Melanie N.

Ordered a wintermelon tea, and passion fruit green tea both at 50% sweetness level. Took a sip and it tasted like straight syrup, we immediately went back as soon as we got to our car to ask for 30% sweetness instead because it wasn't even drinkable at that point. The worker said passion fruit is just that sweet and wintermelon sweetness can not be changed. Why even give the option to select sweetness levels?? That's crazy. No accommodation whatsoever. We threw away our drinks because it tasted like sugar water, they were beyond saving. Save your money unless you like things extremely sweet!! I can't even imagine what 100% sweetness would be

Rose E.

OK, I heard this was another super-popular tea chain, so had to try it Well, their Bubble Tea tasted great (as expected)...but there were several downers. The packaging wasn't too great. Just a very basic cup with their name, even a colorless straw...very dull. Also, their straw was horrible (too big, maybe?), and was not able to suck up the Boba. In fact, I was left with a cup filled with Bobas that I wasn't able to suck up (OK, that doesn't sound very good lol!). Also, the place itself was sort of depressing in a way. The decor is cool, but rather dark and minimalistic...and didn't lend itself to be a "Bubbly" kind of place that I feel may better suit the moods of tea bars that specialize in Bubble Teas. Overall, I was a bit underwhelmed. Still, the tea itself tasted delicious, so I'm definitely willing to try them again. Hopefully the bad straw was a fluke?

Daniel B.

Like Kung Fu Tea, Sharetea, and Tea Top, Gong Cha is another bubble tea chain from Taiwan. This is Gong Cha's first metro Atlanta location. It opened August 27, 2018 in Pleasant Hill Plaza, the shopping center that used to house Assi Plaza (now City Farmers Market), on Pleasant Hill Road near I-85 in Duluth. Gong Cha is also planning to open a kiosk at Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody. When we visited this shop, it had an average two-star rating on Yelp with 57 reviews. Averaging two stars on Yelp is hard to do. Usually, something is definitely wrong when a business averages only two stars, but I still wanted to check this place out for myself. Unfortunately, I concur with the low rating ("Meh. I've experienced better."). One of the drinks we had was bad, service was slow, and the store looked nothing like the renderings on its website: https://gongcha-ga.com/locations. The bubble tea game in Atlanta has stepped up in recent years and sadly, this Gong Cha isn't on the same level as the competition. During our visit, there were 55 drinks to choose from on the menu, divided into the following 7 categories: Milk Foam Series (7), Brewed Tea Series (6), Milk Tea Series (11), Milk Drink Series (6), Creative Mixed Series (12), Coffee Series (3), and Ice Smoothie Series (10). Most drinks can be served cold or hot and they come in two sizes: medium (16 oz) and large (22 oz). Medium drinks range in price from $3.00 to $4.75 each. Large drinks are $3.75 to $5.75 each. Toppings cost an extra $0.50 to $0.75 per topping. I can't say Gong Cha offers anything too different from the competition. Generally, the tea types and toppings are about the same. Toppings include milk foam and strawberry milk foam; white and black pearls; coconut, pudding, grass, and aiyu jelly; basil seeds and red bean. We tried a sample cup of the white pearls. To me, they didn't taste as good as regular black pearls. They weren't as soft nor as sweet. They were harder, denser, and slightly more tart in flavor, almost like a fruit jelly. We ordered the following: * Matcha Milk Drink (medium size, 16 oz, $4.50) * Oolong Milk Tea with black pearls (large size, 22 oz, $4.50) * Purple Sweet Potato Milk Tea with black pearls and grass jelly (medium size, 16 oz, $5.50) The Matcha Milk Drink was the best of the three. It was also the simplest. It wasn't bad and was good enough to finish. If you like matcha milk tea, this one probably won't disappoint. We couldn't finish the other two. I thought the Oolong Milk Tea was okay at best. My fiancee, who likes ordering oolong milk tea at the different bubble tea shops around town, didn't like it. It definitely wasn't up to par with the oolong milk teas from shops like Kung Fu Tea, Sharetea, Tea House Formosa, and Tea Top. Gong Cha's version tasted artificial and cheaper in quality. It didn't have a great finish and left an odd aftertaste in our mouths. I ordered the Purple Sweet Potato Milk Tea because it looked unique. This wasn't taro because taro is listed as a different flavor option on the menu. I suspect Gong Cha's "Purple Sweet Potato" is the same thing as purple yam or ube. Three of us tried this drink and independently came to the same conclusion: it was awful. I took several sips, hoping the next sip would taste better than the last, but that never happened. Each sip was equally bad. The drink tasted chalky/powdery and relatively bitter. I hate to say it, but it had a repulsive flavor almost. We ended up throwing away both the Oolong Milk Tea and Purple Sweet Potato Milk Tea. It's not a good sign when you throw away your teas before finishing them. I should note the Oolong Milk Tea was a lot more palatable than the Purple Sweet Potato Milk Tea. On the bright side, the toppings (black pearls and grass jelly) were decent. The black pearls were fresh, sweet, and appetizingly chewy and the grass jelly was soft, smooth, and delicious. The staff was nice. There were plenty of employees and, for some reason, it took us longer than expected to get our orders despite there being no one ahead of us. This place is not the well-oiled machine that the other shops already are. As for the space, it's fine. It's fairly simple, but not completely bare bones. It appears the interior was fully renovated. There are some nice modern touches such as the wood-paneled ordering counter and the wood paneling above the open kitchen. I guesstimate seating capacity is around 30-40 customers, all indoors. Parking is plentiful.

Kimberly L.

Apparently my bonus daughters love boba + milk tea. I'm sure y'all seen my reviews in Honolulu about milk tea adventures with Tiffany, well they continue in GA. This was the 2nd spot for the day since the first one we pulled up to was not open. I tried the milk tea with jelly and custard (not a boba fan), A tried Mango Peach Tea with rainbow jelly and K tried Taro/Strawberry milk tea with rainbow jelly. Everyone enjoyed their drinks. I try to get the girls to try new flavors. The shop is quaint and small. They have boars games so I can see this being a hang out spot for teenagers. Plenty of parking spaces here since it's in the same shopping center as City's Farmers Market. I didn't see if they served food or anything like that. Prices seem kind of high (to me), and drinks were on the small side. Overall not bad, I'd come back.

Andrea M.

*** This updated review is about Gong Cha as a business, not so much about a particular drink if you're wondering what to order here. Though the earl gray milk tea with 3J's was very good btw. *** I had the pleasure of talking with Tom during the Elite Week event as Gong Cha graciously invited Yelp Elites for some complimentary bubble tea. To be honest, I've already known about and visited Gong Cha even before the event. My impression of the place was average -- as with any other bubble tea establishment that's popping up. Tom provided some pretty interesting insights and details that have given me a deeper appreciation of bubble tea and Gong Cha's business practices. This staple Taiwanese brand now Korean owned is definitely unique. The employees for instance have two weeks of training before they start. One reason is bc making tapioca pearls the traditional way takes more time and care than just letting a machine create it. I also learned about the white pearl and how they're made out of figs. And they definitely have a new rewards program that wasn't around the last time I visited: Clover app. And something that we all take for granted when we ask for less ice... Did you know Gong Cha tries to adjust the sweetness level to account for the ice level you choose (even though you only wanted the ice level adjusted)? They also try to add more tea into the cup even though the drink level doesn't change minus the less ice at the customer's request. All in all, I learned a lot about Gong Cha and how this brand is different. They make sure their products are fresh as they throw away any old tapioca pearls or tea that's over 4 hours old. Thank you Tom for the knowledge! I definitely learned a lot and am leaving with a more positive impression. See Gong Cha soon for their new (brown sugar?) tea series.

Tiff H.

After all the drama and poor reviews I've seen on Yelp, I'm surprised I ended up coming to this Gong Cha at all. I didn't love my experience with Gong Cha in Houston so I had low expectations. I ordered a standard Gong Cha oolong milk tea but with egg pudding since I was craving it. It was surprisingly tasty, and not too sweet since I ordered the minimum 30% sugar level. It was slightly smoky which I also liked. The egg pudding was sweet, so I was glad I got the lowest sugar level. It's not as strong in oolong flavor than I'm used to - so I wonder if it's due to the milk, as I usually order "fresh milk latte" versus "milk tea" at other bubble tea shops. The line to order and to pick up is pretty bad, as others have commented. But not any worse than Ding Tea. Hopefully they do iron out the timing for those instances. Overall, it's not my favorite bubble tea shop by far, but if I'm ever in the area, I wouldn't mind stopping at Gong Cha to give them another try. I would say it's a solid 3.5 for me!

Gretel Y.

I stopped by one weekday afternoon. I was the only customer at the time. I was greeted immediately upon entering. The space is a decent size, not big but not too small either. Plenty of seating. They have board games available. Parking is a breeze. I let the staff behind the counter know that it was my first time, and I asked lots of questions about their drinks. The friendly staff member answered all of them patiently and even made good recommendations. I went with her rec, the Early Grey Milk Tea with 3Js (Pearl + Grass Jelly + Pudding Jelly). I ordered a medium $4.75. I sat down and less than 5 minutes later, another staff member brought my milk tea to my table. The milk tea had great flavor. It was creamy yet refreshing. The toppings were good, too. The pearls had a nice chewy texture and a hint of sweetness. I really enjoyed it! The space was clean. The staff was fast and very friendly. The prices were reasonable and the milk tea (at least the one I had) was delicious. I would definitely return!

Tammi D.

You might think I'm a bubble tea connoisseur but quite the contrary. I've actually only had bubble tea a couple times in my life, and I'm not really sure why, because I do like it. I think people are either going to love it or hate it. If you have texture issues with food and drink, you may not love the bubbles. But I personally love them. Little bursts of sweetness in your mouth is never a bad thing. I came here with my little one, and let her pick the drink. She opted for the mango smoothie, and I decided to go with the lychee white pearls. Oh my, I love me some lychee. They tasted so good! I have never seen this kind of thing, but they had ice level and sugar level, so you can make it more healthy. My daughter asked for the sugar to be 100%, but I insisted on the 70%. I like that you can adjust the sugar and ice amounts. Nice! Being a fairly newbie to these types of drinks, I was overwhelmed by the menu. Did I want milk foam, brewed tea, milk tea, milk drink, smoothie? Did I want it hot or cold? So many choices, and I don't even know what milk foam even is. My smoothie was creamy, tasted really good with the mango/lychee combination. The staff was so friendly, and they gave me two small gifts for dropping in. I thought that was so nice! I'd definitely come back here if I am in the area, and get a refreshing smoothie anyday.

Nicole B.

In terms of taste, I would say that Gong Cha isn't anything particularly unique. The taste is about the same as any other bubble tea location and they have about the same drink options. Maybe a few different drinks and styles, but nothing out of the ordinary. The drinks can be customized by styles (milk tea, tea, slush, milk foam, etc), toppings, ice level, and sugar level. You can adjust ice and sugar level by 30, 70, or 100%. I like that option because you can decide how sweet you want your drink. What stood out to me most is the customer service. I came here for the Yelp Elite week and received one free drink and an additional for 50% off. In addition, I was given a free planner and calendar for checking out the business. Staff was incredibly kind and gave me advice on their top drinks and what to order. Once my drinks were made, they even brought them out to my table for me.

Jessie Y.

Came here again since I've been trying bubble tea from literally everywhere. I got their original milk tea with half sugar, less ice (3.25)+ white pearl (0.75) and it was pretty good honestly. Half sugar was pretty sweet but still drinkable, anymore and it would have been too sweet. The milk tea has a good balance of tea and milk flavor, neither overpowering the other. The white boba has a texture like jelly and I enjoy it just as much as regular boba. I also tried their hot oolong milk tea (4.00) with boba (0.50) and 70% sugar. Not my favorite oolong milk tea out there and 70% sugar was definitely too sweet to the point where we had to send it back. However, the boba itself didn't seem to be sweet at all. Their price is actually cheaper than some other places by a few cents which is a nice bonus considering how much bubble tea I drink. There's not too much seating here which is fine when there's less people.

Nghia V.

Closest boba tea place next to my house. I stop by often to get the cure for my boba tea craving. Lately I am addicted to the fruit teas with white boba. Different from grand opening. Service is much quicker now. And the drinks are good. I always get less ice and less sweet.

Quyen N.

Wanted to order Dirty Brown Sugar Milk tea, my most fav drink at Gong Cha, but for some reason Gong cha in Atlanta doesn't have that type of drink as it does in Texas ( recently moved here about 2 weeks) I Was kinda confused about what should have been in the drink to get the same taste so customizing my drink made me pay more than I used to. Shouldn't the menu be the same for all Gong Cha across all the franchise? Just a thought.

Steven H.

The atmosphere: The service is very fast on weekends even when it's super packed. The people in front of us took forever to order but the staff was very patient with them. Extra seating would've been nice but the speed of service was fast enough that tables cleared very quickly. The drinks: The mango green tea tastes like biting into a ripe summer mango. 10/10 The strawberry black tea was a little bitter but I went with 30% sugar so that was my own fault. 9/10 going down the hatch. 10/10 if I had gotten it a bit sweeter. The lemon ai-yu with white pearls was super refreshing. I would've liked it a bit more sour though. Also note that it does have bits of lemon rinds in it. It wasn't mentioned on the menu and I wasn't a huge fan of it. It's a 9/10 due to the rinds. Side note: the previous time I came in, I had to make three separate orders as I was ordering for family (no one at home knew what they wanted and called me later) and the staff was super courteous and understanding.