I've had the opportunity to try a bunch of different drinks from Cha For Tea and I can say that it is definitely one of my favorite locations for boba beverages. If you have the Retail Therapy app, you can redeem a BOGO popcorn chicken & boba drink but with cash only! The customer service is friendly and the food comes out quickly. There are a few seating options since they do serve appetizers and meals here so it's nice for a quick break or lunch with a colleague. This location is in the University Town Center where parking is notorious for being difficult to find, but the adjacent parking lot is a lot easier than the other parts of UTC. I only wish that they had a stamp card here since I frequent the place so often. That's probably why I still waver between them and Sharetea right now. (35/100 - 2018) read more

This location is inside the University Center at UCI. Cha for Tea is at a corner next to Yogurtland and across from California Gogi. Parking can get really tight because there's so many students! The University Center is exactly what you'd imagine college life would be. Every time I come here, they try to offer me samples of their chicken and gyoza. It's made me want to and eventually order the "popcorn chicken", which isn't that bad. Not my favorite, but it'll do for a quick snack. I've tried the fried tofu, and I actually wish it weren't so healthy. It's not as fried and crunchy as I'd like. All the baristas here are pretty cool. They know what to say and try to help you decide what drink you feel like getting. I love their teas. They use fructose in their drinks instead of sugar - it makes me feel like I'm spending my money better. The almond milk tea is worth trying. Their blended chillers like "love at first sight" are extremely sweet. It's like a slush - you can try asking for less sweetener/fructose, but then I think that makes the drink worse. My favorite is the peach black tea with aloe vera and light ice. Adding aloe is an extra 47 cents and getting a large size is 98 cents. (They only have 2 sizes, btw: regular and large). Other thing to note: their aloe vera floats! When I get it at Half & Half, Quickly, or Lollicup, etc, the aloe is on the bottom. To this day, I haven't figured out why.. Mango black tea is another great tasting tea. And the boba - oh, the boba!! Get their boba balls, which are amazing! They're on the top of my list, close to Tea Station and Tastea. Glad to see they're opening in Pomona, near Cal Poly. If you post a photo of their grand opening sign on fb, you can get a free drink! read more

I've come here a few times and while I'm not super impressed by the drinks I would definitely come here for the chicken! The service is always really quick and the shop is in a nice location with a lot of outdoor seating. There is also a really nice lake nearby to take a little walk(: read more

Love this place! :p The service was super duper friendly, my Mango Ice tea was yummy yummy yummy..! My Orange chicken would have made my Trainer flip in his grave if you will, but it was oh-soooo-yyyuuummilicious! The ambiance of the place is so nice, warm yet bright and sunny! At the end of the day , i still prefer lollicup for my bubble tea needs, but I like this place nonetheless! :) read more

Cha For Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

Love love love love love. When I lived in San Diego, I would veer out of my way to drive to Cha from Disneyland at about midnight every Saturday just to get my beloved iced honey milk tea with boba. After only my 2nd visit, the manager, Eric, struck up convo from seeing me come in "so often." Being a social butterfly myself, the fact that he even remembered me struck a happy chord with me! Fast forward 2 years and here I am living in the OC, but of course. I visit Cha at least once a month and have personally brought at least 10 people to Cha thanks to my heightened descriptions of how amaaazing the food is. So here we go! Pros: 1) Bring cash and get 5% off!!! 2) Taiwanese sausage entrée with noodles instead of rice -- for only about $7, YOU can have this succulent dish filling your taste buds and nostrils with pleasure. Succumb to say, it is my favorite dish ever! 3) Crispy chicken -- another one of their most popular dishes and one of the best crispy chicken dishes I've ever had, rivaled only by Guppy's (which is overrated; Cha is #1!). 4) Almond milk tea and iced honey milk tea: My only orders, and I'm always one to try something new. The quality of the tea here is phenomenal, better than any boba I've had in the U.S.. 5) Open 'til 1 a.m. so you can get your late-night boba & meal cravings in. Be warned, however: the kitchen closes a bit early (perhaps 30 mins or earlier before closing time). 6) Customer service: Eric, the manager who works at nights, is the most attentive and kind manager I know. He remembers you and strikes up convo as if you've been his BFF for years. He always makes my friends and I feel sooo welcome and goes out of his way to provide excellent service, even when guests who dine in rarely ever leave tips. Thanks, Cha, for being a top reason to move to the OC ;) read more

Cha For Tea - Delicious pork sausage entree with noodles and my beloved honey milk tea with boba in the back! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

Absolute worst!!! I was over charged by Giovanni, who apparently wrote my name completely wrong and made me wait over a half hour to realize my drink had been sitting there for a half hour and he could not refund my money or get me fresh drinks because his supervisor wasn't there read more

[Actual: 2.5/3] Cha for Tea has been an UCI staple since I was in high school. Even on a Saturday night, you'll see lots of high school and college students hanging out in the large store. They have a lot of seating and the gray and yellow decor is modern, yet welcoming. Very quick service and friendly workers. Peach Passion Mint Refresher (3.5/5): Ordered this with less sugar = 3 (the regular comes with 4 pumps) and it came out with the perfect sweetness. It does have hints of peach, but mint definitely dominates. It reminds me of the Sleepytime tea by Celestial Seasonings that they sell at the grocery store. The tea is mint, but they don't use fresh mint to flavor it. The boba is on the soft side, but still a good amount of chew. Sampled: Hot Almond Milk Tea (3/5): Weak tea. Good sugar level. Good almond flavor, but watered down. Mango Green Tea (2/5): Again weak tea. Overwhelming mango syrup taste. Too sweet. Honey Green Milk Tea (1/5): Another weak tea. Even for a honey, it's so sweet it detracts from the green tea. Overall: I'm sure back when Lollicup was the only competition, Cha for Tea was THE place to be at. But with the boba culture evolving, Cha for Tea still hasn't gotten with the times. Their teas are very weak and it's obvious they still depend on flavored syrups to make their drinks sweet. For some it may revoke nostalgia, but for others there are better options out there. read more

Cha For Tea - Peach Passion Mint Refresher with 3 pumps of sweetness. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

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When I had been here before, it was an absolute sh$%show. I was pleasantly shocked at how much it changed. They renovated and redid the layout so that the line is somewhat more orderly. It's still pretty packed though--with lots of high school and college kids. I quickly ordered my honey green milk tea and my popcorn chicken (spicy ftw) and was out of there within fifteen minutes. Not bad at all. I also noticed they no longer have food plate options--now it's just popcorn chicken itself. Still, it was a quick, cheap meal that got me full, so I ain't complaining. read more

I like that it has vegan options, and opened late. I usually get the crispy tofu combo with a Mango green tea.

Cha for Tea is the main boba establishment in UTC, and you'll frequently see this shop get packed late at night. For all the hype I heard about it, I wasn't really impressed with their drinks. I've tried the Mango Green Tea (their most popular), and the hot Almond Milk Tea during cold December nights. The nice thing about hot drinks is that if you order your drink with boba, they give you a cute little spoon to help you scoop your boba out of the coffee style cup! As for the flavors, I found them better than average, but not amazing. The Mango Green Tea tasted like your standard, super sweet fruit tea (I would go for less sweet on this flavor). The Almond Milk Tea was a bit better, as I could taste the delicate blend of the almond flavor with black tea. I think the main reason why Cha is extremely popular though, is the way they make their boba. It always comes out warm, and it is extra chewy and soft compared to other boba establishments. The boba instantly deflates as you chew into it, and there isn't much "hardness" or bounce-back you'd usually get in regular boba. Service has always been good, and the cashiers/workers here are always working hard to pump out drinks fast. The store can get pretty loud inside, and the tables are sticky 90% of the time, so I wouldn't really recommend studying here. I think if you're in Irvine or touring UCI, it's worth a try, but this place isn't a staple in my go-to boba shops. read more

Cha For Tea - Small Honey Rosebud tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

I am a UCI alumni and I have been going to Cha for approx 20 years and their drinks and food is the absolute best!!! No other boba place has tasted this amazing to me. (You can also request non dairy milk and also adjust the sweetness level as well) read more

I really loved my passion fruit mint refresher as well as their dumplings. Prices are fair, so is the quality. Service is great, store very modern and bright. They can customize the drinks to your liking. I get it half sweet or less and it is perfect. Great place to grab a drink or snack while in the area, highly recommended! read more

Love the popcorn chicken and hot almond black milk tea here. Although very spicy is almost non-spicy. Is the pepper just for coloring? Today we used their online order ahead system and it sucks! We got our popcorn chicken quickly but the drink makers won't hand your drink to you directly even when it's ready, they tell you to wait for the cashier to hand it to you, so when the cashier is stuck with a big group ordering (which was what happened to us), you're stuck there waiting until everyone is done ordering. All the people who were in line when we entered the store got their drinks before us We're just going to get in line from now on read more

Cha 4 tea is pretty good for the price and location. Better than share tea for sure but just your standard boba. I like the green milk tea the best with 3 pumps sweetener. The mango green tea is nice and refreshing but on the sweeter side (I would recommend gettin less sweet and no boba with it). read more

Cha For Tea - Green milk tea, honey green milk tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

i go there all the time, but today I found a piece of plastic inside of my drink. I was drinking it then all of a sudden felt something sharp in my mouth. I spit it out and turned out it was plastic. read more

Cha For Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

I think Cha For Tea is the most popular in this plaza. It really depends if you like the taste to decide Cha For Tea is good. This Matcha Latte was on the sweeter side and I'll probably would have enjoyed less without the pearls. Drinks are more expensive than other places but service is fast and friendly. A high but solid 3. read more

Cha For Tea - Macha Matcha Latte Tea 3.5/5 - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

Post 7 months ago, change has happened with staff! Seems much friendlier and helpful even in the busiest of days!! We love Cha read more

LUCY is THEE BEST!!! What patience can one possess? 1st drink: way too sweet for my sweet tooth. What does she do BEFORE I even start drinking it? Warns me, it just might not work out. It didn't. 2nd drink: remade without a problem, recommended it ahead of time and brought it out to me personally again!!! Keep both drinks she says. Class at its best!!! read more

Cha For Tea - Almond black tea, light ice, double boba, fruit jelly. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

They have food again! $11 combo for boba n food makes food $5.50, pretty good deal considering you can't get chicken n noodles for less than 6 bucks anywhere else in UTC. Def not 5 star boba like Omomo but they're open late (Irvine late lol) and there's always a line at night, so you know it doesn't suck :) read more

Cha For Tea - Curry chicken with noodles - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

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Peach green tea with boba is my fave!! Best boba hands down!! Perfect consistency and fresh. Very friendly service. Order online since it gets busy! read more

15+ year Cha for Tea addict. Never had better boba. Cha is the best. Seriously love Cha. read more

Cha For Tea - Drew this back in high school. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

Great place for affordable boba and the service is pretty quick too! Lines can be long depending on the time of day, mostly during noon and in the evening. read more

Just received my food order and the chicken curry was full of bones and my salad had a dead moth in it. Place should be shut down. Disgusting. read more

Cha For Tea - Dead moth in my salad, chicken curry was full of bones. This place is disgusting. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

I am blown away this place only has 3 stars! This has to be one of the busiest boba places in OC and they do an amazing job keeping up with the demand! I have traveled all over drinking bubble tea including Taiwan where it originated and this place is up to par with the best shops around! Special thanks to Lucie who always has a great attitude and a yes mentality! (You made my friends evening the other day!) Side note: if you are one of those Yelpers who are writing bad reviews because of Covid... I don't wish bad things upon you but maybe realize these business are doing their best and masks can't be required for medical reasons so they can't force it on everyone. Stay positive and we'll all get past this and anything else life throws at us! :) read more

Several years ago, Cha for Tea didn't leave a great first impression for me. As someone from an area with a lot of milk tea establishments, I found the prices to be too high (I was a college student at the time =P) and was really annoyed that many of my drinks consisted of 2/3 ice in the cup. Needless to say, I frequented to other boba tea places in Irvine, which were lacking in number at the time. What time can do. I've been to this place three times within the last several months and have a totally different impression of it. I find the service to be friendly and professional and the drinks to be of much better quality than in the past. The interior of the building, like most hip boba places, is neat and brightly lit. I'm a bit of a sucker for the California Ice Green Tea but still like the Almond milk tea as well. One other thing, this place can get pretty busy as a hang out so make sure to take advantage of the outdoor seating. It's worth noting Cha for Tea stays busy due to it's close proximity to UCI and next door neighbor Pinkberry. read more

More like a 3.5/5 stars. Okay Cha for Tea has a special place in my heart in that it was the first place where I actually tried tea and liked it. I was never a fan of tea until I started UCI. When I first came here, I actually got the strawberry cooler (I think that's what it's called). It was good but it's essentially a slushy that isn't worth the $4.00 you spend on it. Later on, I sampled the almond milk tea (yes!! They have samples!!!) and I really liked it so I gave it a go. I think I fell in love with almond milk tea after that and I've never gotten anything BUT almond milk tea here. The almond milk tea is really good. I usually get it with boba but you can choose other things to add in too. Now here's where I take the stars off... I was shortly introduced to milk tea boba from lollicup, otherwise known as "$2 boba". Actually, I don't like milk tea as much but I like lollicups almond milk tea and there's a price difference. It's true, you have to drive to go to lollicup but they have coupons and it's slightly cheaper. It's also creamier (the almond milk tea) at lollicup. And their food. Their food honestly is a little dry. I got the fried tofu as a snack and it didn't taste good by itself until I dipped it in a lot of sauce. It's a little on the bland side as well and mine was cold so I don't think this is the best place to eat at. It is cheap though. Overall, my favorite drink here is almond milk tea. It's a good change from lollicup if you're sick of lollicup. I would try something here at least once because they do have good drinks. But if you want something to get regularly, lollicup is better for your wallet. read more

Cha For Tea - Strawberry cooler. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

Decided to visit Cha for Tea after so long and I gotta say I probably won't be coming back for a while, especially with the abundance of nearby boba options including ShareTea or Snow Monster. I ordered a large jasmine milk tea w/ boba and light on ice and ended up w/ a drink that was not topped off and diluted. The only reason the dilution was apparent was because the sample I literally tried a few seconds before ordering had a much stronger taste. I guess it was a good marketing move to make the samples taste really good so that you end up ordering it. The boba was also decent as it was lukewarm, chewy, and mildly sweet. The drinks are a bit pricier compared to other places too, so I'd expect a better flavor profile. I also tried the strawberry cooler drink which was alright, but it had an artificial strawberry taste to it. It reminds me of the strawberry slush that you can get from Lollicup. Overall, I would recommend going to ShareTea for your boba desires. Heck I'd even recommend Yogurtland over this place and it is next door lol. With so many dessert options nearby, Cha for Tea needs to step up its game. read more

I always stop by here on my drive down to San Diego solely for their peach green tea with boba. I personally love the consistency of the boba here, more on the softer side. I also think their peach green tea is one of the best I've had hence why I always come back here. read more

if you're a uci student or just looking for quick boba nearby go to cha..!!!! just beware ..... it's really sweet;; i would recommend getting 1 pump of sweetness on each fruit drink. i like their almond milk tea a lot too, most of the time it doesn't have a drying after taste like most almond milk teas. they also recently put back their indoor seating so u can study inside as well!! read more

Cha For Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

We were looking for a boba place that opens late and found this place on Yelp. We've been to this area and tried this place before. They were busy because it's close to a university. We ordered a matcha latte for my daughter, taro milk tea for the hubby, and roasted brown sugar milk tea for me. So far, my baby liked it. might come back here if we're gonna be around the area. read more

The best place to get Boba hands down. They never disappoint, but there is usually a long line. They are open late and their brown sugar Boba milk latte is the best! read more

Wait: the line can get very long but they're pretty fast with making drinks Service: efficient! Drinks: one of my top boba spots. Their almond milk tea is the best thing anywhere and the honey boba is so good. The fried chicken and sauce or so worth as well! Other: samples do drinks in line and samples of food at the register read more

Cha For Tea - Hot Almond Milk Tea w/ Boba - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

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It isn't the best, isn't the worse. Always helpful when taking orders and they're open late. Will keep coming back. Decent food with boba and that's hard to find late night. read more

My favorite creamy drink here is the almond milk black tea (iced or hot) depending on the weather. During cold weather, the hot almond milk tea is a comforting (albeit sweet if not adjusted) treat. It comes in a sipping cup with a spoon attached to scoop boba up at the bottom of the drink. So fun! I occasionally substitute the non dairy creamer with soy milk. I always adjust the sweetness to 0% as I don't enjoy very sweet drinks. My favorite refreshing drink is the mango green iced tea. It is delicious! I adjust it to 0% sweetness and 50% I've always, and it's still sweet because the mango flavor is from syrup. The extra sweetness is extra sugar syrup, which is unnecessary for me. Favorite snack food: Popcorn chicken. EXTRA spicy and don't get it twisted. Such a yummy quick meal alongside a drink. read more

Came here at lunch time because my friend wanted french toast or brick toast from Cha For Tea, but as it turned out they no longer served it here. (Did it ever though?) In any case, the line was long, but not *too long*, so we decided to each get a tea to go. During the line, there is a little sample station at which you could get a taste of various tea products. I dunno if that's something they do at all Cha For Tea locations, but it's a nice touch. It got some brownie points from me. Finally, it was my turn to order, and I went with the classic mango green tea. I honestly don't frequent these boba places enough to know what's good anymore, so I went with the most popular and recommended choice. I was also feeling a bit adventurous, so I added some lychee jelly to my drink. I also opted for less sweet option, which is like... 2 pumps of syrup less? I can't recall now. My friend went with a classic tea drink, I dunno what flavor, but with boba. Pricing was reasonable, similar to other boba places. My drink was whipped up within the next 5 minutes or so. Wow! Such quick service! Although the line was long, the wait for the actual tea product was extremely, extremely short. I thought I was gonna have to wait forever since it was rush hours. That was very shocking and pleasant, and partially why it landed a 5-star rating with me. Another reason why I enjoyed this place was the cashier; he was very polite. The drink itself wasn't that great, but that's because it turned out that lychee jelly doesn't really go with my mango green tea drink. In fact, it made it sweeter than I intended it to be. Lychee and mango flavor kinda clashed as well. (I didn't factor this into my rating, but just at tip for ya.) The silver lining was that as the ice melted in my drink and diluted the flavor in the process, it became better and better tasting. I don't like my drink that sweet, and I got to drink it for quite a long while, haha. (I even added more of my own water in my cup later, and the watered down drink lasted me a good hour, lol.) My friend loved the consistency of the boba balls... so go with the safer choice next time. The shop itself was kinda small. Seating was very limited inside, but there're more hang-out spots outside. read more

Cha For Tea - Cha cha cha! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

Just a classic for anyone from University High or UCI, opens until late nights and decent drinks/popcorn chicken. I've always gotten the almond black tea since I was a kid but I've had the entire menu front to back LOL and it's all pretty decent. read more

Such a classic spot. Came here during undergrad and just stopped by again recently. Huge fan of the mango green tea and almond milk tea. Their fried chicken is tasty and a good quick bite. read more

Similar to Tea Station with various boba drinks, entrees, appetizers, and noodle soup, Cha for Tea distinguishes itself from other establishments by using real tea leaves for their beverages and cuisine. I ordered Basil Chicken (simmered marinated chicken in basil sauce) accompanied by rice and 2 sides; the presentation and flavor of the food were average. Although they offer vegetarian entrees, it's 2 types of tofu or string bean. Nothing spectacular, a boba drink (~$4) and an entrée (~7) add up to about $11, quick and easy meal nearby UCI campus. Lots of students study here and enjoy the free AC, so it may be hard to grab a table for groups at times. read more

Cha For Tea - Basil Chicken - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

I got Thai tea here and it was not good. I get Thai tea a lot in general from many places but this place definitely sells sub par Thai tea. Won't be coming back here again. Service staff was rude, talked to me as if he was in a rush even though there was one other person behind me in line. If I asked a question, they would just look at you weird and talk to you in an unfriendly tone. read more

Can I get a Black Milk Tea with no Boba and less Sugar? ugh.. yes! I love this drink because it has more tea flavor than the other milk tea places that I have been to. I have shared this drink with my friends and no they are milk tea drinkers too! Staff is always super friendly and very helpful. If you don't like your drink, they will happily remake it for you. They always have tea and snack samples available. read more