Wow. This place is quite delightful. I am not much of a boba connoisseur, BUT this place is delicious! I will be coming back. Also, the customer service is extraordinary. read more

Chicha San Chen - Peach green tea Milk tea w/ bubble and Taro Paste - Bubble Tea Near Me - Pleasanton, California

Came last Wednesday morning when I was in the area and wanted to try this place. Got the dong ding oolong milk tea with taro balls, less sweet, regular ice. I loved the texture of the taro balls. It was kind of like eating mochi, but not necessarily boba. I usually like my drinks at 75% sweet, but there was only an option for regular sweet, less sweet, and no sweet. My own human error; next time I would keep it at regular sweet because I like my drinks a bit sweeter. Service was quick and friendly, loved that the barista handed me the drink with both hands I also got to sample one of their drinks, I believe it was a cassia black tea with honey. That one was really good! Interior was nice read more

Chicha San Chen - Dong Ding Oolong Milk Tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - Pleasanton, California

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Tried the iced peach oolong tea light sugar less ice. I have to say the flavor is on point. The tea flavor comes through and the peach is refreshing. It comes with little peach fruit chunks too. I am not big on sweet and this less sweet (which is 50% when I did some snooping online) is way too sweet for me. I would have enjoyed 25 or 30 but there was no option for it. The place is tiny and clean. They put a sign outside that says 20-30min for the drinks. We put in our order then went to ranch 99 to pick up a couple items. By the time we returned we only had to wait 5min. For the price it is quite expensive but it was very tasty tea. read more

Chicha San Chen - Inside - Bubble Tea Near Me - Pleasanton, California

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I was really setting high expectations with hearing about this brand being Michelin star related and having long lines in HK and Taiwan. I ordered my typical boba milk tea and it took 15 minutes on a weekday after lunch after using the mobile app to order. When I tasted it, I was underwhelmed. I'm not sure why it's so popular. I must've ordered the wrong drink. I typically prefer very bold strong distinctive tea flavors in my boba milk tea. The tea was watery and the milk was on the thinner side of what I'm used to. At this price point for a milk tea, I was completely disappointed. TP tea still ranks my #1 at this point. read more

FINALLY tri valley is stepping up their boba game. Still waiting for molly tea and/or HeyTea to make its way up here. Chi Cha San Chen is what I consider the upper echelon of boba. I think they call themselves the Michelin of boba? Their boba is always fresh and made to order and all of their teas. The teas always are of high quality not like the junk you would get from a Quickly's or that tier of boba. Their service is good and the queues are not as long as their cupertino location. My recommendation is order ahead on snackpass so you don't wait as long. Located in the pacific pearl shopping center, plenty of parking and good location. Their store is very modern and clean. Yes their boba is expensive, but you get what you pay for. read more

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Wee! This must be the fifth chi cha san chen location we have tried! We have tried the one in Cupertino, Berkeley, the ones in LA and the one in Vegas. The drinks are always top tier and my favorite is always the Oolong Osmanthus tea. read more

Chicha San Chen - Bubble Tea Near Me - Pleasanton, California

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Came for the grand opening today! Ordered the Peach Oolong Tea with Mousse, and the Iced Peach Green Tea. Both were refreshing with a nice tea flavor. Loved the peach dices in the Peach Green Tea. Loved the mousse in the Peach Oolong Tea. I would order both of these again. It's nice that there's a screen showing the status of our order: Ready, In Progress Also, as part of the grand opening promotion, receive one of their "Pleasanton" pins for ordering two drinks. The staff were so friendly and polite. You can tell the excitement in the air. read more

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Soft opening weekend! You know I had to be there! This one totally crept up on me, as during the months prior, I had no idea this Chicha San Chen was even under construction. I believe this site used to be a Bambu, which although didn't survive, had a good run. Chicha setting up in this highly Chinese/East Asian plaza with a staggering level of affluence is the perfect combination. I have been a fan for awhile now, even though the price tag (approaching $9 for some specialty drinks) can be considered quite exorbitant. However, knowing that each cup is custom made with premium ingredients helps offset the sticker shock. During my visit on Sunday, 08/30, the very first thing I noticed was how tiny this location is compared to the others I have been to in Cupertino, Fremont, and Berkeley. In addition, whereas the others have multiple tea making machines visible, Pleasanton only has one! And as far as I can tell, there definitely isn't space for the tea tasting presentations, as even the larger Fremont branch doesn't offer it. However, the amount of seating is actually quite ample for an interior so small, and can easily fit a good 20 patrons or more. If I'm going to spend upwards of $10 for a drink, I'm definitely going to take advantage of the space, and not just take it to go! The line was slightly long around 4 pm or so, but not outrageous. It was probably around 10 deep, but it ebbed and flowed, as during the course of my hour or so visit, it ballooned up to 20 at times, and completely empty other moments! All orders are done through one of two kiosks, but unfortunately due to their bad network, there was a slight delay with payment processing. I'm sure this will be remedied soon. There are likely more bobaristas in the back, but the three running the front counter that day were fast and efficient, and worthy of the Chicha San Chen brand name we are accustomed to. From the time I got in line to the moment I received my drinks, it was probably around 45 mins total. My usual order is always Milk Tea (either Green or Black) with Taro Ball and Taro Paste, no sugar, no ice. This never disappoints, and this Pleasanton is no different! The cardboard cup handles with each and every cup always come in handy, and I save them to use with drinks from other shops (when a Chicha is not closely). They are incredibly sturdy! It would be such a waste to throw them out (or at least recycle) with the cup! Being in such a high traffic, popular Chinese/East Asian plaza, Chicha has a high chance for success. However, a few things of note are that the storefront is on the sunny side, where each day, the setting sun pelts unforgiving heat into the windows. This has led to the downfall of many other businesses in this same row (Bambu included). In addition, the food court a few doors down next to 99 Ranch, has completely gone kaput likely due to a lack of business. Only time will tell how well Chicha San Chen will fare, but with the tip top quality and name recognition, I'm certain it will be wildly prosperous. It will definitely be in my rotation whenever I am out in this part of town, but with my perennial favorites, TP and Boba Bliss both a hop and skip away, options will be aplenty! P.S. The interesting Chinese name translates to "Eat Tea Three Thousand." "Chicha San Chen" is how it's pronounced in Mandarin (I'm not sure why the pinyin is spaced inconsistently though). In Cantonese, it is "Hek Cha Sam Cheen," so my HK friends and I always affectionately call it "Hek Cha!" read more

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Was around 3rd or 4th in line for the soft opening. The self serve kiosks had some issues so we ordered at the counter. There are maybe 3 tables inside, so more of a to go spot definitely. I got the dong ding oolong milk tea with bubble and less sweet, although like the SoCal location, I think perfect/regular sweet is better. The boba is fairly soft, but could be slightly softer in my opinion. The tea itself is really good; slightly nutty but still has a clean taste. We did wait about 20 minutes but it is to be expected for a soft opening. Wouldn't mind returning and bumping this up to a 5 - definitely has potential and we don't have a tea shop like this in the area. read more

Chicha San Chen - Bubble Tea Near Me - Pleasanton, California

Refreshing to find a boba place brewing teas freshly upon ordering! We tried the Honey Cassia Black Tea w Boba and the Green Plum Tea. Clean modern interior with seating inside and 3 kiosks to place orders. Great idea to have a display showing the status of all orders. Such an overwhelming variety of craft teas to choose from! Good presentation with sleeves that can be drink carriers too. The staff was friendly, professional and available to help explain the diverse menu. read more

Chicha San Chen - Bubble Tea Near Me - Pleasanton, California

I came here during Chicha's soft opening and there was a wait! We waited over 20 minutes for our drinks, but I guess that makes sense once I learned that the tea for each cup is brewed to order. I got the bubble milk tea with light sweetness my first time here and it was still relatively sweet for me. The boba itself, while the perfect texture - it was chewy and bouncy, was also over sweetened. I was disappointed having made over $8 for a drink that was too sweet but I decided to give them another try with their passion fruit green tea. Again, I got light sweetness but it was still so jarringly sweet! Maybe my sweetness tolerance has gotten worse... Besides the sugar level, I thought the bubble milk tea had a nice tea flavor and a good tea to milk ratio. The passion fruit green tea also tasted good but was too similar to other boba shops that don't cost as much per drink. The store itself is small, but there's still seating inside. When I went, there wasn't a cashier taking orders but they have two kiosks available. I think I'll give them another try before calling it quits because my mom liked her peach green tea and I trust her taste buds. read more

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3 stars bumped up to a 4 for soft opening grace. Truthfully, the stars have more to do with what I ordered than the actual experience. On Monday at noon, the wait was 25 minutes using Snackpass. I ordered a classic pearl milk (black) tea with recommended sweetness from the signature menu and a peach iced green tea with light sweetness from the seasonal menu. In both drinks, the tea flavor did not come across as much as I'd prefer, likely because of the combination of ingredients and the sweetness levels I chose. I got the peach drink thinking that it might be special, but found it to be a very typical peach flavor. This was my third location and I think it was a good lesson to stick to what I already know I like. My favorite tried and true drink is the green tea with cream and taro balls. Next time! read more

I've been going to Chicha San Chen for a little over two years now, from Singapore, Hong Kong, Daly City, Berkeley, and now Pleasanton, so I'm genuinely excited to finally have one close enough to make a regular trip from home. I ordered the Green Tea with Mousse and Boba, perfect sweetness and regular ice. The drink itself was excellent, although with the boba it ended up just a touch sweeter than I prefer. I'll probably go light sweetness next time since the pearls are already soaked in brown sugar syrup. Without boba, though, their "perfect sweetness" really is pretty much perfect for me. The biggest thing to know about Chicha San Chen is that there is, and probably forever will be, a wait. They brew every cup individually. Their teaspresso system speeds up the process considerably while producing an extraordinarily consistent extraction; strong, fragrant tea flavor without becoming overly astringent. But individually brewing every drink still takes time when there's a line. That level of attention to each cup is exactly what makes Chicha San Chen a step above most other tea shops, in my opinion. For opening weekend, our total wait was around 45 minutes. The line itself moved reasonably well. It took us roughly 10 minutes to place our order, remaining time being the drinks getting made. This Pleasanton location is also pretty small. Based purely on the size, I'm not sure they'll be able to offer tea tastings in quite the same way some of the other Bay Area locations do, although I could be wrong. One tiny opening-day disappointment: they either ran out of the promotional pins or never received them. We were told they should hopefully be available next weekend. Overall, I'm just very happy to have CHICHA San Chen in Pleasanton. If you're expecting a grab-and-go boba shop where your drink comes out in two minutes, this probably isn't that. But if you care about strong, properly extracted tea and don't mind waiting for it, this is easily one of my favorites. read more

4th day of the soft opening! We stopped by around 5:30p after work and were pleasantly surprised by how quiet it was--hardly anyone there and no line! Both kiosks were open, and the queue had a sign showing an estimated wait time of 10-20 minutes. The shop itself is pretty small, but they were able to fit three tables comfortably. The atmosphere and overall vibe felt very similar to the other locations we've visited, which was nice and familiar. We ordered the Fresh Taro Ball & Taro Paste with Oat Milk and an Iced Black Honey Milk Latte. Our drinks were ready in a little under 20 minutes. The taro was really tasty! For the Black Honey Milk Latte, I think I'd probably go with full sweetness next time--the lower sweetness was our own doing haha. So glad we won't have to drive as far to get our fix now! read more

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Had the pleasure of visiting this place on the first day of its soft opening. Even though we were the 306th order, there was still a considerable line to place an order. The self-order kiosk seemed to have some network issues at the time of payment, but it wasn't a deal breaker. The service was a little slow, but understandable given that it was the first day of the soft opening. The staff was very warm and welcoming. The drinks were amazing and very refreshing. The place only has a few tables, so it can get crowded rather quickly. Overall, it's a good addition to the Tri-Valley area, and I'm excited to see how it continues to perform in the coming months. Overall rating: 3.5-4/5 read more

Chicha San Chen - Bubble Tea Near Me - Pleasanton, California

I am pretty sure Mr. Roy Lam will open up the online ordering system soon right? :) : I understand it is soft open but why is snackpass online ordering website not open yet? For example... https://order.snackpass.co/chichasanchencupertino **On the plus side if you are standing in line they do have a little sign in front that usually says like "10 minutes from here".. etc. I do like their drinks but if I need to wait for it, then I usually pass. Once the hype lowers it gets a ton better probably. The Lundy location I place order online and it's there when I arrive. Anyway... I'll come back later. Notes: - grand opening week Pleasanton pins - birthday bogo perks with id - patented drink machine vs big batch - slow down enjoy moment -wonders how much more crowded this plaza will get .... Yogurtland + HiroNori Craft Ramen ................................................... 8.30.26 3 for price.. about $10 a drink **If you only drink boba that's fine. But for that price u r competing with coffee which can run cheaper and faster ... Also in general there's more places that haven't come up to east bay. Molly, 50嵐 wushiland ... 4-5 for everything else... Basically a regular Chicha, kind of small no board games at this one. The line actually wasn't too bad .. they try to work as fast as they can and it doesn't help that someone can order at least 4 drinks at a time.. so that can delay things as u can imagine. Two kiosks on the side and one at the bar. Three total which proved helpful when the Internet went out briefly. They were able to restart it back up quickly. A for effort. A for bathroom music and peach soap. ++No napkins unless u ask directly or go get it in the bathroom Updated: online ordering link is up. https://order.snackpass.co/ccscpleasanton Thank you. read more

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new boba place in pleasanton and so happy having chicha here. parking is a lot even though difficult to find during weekend. basically, the system is grab and go. either you can order through kiosk or snackpass. anyway, i think the drinks should taste great ( because drink chicha many times already ) but when i ordered those three drinks, all are too sweet though we have put less sweet. may be not pay attention with the note since so busy so i give three stars at this time and kindly improve. thank you... read more

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We tried this during their soft opening and drinks took about 30 minutes to make. The boba pearls were chewy and sweet - delicious. The green milk tea was a little less sweet than I prefer but went well with the sweet pearls. A special drink that was refreshing was the lemon and mango condensed milk with coconut jelly. read more

Same quality. Boba is a little on the softer side during soft opening but overall impressed. I was especially worried about the harder water in the trivalley. Love the new sparkler, sour plum, green tea with honey and Dong Ding OoLong. Boba is ever so slightly over cooked during soft opening. Friendly people. Smaller interior, warm bright lighting, popular among local Taiwanese families and quickly taking over the local boba scene. Recommend. Lots of 20 min parking (green lines) outside the store. It is one of the smaller CSC but equally nice. A bit longer wait. But easy to order in person and online. Nice read more

This bubble tea shop is always crowded with so many people and I realized why. I never experienced such great bubble tea shop in anywhere. 10 out 10. Staffs are so kind too read more

My first time tried the ChiCha drink was in Hong Kong. Super excited to find out they opened one in Pleasanton. So far I had tried a few varieties of their drink and I love it all. A bit pricy compared to other tea places because they really fresh brewed each cup one at a time. I rather pay a little bit more for high quality tea. Didn't know they have hot drinks, perfect for cooler weather, for sure will try next time. The place is cozy, clean and friendly staffs welcome you with smile. read more

I have a low tolerance for sweetness so generally I get zero sweet for all my boba drinks. Since most establishments steep their boba pearls in brown sugar syrup anyway it's not like I'm losing out on much. The tea is great. (I've ordered the bubble milk tea and dong ding oolong tea.) The issue here is that the boba pearls are too sweet so I've ended up not even finishing my drinks. I think they steep them for too long which would explain why the pearls are a little too soft (not mushy, but softer than expected). If they cook the boba in syrup for less time it would make the drink taste better imo. This wasn't the same experience I've had at other Chicha locations (in Texas). I have family members who think the Chicha drinks are too bland / not sweet enough .. in which case, I honestly think they would like this location. Pro tip: Order ahead (via the Snackpass app) so that you don't have to stand around waiting for your order to be prepared. read more

First day of Soft opening today. They have not opened up the online ordering yet so we waited in line and ordered through the kiosk. There is a sign that says wait time is 20-30mins after ordering. The store is packed with people waiting for their drinks. After 50 mins they skipped to numbers after mine. They didn't even call my number when my order was ready. I went up to see why my number was skipped and they handed me my drinks. Made me pretty mad cuz we have been patiently waiting and they have no communications on the long wait time. Didn't even bother to call you when order is ready. Black tea with milk and boba and green tea with plum and plum jelly. The first sip of the black tea was delicious but the top was watered down by the melted ice. The plum jelly was in one big chunk and not drinkable with straw. Let's see if they will improve after soft opening. read more

The tea tasted watered down and has no tea flavor. I got the Osmanthus Oolong Tea with mango. All I tasted is the mango syrup flavors, which tastes artificial. This is the second time getting a tea from here. Last time, that tea too had no tea flavor. What a waste for the price. There are better tea places in the TriValley. read more