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Review Boba fête: hunting down the best tapioca tea shops in San Diego By Janice Fitch October 24, 2005 San Diego--Staring blankly at a never-ending list of teas on a tea shop menu board, I begin to understand George W. Bush’s famous assertion that “There should be limits to freedom.” Want something peach flavored? There’s peach milk tea, peach green tea, peach black tea, peach snow bubble, peach icy, and peach slush. Why not try something different, like the red bean or avocado-flavored blended drinks? At San Diego’s tapioca milk tea shops, customers of varying degrees of adventurousness are never short of options.
But pleasurable to whom? My uncle enjoyed the tea but deemed the texture of the tapioca balls “like fish eggs.” Young Asian-Americans almost exclusively formed the tapioca milk tea customer base in 2000, and five years later they’re a mainstay of the business. But a lot has changed. Tapioca tea’s popularity has since crossed ethnic and generational lines. The Convoy area no longer monopolizes the boba market. Milk tea is offered at stores and tea shops everywhere. In fact, San Diego’s tapioca tea enthusiasts can get their fix at more than eight locations. While the unique appeal of tea with tapioca is a draw, many frequent customers are fans of the tea shop ambiance as much as the tea itself. According to Victoria Huang, an employee at Tapioca Express on Regents, “People come in here and talk for hours with their friends, watch TV, and read magazines. It’s a place to meet up with people.” Most boba shops maximize the social atmosphere by staying open late and providing plenty of comfortable seating for large parties. “I think getting boba is a fun way to socialize,” says Alicia Chu, a UCSD student and self-described tapioca connoisseur. “Most boba places are filled with people who are my age, so when I’m there, I feel connected to people like myself. Of course, I also go for the drinks.” With so many drinks, drink modifications, and shops, it’s nearly impossible to run out of options.... Fusion Food & Boba Café 8038 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. This well-lit deli/tea shop offers a casual, comfortable ambiance and excellent service. True to its name, the deli offerings are diverse in both national origin and food quality. Fusion’s clientele is generally hip, young, and loyal to this particular boba destination. Try the chicken curry or the banana spring rolls. Tea Station 7315 Claremont Mesa Blvd. Tea Station may be as upscale as tapioca milk tea houses get. Customers can opt to dine in and enjoy drinking out of a glass cup at mahogany tables and chairs, or they can take their drink to go. The atmosphere is calming, at least until the blender starts running. Their exceptionally sweet, brown-sugar-infused tapioca is unique to the Tea Station chain and the best boba in San Diego. I had the very tasty, citrusy Aloe Vera Honey Tea. They have a ridiculous $20 credit card minimum, so consider yourself warned. Green Tea House Café 4646 Convoy St. This tiny café features something the other tea shops don’t—green boba. The drinks and atmosphere cater to a discriminating crowd who’d rather not deal with the hubbub of the trendy Tapioca Express several doors down, although some Fridays and Saturdays a DJ livens up the GTH. As a result, the focus is gourmet tea, not frilly decor. You can add a scoop of ice cream to your drink here to give it a creamier taste. Tapioca Express 4646 Convoy St. While tapioca milk tea connoisseurs disdainfully label Tapioca Express the Starbucks of milk tea, the tragically hip ambiance at this location is nothing to scoff at. Television sets and cushy white chairs abound, making this tea shop a trendy and inviting place to hang out on Friday night. Students dominate this tea shop, so if you’re over 30, you might be more comfortable at the slightly more expensive neighboring Green Tea House Café,…not that you’re old or anything. Order the spicy, crispy popcorn chicken and thank me later. Tea N More 7380 Clairemont Mesa Blvd #111 Tea N More is a casual hang-out location with an ample magazine supply and plenty of tables. They aren’t kidding about the “N More,” either. You can pay an hourly rate to read Asian comic books and anime books in their sectioned-off library, or buy Asian import DVDs. You can also take sticker pictures using the in-store photo booth. If you can’t tell so far, Tea N More’s customers tend to be heavily involved in Asian culture. Don’t let that scare you non-Asians away from quality Taiwanese food and scrumptious crepes. Tapioca Express 7770 Regents Rd. Although this store and the Tapioca Express on Convoy are parts of the same franchise, the two feel surprisingly different. While the Regents location is crowded at times, it is designed to appeal to the perpetually time-crunched UCSD students nearby. As a result, there are fewer sofas here and more students hitting the books with open laptops. Tapioca Express’s attractive employees provide uncanny recommendations and fine service. If you don’t want something fried, your food options are limited. The fried spicy potstickers and matcha snow bubble ( a blended drink version of green tea ice cream) are house favorites. Suggested Vyuz reading... After some interviews, 'We'll call you' means 'Have a nice life' | By Larry Knowles Thoughts from Viejas, the reservation that never sleeps | By Janice Fitch Hair styling in San Diego just doesn't cut it | By Romina Cleary |
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