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Delicious drinks that are not too sweet. The interior is clean. Expect drinks to be in the pricey size given the portion but I can tell they use high quality tea.
Still phenomenal tea. Got the Dong Ding Oolong with fresh milk and taro balls, delicious. Tried my friends' mango tart and lemon tart drinks and they're very much just like a key lime pie and mango cookie in drink form. Service takes a while on weekends but it's always worth it!
Great service. We tried the bubble tea and green tea. Both were good but I would have preferred the green tea without the pink tapioca jellies. It made it too sweet. 8/10 Tea
This is one of the better boba tea options. They have a good menu of really well balanced teas, that are brewed using a special machine that almost looks like an espresso machine. The presentation is really nice even though it's always a take out cup. Definitely recommend if you're tired of the sugar-loaded Dubai chocolate 14k gold labubu bobas and want something more sophisticated.
chicha san chen has a clean, modern interior, and the drinks come out pretty quickly even when it's busy. the boba is sooo warm, soft, and perfectly chewy. my favorite is the honey osmanthus oolong! it's incredibly refreshing, with a strong floral aroma that really shows the quality of the tea leaves. overall a good spot if you're looking for high-quality tea but it is a bit pricier
Absolutely love this spot--if you're a tea lover, you need to stop by! All of the tea is brewed fresh, and the variety is incredible--from bold, darker blends to light and fragrant oolongs. We especially enjoy trying their seasonal specials, and love that you can also buy their loose leaf teas and tea bags to enjoy at home. The staff is super friendly and helpful, especially if you're not sure what to order or want a recommendation based on your taste. They're always happy to guide you. There's a good amount of seating, making it a great place to hang out with friends or family. And bonus points--the bathroom is very clean, which always adds to the experience. Don't forget to sign up for their rewards program so you can earn points toward future drinks and treats!
ChiCha has very high-quality boba. I got the honey osmanthus oolong tea per my friend's recommendation, and it was amazing. You can watch them brew the tea, and you can tell they care a lot about the quality. It was expensive for a small cup at $7.31, but it was well worth the price. I got it with tapioca, and the tapioca tasted really good. They are less sweet than most boba shops around here as they are more authentic to their Taiwanese origin. I got the "perfect" sugar level (100%), and it was actually perfect for me. I usually get 50% at other places, and it tasted similar to that. I have heard people who really like sweet drinks tell me that they would want to get 200% sugar here. I don't know if they do that here.
So expensive for how much they give you but the tea is some of the best in Austin. I also love their loose leaf oolong tea you can buy at the counter. If you come when it's busy, service can be incredibly slow and the space is tiny so it gets cramped quickly (very pretty though).
Literally some of the best boba out there. The teas and the milk teas are all fantastic you truly can't go wrong with any drink you get. I will say I think some of the employees need training because none of the knew how to apply a gift card. There is also a kiosk to order if you don't want to stand in line. 10/10 recommend!
Call me a hater but i finally caved and decided to give san chen a try. I did not believe all the hype but thought i had to give it a try first. The store itself was very clean and cute, they had a lot of different tea selections which felt more premium. I decided to opt in for a classic oolong boba tea and here are my thoughts: it doesnt taste like a classic boba tea. You can tell the tea is more premium BUT they don't add milk snd i dont think they add enough milk powder. It didnt satisfy my boba tea cravings unfortunately. The boba balls itself were well made. Sweet and high quality. Not sure if i'll be back because it is overpriced and i can get better boba at other shops for cheaper and better! But to each their own! Not BAD boba, just not what im used to
I love Chicha San Chen! This is my first time having it at this location. The place is so cute for photos :) the servers were kind! Our drinks: Dong ding oolong tea with cherry blossom konjac Bubble volcano
If you're looking for brewed to order quality tea, this Taiwanese bubble tea shop has it. I was wanting something unique and was surprised by a chocolate-giving tea: cassia black tea with mousse. I also loved the fresh taro milk tea that comes with taro balls
I really want to take off 0.5 star because of the wait but I have to tell you, the tea is totally worth it! They are no ordinary tea, the tea is amazing. The store is filled with amazing tea smell and staff is very helpful. I didn't have to get in long line, however I had to wait for 30min to get my tea after placing an order. The vibe is amazing though, so I didn't find it boring when waiting for my tea. I ordered the Dong Ding Oolong Tea latte and it was great. I can't wait to order other items in the menu. Their tea is made by special tea dripping machines hence the wait, but I can tell all the staff working hard for every order you place. Make sure you prepare for the wait, don't park your car on the 10 minute parking spot! read more
Pro tip: fruit teas taste better the day after because the fruit has infused with the tea I particularly liked the original milk tea because I can definitely taste the tea. Most other boba places, I taste more cream/milk than tea. I appreciate the teas being brewed fresh, hence the wait time. This is the first place where I can tolerate the sweetness level at no adjustment, meaning their "perfect" sugar level at 100%. They are very particular about custom orders, not a lot of customizations allowed. You cannot add their mousse topping to any drink, only certain ones. Allow 30-45 minutes per visit due to their ordering process and brew time. read more
3 years ago
I expected a lot because the aesthetics of this place looked nice and it was Taiwanese (in my experience Taiwanese boba places are usually fantastic quality) Chicha left a lot to be desired. My whole party agreed the tea taste was a bit weak, and the quality combined with the small size of the drinks made it feel not worth the price. read more
I was super excited to try this place especially because the are only two location in the US and there was a lot of hype recently. I tried the Ding Dong Oolong Tea with fresh milk and the bubble milk tea. Both were disappointing. The boba was on the chewier side which is just depends on personal preference. I would say that at least it was sweetened well. The tea itself tasted watery and the flavor was not strong. As a tea first focus store I was very underwhelmed. The Bubble milk tea was even worse with a taste that slightly reminded me of playdoh. They do have a self service machine so you don't need to wait in line. Most people are unaware of this and the staff had to keep reminding people. There are a decent amount of seats at this location but there is always a flow of people coming in and out and the environment is very noisy. Lastly they don't do the complimentary tea tasting until after 5pm. I would say this place is a skip for me. read more
Cute place with plenty of seating area. Helpful staff. I wanted to like this place. Michelin-recognized franchise. But this location was mediocre. The teas (bubble regular and dong ding oolong were good) but they were overwhelmed by the sweetness of the boba. A good boba tea needs to have fresh boba that is smooth with a chewy bounce. Like the ones you'll get at places like The Alley. The bobas were not good. Very doughy. Too chewy of texture and when you bite into the boba, it's not a clean bite. It's more like boba that's been sitting around for too long. The lids on the cups. You can't get them tightly sealed so they will pop open. Argh. read more
3 years ago
My friends hyped it up so much for my first visit. I really liked the inside aesthetic. The colors are soothing and I love that they make the tea right in front of you. I got the green tea because it has 3 stars (the highest rated drink on the menu and the highest rating I'll give it ), picked mango flavoring (because you can't go wrong with mango right?), and of course, boba. The boba is nice, shape is good, but nothing that makes me go WOW. The mango and green tea itself was underwhelming. It was like a mango juice. They do ask what sugar and ice level you prefer. They give you a sample of what their "perfect sweetness" is like at 70% and having a sweet tooth, I thought it can be sweeter. So I asked if they can make it 80%. They said no. I was greatly disappointed that they were not willing to adapt to my tastes. I ultimately received a drink that was subpar. While there is a cool string tied around the cup, the size of the cup is shockingly small compared to other bubble tea competitors. I think I would come back to try other flavors, but it is definitely not worth the hype. Thankfully, we got in line before rush hour started (5pm) and didn't have to wait too long. read more
Walking into this store was like walking into a tea bag, it smells just like a fresh cup. It's wonderful. The interior of the restaurant is really white and bright and well decorated. The staff are very sweet but this place is really busy do they do look kind of overworked. I got the brown sugar milk with boba. It was so light and delicious and not too sweet. The boba is also really soft and chewy and authentic. Would recommend ordering ahead of time because it's quite a wait. Knocked it down a star because one cup costs a pretty penny. read more
3 years ago
It's a WHOLE experience. There was a line at 7 on a Weds and it wasn't a quick one, but that's because you're not rushed through a grab-and-go experience (unless you want to). The person taking our order offered us a sample of the basic milk tea (tasted great, reminded me of cereal milk.) He then asked us if we wanted an explanation or not, so I said yes. He gave us a run down of the menu, and went the extra step to then offer to let us smell the teas and sample a topping. I wasn't sure what "taro balls" were. They're delicious. It is the most bespoke experience I have ever had ordering bubble tea. Every step was made special. I appreciate small details and can tell a lot of thought went into designing the experience. read more
The award-winning Taiwanese boba tea shop has finally arrived in Texas, and how lucky we are that it's opened in Austin! Awarded 3 stars from the International Taste Institute, this "Michelin Star" boba tea shop deserves every award. Each drink is weighed and freshly brewed, made-to-order, with the finest tea leaves and ingredients. You select your tea ($5), flavor ($1), and topping(s) ($0.75 ea.), plus sugar and ice levels. We went to the soft opening on May 20 and waited about 1.5 hours total (from getting in line to ordering to receiving the drinks), and it was so worth it! As soon as you enter, the strong aromas of freshly brewed tea surround you. They offer samples once you order, and every drink is customizable. Drinks are around $6-$7.25 depending on what you order; very reasonably and competitively priced considering the elevated execution. We ordered the Dong Ding Oolong Tea Latte with bubble topping and the Cassia Black Tea with Mousse and bubble topping. Both drinks had strong, fragrant tea flavors and were perfectly creamy and balanced. The boba was perfectly chewy and soft, and they generously filled each cup. Overall, this is definitely my new favorite tea shop in Austin, and I'm so excited that we have a location here to enjoy! The service may be a bit slower, as everything is carefully crafted, but the staff were very kind and helpful. read more
3 years ago
Chicha San tea house is legit. In terms of fresh drinks, they mean it. The tea for each drink batch is brewed on an individual basis, which means when there's 40 people in the store, that a decent wait is going to happen. We stopped by a Saturday afternoon and everyone and their friends and family seemed to be there. Parking is tiny so you'll want to be cautious as they had signs posted to not park at the gas station or you'd be towed! The tea selection, samples and explanations provided were friendly and efficient. Numbered orders and hustle were super appreciated and everyone there wanted their bubble tea with aesthetic vibe and got pics for the gram :) Will definitely come back but way after the hype dies down! read more
11 months ago
10 months ago
Expensive... but do you reallly get what you paid for? If you're looking for the an elevated Bubble Tea to hit your palate because all your usual faves taste too familiar, this will do the trick. Tea flavors are nuanced but fragrant. Bubbles are chewy and deslightful. However, the tiny cups with fancy paper sleeves and rustic twine for strapping is interesting and great marketing for a new spot, you wish they just gave you a couple more oz for your $7 cup of Boba. read more
This is the best milk tea! It gets very busy very quickly. When we arrived, there was a long line. You can order at the front with people or you can use a kiosk to order. My friends and I used the kiosk and was super easy to use. They offer tea classes as well. They were very clean and worked pretty quickly. The boba was sweet and chewy and honestly so good. My friends and I were only here for the weekend, and we had to stop by again before we left. read more
No question this is the best boba tea shop in town flavor-profile wise. I usually adjust the sweetness level at other shops but Chicha's recommended 'perfect' is approximately equal to a 70% sweetness at other shops - my ideal! Friendly service with lots of workers prepping drinks. I like that you can see the meticulous process of creating the drinks and that the employees take pride in the presentation by wiping away any spillage. I think it's odd you can't add more than one topping (i.e. boba and mousse) but alas. Thankful that the initial long lines have calmed down and I highly recommend coming when the store opens (11am on weekends). read more
AMAZING BOBA! the Tea aroma is absolutely delicious! i loved the smell and the service was super kind and polite. They allowed us to sample delicious drinks and offered their recommendations too. The place is super clean and organized and greatly decorated. This is a MUST VISIT! I will be returning every time I am in Austin. read more
Food: I ordered a milk tea taro it was so delicious. I should have asked for light ice because I asked for regular and I still felt like they put way to much ice. Service: very friendly and helpful Ambiance: the vibe was super peaceful with the music they played, so clean, really beautiful with all white interior. The place is pretty small and it was packed when I went so im sure as they grow more I can't imagine how many more customers they'll get. read more
1 year ago
2 years ago
I only got a delivered order so can't comment on ambiance or service but - I got the cassia black tea with mousse and boba and I LOVED it. The little holder carrier it comes in is adorable too! I had never heard of this place before but after seeing all the fun/exotic options on the menu it is definitely high on my radar now. The mousse was kind of like a sweeter cheese foam and didn't dissolve readily into the drink when mixed, but after I drank down a little of it I added oat milk to it to increase the volume and then the mousse dissolved easier. I got the light sweetness and light ice and that was perfect for me. Would definitely like to try this place again at some point! read more
Is this milk tea HEAVEN??? Being Taiwanese American (Taiwan being the alleged home of boba tea...), I am really picky with my milk tea so I was so excited to hear that a Taiwanese brand was opening up in Austin. Of note, they have won multiple superior taste awards from the International Taste Institute in Brussels which is similar to Michelin (?) but more importantly - they brew their tea fresh from tea leaves! That is definitely something you don't see every day with milk tea stores/ boba tea shops. Their shop is small, located on Airport down the street from the large square of Asian shops/restaurants centered around Ranch 99. Tips for getting in/out fast and avoiding a wait (because it's wayyy too hot for that)! - come within an hour of opening to order - order at the iPad (instead of with the employee) - OR order ahead online The shop is centered around seeing the employees brew the tea and making drinks which is cool, but means there is limited seating. Being someone who doesn't like tapioca pearls that much, I love that they have options for taro toppings. I got the taro ball & taro paste milk tea and it was INCREDIBLE. The tea flavor is high quality and the sugar level (I got "perfect") was just right. The taro was fresh. You definitely pay for this luxury tea experience but it's so delicious - I would easily come back every week. The experience reminded of being at a fancy Starbucks reserve but for BUBBLE TEA and I love it! If you are a tea or boba lover, please, PLEASE, give this place a try! read more
The service is really good and the drinks are good. It takes a lot of people to make one drink here because they are very complicated but it's also very delicious. It's definitely worth it. The price is about the same as any other bubble tea, but the quality is very high. The store is really clean and inviting. read more
2 years ago
Fast service, clean bathrooms, a touch screen to order for efficiency, and plenty of parking. The drinks are fresh and made to order! read more
2 years ago
My favorite milk tea in Austin. The drinks feel light and refreshing at 25% sweetness and less ice, and there's always multiple unique tea types I'm drawn to like the cassia, pouchong, and osmanthus depending on my mood. There are options to smell each at the front and the baristas are patient as you make your selection. The vibe of the store is bright and modern. The boba is always perfectly chewy. Even the cups are tightly sealed with a sleeve and carrying string as a nice touch. We've never had a problem finding parking in the connected lot. Everything seems thoughtful and intentional, making it a 5-star tea experience! read more
2 years ago
Drink came out fast and was good, I like finding great boba tea shops that have fresh ingredients and nothing super sweet or too synthetic tasting. It was busy in there for it to be a Sunday so wait time was slightly longer than expected but still pretty fast for service. read more
2 years ago
Finally had a chance to check this tea shop out. They make their drinks to order so each cup is freshly brewed tea so it does take them a little longer to make drinks. That being said, you are definitely getting premium quality so expect higher prices, an average drink is $7 before tax+tip. I got the taro green milk tea with taro paste and taro balls with perfect sweetness ($7.95) The taro balls are made in house so they're chewy and bouncy and have a pleasant real taro flavor. I thoroughly enjoyed my drink as it was well balanced and had a nice texture with taro paste. The parking can be difficult as the lot isn't that spacious overall and it's shared with the Wells Fargo bank right next door. read more
Chicha San Chen probably has some of the best boba Austin has to offer. You can truly taste the quality in their tea here, great taste, soft chewy boba. But what stood out to me on this particular visit was their green milk tea with taro paste and taro balls. This drink was so good, the tea was strong but not over powering, fresh taro paste added a great flavor, and the taro balls both tasted great and had a pleasant texture. Service was always great too! They were even doing a promotion for posting on social media in exchange for a free cute boba brooch! I'm from San Jose and they recently just opened a location there and so the wait time there is crazy, I was quite happy that I didn't have to wait very long for my drinks here. read more
2 years ago
2 years ago
Don't come expecting classic milk tea. It's actually fresh brewed tea like you'd make with a tea bag at home and you have to pay extra to add milk/cream. I got the green tea since that's what they're known for, added mousse and tapioca. It was just OK, 6/10. The beverage tasted like something I could make at home, nothing special. And the tapioca was too firm and not that sweet, I've had much better. The drinks are also over priced, $7+. The ambiance was very clean and aesthetic, seems like a cool place to hang out if you can find seating (it's pretty small). Service was mediocre, they didn't smile or offer suggestions so we just ordered at the little kiosk to not be a bother. Overall it was just a mid experience. Won't be coming back. read more
Walking in, we sampled the green tea with cream, and it was absolutely decadent; I understand why the green tea flavor has 3 Michelin stars. However, I had already ordered the Dong Ding oolang latte with boba, and I honestly don't regret it either. (Probably regardless of what you choose, ChiCha San Chen won't miss!) There are 3 levels of sweetness: perfect, light, and 0%. When they mean perfect, they actually mean perfect. 100% sweetness here is not overpoweringly sweet like the great majority of boba shops. I wanted to come back here everyday that I was in Austin; it's become one of my top boba chains! read more
Probably the most delicious milk tea & boba I've had! This place definitely puts the emphasis on their tea brewing process, using fresh leaves and brewing every individual cup to order. Because of this though, it can take quite a long time, especially if there's a huge line (there was when I went). The drink is also quite expensive for the amount you get, around $8 for a small cup. I would probably come back once in a while, but because of the wait + price, probably wouldn't be a staple for me. read more
2 years ago
My family and I were driving through Texas for a roadtrip and we saw Chicha San Chen on Yelp and wanted to try it out! We loved the atmosphere and layout of the place! The bathroom is clean which is something I always watch out for in restaurants. They were having a summer promotion of buying any drink and get an Osmanthus Oolong Tea or Fresh Milk with Brown Sugar Bubble for $3.99 when my family and I visited Chicha San Chen. The person at the front cash register was very nice and was also handing out samples of the Osmanthus Oolong Tea and it was delicious! My niece and I wanted to get that right away and opted for the summer promotion to buy other teas for our other family members. I love their bubble/boba, it's the right warm temperature and the texture is just right (not too hard and not sticky). In short, I love Chicha San Chen for the clean and comfortable environment, the samples, the kind and fast service, and the bubble teas (and its packaging). If I were to visit Austin again I'd visit Chicha San Chen again! read more
Very good boba tea. It takes them a few minutes to make it because it's legitimate tea - it's not a place where they just throw some powder in water and give you a drink a minute later. I got a pretty standard milk tea. It was well worth it and not overpriced. Personally I'd recommend asking for low sugar so you don't overwhelm the flavor with unnecessary sweetness. read more
3 years ago
We LOVE this place. We went when they were still having their soft opening and the worth was well worth it. Over the past few months we were able to try the majority of their different drinks and my boyfriend and I still go back to the Honey Osmanthus and High Mountain Pouchong Tea with Lemon Juice. The Honey Osmanthus is perfectly sweet and very refreshing and the High Mountain drink tastes just like a lemon bar so tart and tasty! We got the Osmanthus with Passion Fruit this time and it was just as good and love the real passion fruit flavor! The Dong Ding with Cream was also creamy and had a strong tea flavor. We really enjoy coming here but the wait is long so definitely try their online ordering if you can! It's also pretty expensive around $6-7 compared to other boba places but worth it if you're looking for the strong tea flavor. read more
3 years ago
Coming into this place, my expectations were set high because of the long lines and many awards this franchise holds. The bobaristas were nice, but the it took a while for our drinks to be made even though when we arrived, it wasn't very crowded. The actual drinks were possibly the worst boba milk teas I've ever had. The boba tasted like chewy water and the tea tasted like swamp water. I got regular sweetness, and it just wasn't sweet at all. I'm a huge fan of boba, I have it all the time, and I can assure you there are many other places that are better. I would not recommend going here. read more
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