Giving one star because can't post my review with out it but they deserve no stars!!!! After purchasing your food/drinks if your paying with cash check your bills, this place gave me a 20 dollar fake bill and when I told them about it they said they couldn't do any thing about it and yet they said they check their bills to see if there real or not before receiving them from the customers, please the cashier didn't even check my 50 dollar bill after I gave it to her. Check your bills ! They give fake money here! read more

Management at the UCI location did nothing to stop my daughter from being harassed during her visit. My daughter is a high school student, and has been a regular customer of Cha. Today she and her friend were harassed by a couple of beggars for an extended period of time, and the beggars blocked their way from leaving Cha. My daughter felt threatened, and eventually handed over all of her money after nobody came to help her. The manager (Alan) was at least somewhat aware of what was happening (he eventually walked over and asked if everything was okay, but then walked away when nobody responded), but he did not intervene. He claims that it is not his responsibility to intervene unless the customer explicitly asks for help. He also refused to reimburse my daughter for the money that was taken. As you can see from the attached photo, this location is small, so management should have no problem monitoring the store and protecting its customers. In this case they just chose not to. Just thought you should know before going there. read more

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

Delicious boba drinks and teas! They also have food options but I have never tried. My favorite thing to get here is the thai tea with lychee and I usually get it half sweetened. Their green tea hot is also very good and fresh. They use tea leaves and not tea bags so you can taste the freshness. I prefer to get it with no sweetener. Their drinks taste the same every time and you always get what you want. You can see the workers perfectly measuring the drinks and ratio of add ins every time for a nice uniform taste so you always get what you expect. It is always packed and I highly recommend it here. Hip place near UCI and they are also open extremely late compared to other places. Very alive environment and I even see people studying or doing work here. Parking is always available as well and there is a nice fountain right outside with plenty of outdoor seating too. read more

Cha For Tea - Thai tea with Lyche - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

Best Boba yet... perfectly cooked, tender and warm bobas And the crispy chicken is a must order ! I'm glad I stopped by today - friendly staff and clean space. read more

Even in the midst of competition nearby with Snow Monster (disgusting and extremely low that they place their advertisement right in front of Cha for Tea) and ShareTea, this place has been a consistent staple. Service is a bit slow but the taste is always spot on. I can never get enough of their honey green milk tea. read more

The almond milk tea is probably the only reason I go and would come back. Their boba is not as good as I remembered it--was a bit too chewy and soft today. I also got the Cajun sweet potato fries-- they taste like sweet potato fries covered in the same seasoning they would put on the crispy chicken. Decent. Overall, not a bad boba place at all but also not my favorite place ever. read more

i always go here with my boyfriend and we always get the popcorn chicken (use retail therapy for coupons!) and i love my thai milk tea here yummm cravings !! read more

The drinks are delicious. The line is normally long but the staff are really quick with making the drinks! Highly recommend!

Order: Honey Green Tea with half aloe vera and half boba I was very pleased with the service here but unfortunately I didn't enjoy my drink. The employees at Cha for Tea were super friendly and helpful, offering samples outside and making sure I knew how their system worked. I also love that they have samples of their most popular drinks. I was disappointed with my drink ,the honey green tea , because it didn't taste like there was any honey or sweetener in it. I even asked one of the workers if they sweeten the green tea with real honey, so I was disappointed when I tried the bitter drink. Also, my drink was missing boba when I received it so I had to ask them to add it in. Sadly, it didn't seem like they really take their time to craft each drink here because they made a couple mistakes on mine. read more

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

Very nice inside but the cups break open the tops are cheap. They gave me the cup and by the time i get to my car it broke and spilled everywhere. Terrible place to come if you have to go take out. read more

Service here always gets you in and out! The staff is also accommodating to changes and preferences when it comes to the drinks. Rudy is especially great to order from and does everything with a smile. read more

GET READY TO STAND IN LINE! GET THE ALMOND MILK TEA! OR THE MANGO GREEN ICETEA! SETTING: this location is inside of UTS (university town center). it is not visible from the outside so you would have to walk into the center in order to see it! they recently remodeled the place so it looks a lot nicer now, except it still fits the same amount of people inside (pointless?) It is always packed so the insides are not always clean, but they do their best at making the place look as clean as possible. SERVICE: this place literally runs like a factory. there is always a line so they want to check out people as fast as they can. some cashiers are nice but others are very stiff and sometimes rude. nonetheless, whenever i ask they are helpful and are ready to give advice. i have not had a bad experience with any worker there as of yet. all smiles! Food: GET THE ALMOND MILK TEA! OR THE MANGO GREEN ICETEA! Those are my top favorite drinks in there! also, the crispy chicken is amazinggggggg make sure you try that! FIRE! see you soon :) read more

Cha For Tea - Crispy chicken!!! So good!!!! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

I haven't been here since graduating back in 2012, but had an errand to run in the area so I decided to stop by and pick up some boba. Since that time, it seems the place went through a remodeling. The parking lots were a bit of a nightmare, but that's not the shops fault. After I arrived, I noticed the place was semi-packed but there was no line to order. I wanted the matcha latte at first but it only comes in a small so I opted for a large Thai milk tea with boba instead. My drink came out within 5 minutes and was delicious. The boba was slightly warm and created an interesting blend with the cold Thai milk tea. It was the perfect amount of sweet. I definitely would recommend coming here for your daily boba fix read more

Cha For Tea - Thai milk tea with boba - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

Wah! Also wanted to like this place too, but have to give it 2.5 stars for the meh Roasted Brown Sugar Boba Milk Latte. First, you can't call something a LATTE unless there is coffee in it. Am I right? There is only milk and brown sugar in this jank. The bobas were mushy and the drink was blah, I could taste the brown sugar chunks and the mediocre caramel taste of the brown sugar and milk. I did try the popcorn chicken, which I thought was tasty- so .55 more stars for that. read more

This is my forth time coming here. I ordered 16oz jasmine milk tea w/ boba and soy milk. Costs $3.89, reasonable price. The tea had good floral flavor and wasn't too bitter. The drink had a good milk to tea ratio. They put the right amount of sweetness (100% level). The boba was the BEST part. The boba was big, soft, and had a sweet flavor. Would definitely order w/ boba next time. This is my favorite boba shop in OC so far and would come back again. Highly recommended if u r in the area. 10/10 read more

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

3/12/19: My big bro dropped off two cups of boba from Cha for me and my psis. I love this place because the drinks taste good, aren't too expensive, is close to my school and dorm, and is open late. read more

Cha For Tea - 3/12/19 - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

I love this place! I'm glad that it's open later than other stores in case I need that late boba fix. Tip: Non-dairy creamer is, surprise! NOT vegan. Non-dairy is not to be confused with dairy-free as the two terms actually have different meanings. Non-dairy creamer may be free of lactose, but it usually contains other derivatives, such as casein or whey, which come from milk. This is in all boba stores. So, if you're vegan, make sure where you're going has almond milk (or some other milk alternative) before you order! Luckily, this place has soy milk! My go-to is the matcha latte with boba (and soy milk, of course). It's the perfect amount of sweet! Eventually, I would like to venture out and try new drinks from the menu. Ultimately, this place has really tasty drinks and perhaps some of the best quality boba in town. I will definitely be back again and again and again. read more

I enjoy the crispy chicken here. My friend Nhu had regularly brought me out to this space to enjoy different foods and drink. Parking is always spacious and there are plenty of resources and things around the plaza in the same space that is both good for food, productivity, students, professionals, etc. read more

When I went to the University Town Center with some of my friends they were all getting Cha For Tea and encouraged me to try it. I was a little hesitant since I'm not the biggest fan of sweet drinks but I was pleasantly surprised. First off there was a long line out the door which is always a good sign. The wait was a little long but it was very worth it. The staff were very nice and walked me through how to order and helped me find a drink that best suited me. I decided to go with the mango green tea with half sweetness. I love the fact you can choose how sweet you want the drink to be. The tea itself had great flavor. The mango really came out and was very refreshing in the hot sun. The real star of the show was the boba. The tapioca pearls were amazing. They added a new texture and nice contrast in terms of temperature. The combination of the warm pearls and the cold tea was perfect. Along with the tea I got their crispy chicken snack. This was astonishing. The chicken was very crispy it was light had great flavor and was entertaining to eat. I would 100% get the same thing again. Amazing work. read more

Pretty bummed about the iced matcha late being very light on the actual matcha. It's cool that they have samples, food, make some of their own ingredients, and I'm sure some of their other drinks are rad. I'll have to come back and try something else tho, because the matcha for me was really lacking in the namesake. read more

I LOVE Cha for their soft, tasty boba and delicious popcorn chicken, but I think this location is one of the worse ones out of the few. This one usually has a line and is filled with students. There is minimal seating (although you can sit outside too), and it's like they don't have AC. The workers seem stressed and rushed everytime. I would much prefer to go to the Barranca location, and you should too. It's in a beautiful plaza, and the workers are great there. read more

I haven't been here in years because I have mediocre experiences. I decided to give this place a try again and hopefully for some good boba drinks. I got the matcha latte with boba. They over cooked the boba that the texture was unpleasant and way too soft. The drink tasted watery with very little matcha flavor. I also got the crispy chicken. The portion was very sad and small. Honestly I'm pretty disappointed and would probably never come back. read more

Been going to this location since the early 2000s! The drinks are very good & consistent. Food could be improved.

(5 star Thai tea) one star the chicken salad which was made of only spring mix salad and dry overcooked grilled very sweet Teriyaki chicken not much flavor but it is under $10 so if ur hungry and need some protein it can do the job. read more

The service was ass the guy said he would be back with us in 1 minute bro took 10 minutes

I honestly don't get why this place gets less than 4-5 stars. The drinks here are always good: there is a good variety of options, the sweetness is adjustable, and best of all, the boba is perfectly soft. Also, the employees are always helpful and friendly. I really appreciate that this place will split drinks into two cups for you upon request--so so SO helpful for ppl with kids. The only downside is the line during peak times. read more

I love going here for a late snack. Their Mango tea refresher and their almond black milk tea with boba is the best. The line is long most of the time, But the wait isn't bad they move pretty fast. They have stickers on the floor so you can wait 6ft apart. read more

This is easily one of my favorite boba places!! I always make sure to stop by whenever I'm in Irvine! Sometimes there's a long line to get in, but it goes by really quick and completely worth the wait! I like how they have pitchers and little cups all ready to go for you to sample while to wait in line to decide what you want. My go-to is the honey green milk tea with boba, which I get the majority of the time, but sometimes the mango green tea if I'm feeling something fruity! Price comes out to be around $4-$5 dollars, which is standard for a cup of boba. There's also plenty of tables both inside and outside for people to hang around and talk, but it get pretty noisy so I wouldn't never make this a place to bring work. Workers are pretty nice too! Sometimes it just feels like they're in a rush all the time though, but that's understandable since it's so busy all the time. But overall, great boba, great ambiance, and great place to go if you're out late on the weekend since it closes at 1 am! read more

The popcorn chicken snacks and green tea/honey milk tea were tasty and delicious. Not that expensive either so it's good. This is perhaps the only shop that opens until past midnight because it's right by UC Irvine, and lots of students go there for night snacks and milk tea. So that's always a plus! However, the young people who work there are NOT AS WELCOMING that I thought! Even after nearly 1 year and 4 months, I still remember very clearly back in Jan 2018 when I was pick up an order and trying to make sure the drink is a HONEY GREEN TEA. I simply asked if that is a HONEY GREEN TEA but this girl with dirty blonde hair and had a taurus and stripe tattoo gave me a serious and nasty glimpse as if I'm a subhuman or something...at that point I was pissed! But didn't unleash all my anger, just left. Nevertheless, it left a horrible experience for me because that girl was mean! To make it even worse, another time I tried to pick an order, this time it was an Asian guy who abruptly asked "WHAT'S THE NAME?!" Then I said my name, but he just toss the honey milk tea on the counter as if he wants to throw it! Honestly man, he seriously had a really sheity day! At any case, I moved on but the memory stays. read more

I have been going to this location since 2013! My favorite drink is the mango green tea with fruit jelly! I usually just go in for drinks. I'm not really a fan of the food. Drinks are consistent. Amazing customer service and environment! read more

I love Cha for Tea. Have been going there for 1 year. I would definitely recommend this for my friend and family. The people working there are always nice but line could be a little bit long and wait time could take a little bit long. Prices are also reasonable. If you have a high school ID card you can get free upgrade so that is a steal. But whenever I drink the Magno Cooler (my favorite drink recently) I just fall in love. But sometimes it is too sweet (for the coolers I have been ordering). Even asked for 50% sweet and still too sweet for me. Did I do something wrong? But my 17-year old daughter says 50% for Matcha Latte is not sweet enough. The boba is my favorite part. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!! Also the fries and chicken are robuss [slays]. The place has a nice little vibe which I like. Tables, bathroom, chair, and floor are always clean. Definitely give Cha a try. 8/10. read more

Quality of tea/food: 5 stars Customer service: 1 star I used to come here a lot when I was still a student, but I went here recently and the customer service has really gone down. Maybe due to inexperienced staff? Regardless, I wasted about half an hour of my time just to find out the cashier never gave the baristas my drink order and on top of that didn't even make the correct tea, meaning I had to wait even longer. I understand Covid 19 has everyone on edge but there was not even an apology for the mistake, just disgruntled staff. I recommend taking the extra time and just going to the Cha at Woodbridge on Barranca Pkwy. They have the same quality tea, staff is way friendlier, and even the shop is kept cleaner. read more

I thought I wrote a review for this place but apparently I haven't. This parking lot is awful!! Since it's so close to UCI, it's always crowded. I usually only get the almond milk tea. Hot or cold, it's 1 of my favorites. It is very sweet so I get it with only 2 pump. That's all you need. Boba is chewy. I come when I'm close by. read more

Cha For Tea - Hot almond milk tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

The fried tofu and crispy chicken is bomb. It looks like their sweet n and sour sauce only comes complimentary with their wontons but it's worth it to shill out a couple of cents for it. If you want the usual white pepper condiment then just be sure to ask for it since they seem to keep it hidden behind the counter. I also love that they leave out samples of a selection of teas and some appetizers as well. The store itself and its milk tea cups are definitely not as instagram worthy as their competitor, "Snow Monster," but I think quality is definitely worth more then appearances; Cha makes their teas fresh whereas the latter has theirs pre-made. 2 pumps of fructose (which is their 50% sweetness) seems like NorCals version of a regular sweet tea.. just a note for future reference! update: just tried the honey green milk tea with only 1 pump of fructose and it's definitely a good balance of tea and sweetness Minus 1 star because they never seem to be able to serve the drink without the tea spilling over the seams of the lid. read more

Had a solid drink here, but an incompetent employee taking my order knocked a star off. Asked her a rather simple question about a drink promotion from a big sign upfront and she told me something that didn't match what I had seen (went back to check on it). She wasn't very nice about it. Could have easily said, let me find out for you. I'm sorry I'm asking you, the employee taking orders, questions on the drinks ::rolls eyes::. Love their sample stations.. I think that's clever. My drink, although not what I exactly thought I would get, was good. If they trained their employees a bit more would have been a solid 4-5 star kind of place. read more

This is the most "average" boba around here. If you need boba, it does the job...but don't go out of your way to go to Cha For Tea. Drink: I got the Thai iced milk tea with boba. It was not that great. I would give it a 2.5 out of 5. Tasted very artificial or something. Also, the boba was not the right consistency. They were mushy and not worth the money. This place has a hard time keeping the quality of their product consistent. Value: Definitely not worth the $4.50 ish that I paid for it. Pretty disappointing. I would give them 2.5 stars if I could but I would say 3 stars because their interior is clean and modern. But I wouldn't want to come back. read more

Cha For Tea - Thai tea with boba, 50% sweet - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

Ordered medium Mango Green Tea with roasted brown sugar boba. Too sweet with normal sweetness so I recommend adjusting for less. Drink comes out quickly. Tasty. read more

Cha For Tea - Mango Green Tea (Medium) - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

The gentleman taking orders was arguing the rawness of their chicken appetizer. Tried to get back to the store no one was being helpful, called over the phone they hung up the call. Definitely not a good place to eat read more

Pretty chill boba spot in the UC Irvine University Center. We went during the summer, so there wasn't a long line or problems finding a parking spot. The place does have some seating, but wouldn't recommend it for large groups especially during the school year. They do have music playing in the background, so don't recommend people hardcore studying here or if you plan to, bring headphones since it can get a bit noisy with people inside. There is free wifi inside! I also didn't see a bathroom in the restaurant when I went, but there is some nearby. What I love about this place is they have samplers for their most popular drinks! There is drink containers near the register with labels, and the drink samples are cold if that is of concern. They also have popcorn chicken for sampling near the register, all you have to do is ask them. I ordered the Mango Green Tea (one of their popular drinks), which was super refreshing for the summer. My boyfriend ordered the Almond Milk Tea, which is also another of their popular drinks, and didn't have any complaints. We ordered a regular size for less than four dollars, but added toppings for 47¢ more. To upgrade to a larger size is 97¢ more. Would recommend to anyone craving boba near the area! read more

Cha For Tea - Regular Mango Green Tea W/ Aloe & Almond Milk Tea W/ Boba - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

This is my go to boba joint ever since I started college. The prices are affordable and the boba is always yummy! The crispy chicken is also so good! read more