They claim to be the home of strawberry boba or the makers of it or something.  Their prices were alright, just about the average tapx prices, slightly cheaper depending on what drink.  I got the “original milk tea”, that wasn’t that good.  They had four kinds of boba, strawberry, green tea, brown honey sugar (something like that), and the same thing but in minis.  I didn’t know what to get and since they claim to be the king of strawberry boba I decided to get that.  It wasn’t that good.  My friend got a strawberry lemonade slush with strawberry boba.  She liked it, I didn’t so much.  The best was my other friend getting jasmine milk tea with green tea boba.  The jasmine milk tea was pretty good but I still don’t know about their boba.  Sorry Tapioca Heaven, you do not rate high on my boba list.
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And now for the most recent boba reviews… By the way, these reviews are based on the “original” boba drinks, either green milk tea or black milk tea, because I almost never get the other kinds.

Teastation – I go here most frequently because it is the closest one to my house.  The boba is good. The milk tea is sweet.  Too sweet.  It is also very pricey here.  Ridiculously pricey if you eat in.  I think a large to-go is about $4 but if you sit in it is close to $6.  Are you kidding me?  $6 for a drink?  That’s equivalent to those mixed alcoholic drinks!  How can boba compare to alcohol…  Anyway, I can rant more about Teastation and what I do not like about them, but this is about boba, so I’ll leave it at that.

TapX – I rarely go to TapX anymore, but I do make a stop when I am in La Jolla.  The milk tea is good, the boba is decent, and the price is good.  I think it’s about $3.  Although, on a bad day, the boba might be too mushy or too hard.

Tea N More – I have started to come to this place more often.  I think the price is reasonable and the milk tea is decent – still a little sweet but not ridiculously sweet like Teastation.  The boba is also good.  A regular is $3 and a large is $3.50.

Quickly – I never go here anymore.  There are some up in LA.  The milk tea is not good.  But the price is cheap.  This place is not worthy.  I will go here if I am in the vicinity and feel like boba.

Tenren – I think these are the same people as Teastation and if not their boba is very similar.

Champion (Irvine) – Pam told me this place had the BEST boba.  I stopped by there and was not impressed.  Nothing special, sorry.

Tapioca Heaven – My first experience here was not good (as you read above).  However, I’ve only tried it once, so I am willing to try again.  Anyone up for it?

Green Tea House – I have never returned since the two bad incidents.

Bobalicious – Cheap but the boba fails.  The tea, on two separate occasions, made me feel like throwing up after.  FAIL.

Boba at Vietnamese Restaurants – Too mushy.  The drinks are not that good.  Not worth the price.

QCup (NorCal?) – I’ve been to QCup (I think that is what it’s called) on a few separate occasions.  It was not good at all the first time.  The 2nd time, ehhh.  So no to QCup.

Fantasia (San Jose) – I’ve been here once and I can’t quite remember how the drink tasted.  Considering I can’t remember, it must not have been that good.  What I do remember though is that I asked for a large drink and they looked at me like I was crazy.  Large?  Apparently, they don’t have large.  What the dumb.  How can you not serve LARGE?

99 Ranch – I don’t know if they sell boba in the 99 ranch down here in SD, but up in LA, they do.  It’s super cheap and it’s not bad.  I recommend it.

So, I’m trying to think of more places but I can’t.  Are there others in SD?  Oh yes, I’ve been meaning to try Guppy Tea House up in LA.  Yes, I’ve heard about all the shaved ice madness, but are the drinks good?

Anyway, so when it comes down to it, I frequent mainly 3 places, Teastation, Tea N More, and TapX.  I realize I don’t have a strong favorite, but I guess if I have to pick one, I would pick TapX (just not the one on Convoy, due to the crazy parking lot).
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On yet another note, there is this other great drink up in LA at this place called Phoenix.  It has the mini clear tapioca and diced fruit in it, and sits in some type of coconut milk flavor and is delicious!!  You must try it!  I just warn you to NOT look for the Irvine store because it does not exist which we found out through a short adventure of ours.

I was going to tell another story here about boba, but I’ll save it for a separate post as this has gotten quite long.

What is your favorite boba place and why?