Happy Lemon is one of the longer-running bubble tea spots in Downtown Boston, tucked inside the Corner Mall near Chinatown. We walked into a location that is easy to miss if you are not already familiar with the building, but once inside it functions as a convenient stop when exploring the neighborhood or looking for a quick drink break. The setup is fairly simple, with counter service and access to the shared seating throughout the mall, which gives it a bit more room to sit than a typical standalone shop. The menu is extensive and covers everything from traditional milk teas and fruit teas to some of Happy Lemon's signature cheese foam drinks. The salted cheese series remains one of the more distinctive offerings and is what helped separate the brand from many other bubble tea chains when it first expanded. The combination of sweet tea and lightly salty cheese foam sounds unusual at first, but it creates a balance that works surprisingly well. We ordered the black tea with salted cheese, and the creaminess of the foam against the bold tea base made it easy to see why this drink has built such a following over the years. Beyond the cheese series, there are plenty of options for different preferences. The taro milk tea is a popular choice, while the grapefruit green tea offers something lighter and more refreshing. We appreciated the ability to customize sweetness levels, which is worth taking advantage of since some drinks can lean sweeter than expected at the default setting. The waffle snacks are another menu item that stands out, particularly for anyone looking for something small to pair with their drink rather than ordering tea alone. They come out warm and crisp, making them a nice complement to the cold drinks. Service tends to move quickly, which is important given the steady flow of students, office workers, and shoppers passing through the area. The staff were efficient, and our order was prepared without much of a wait. Being located inside a busy downtown shopping center also makes it a convenient grab-and-go option, though the shared seating in the mall allows for a brief pause if you want to sit and enjoy your drink before heading back out. Happy Lemon remains a reliable stop for the salted cheese series and a broad menu of tea options. It is not a destination in itself, but for a quick drink while exploring Chinatown or the surrounding area, it delivers on consistency and variety without overcomplicating the experience. read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Logo is cute and all, but the drinks are very sweet. The boba is nice and chewy, but because of how sweet the drinks were, I just couldn't finish them. read more

See all

Service was fast and friendly! It's in the food court in DTX. The vibe is kinda low key and business seemed pretty slow. We ordered some milk teas and a frozen lemonade. My niece and nephew enjoyed their tea and my hubby loved his slushie. Next time we're in the area, we would def stop by again! I'll take more pics next time! read more

Good option and atmosphere for a bubble tea to cool you down on a summer day in DTX. There are lots of food options here such as Sarku Japan that would pair well with the iced tea as well. Service in the shop is great and the bubble tea came out fast. A classic milk tea is the way to go here! read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Service was really good and fast! They have an extensive menu, which is nice considering this location is in the mall. A casual spot but delicious drinks! read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - mango sago smoothie - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

This boba shop is hidden in the corner of the mall -- easy to miss but so worth finding. I'm obsessed with their bubble milk tea, it hits every time. The boba is always soft and chewy (the way it should be). Just a heads-up though: they sometimes run out of boba around 5PM, so go earlier if you can! read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

First time trying out their drinks. I got a Mango fruit juice one. Cold, refreshing, sweet but not overly sweet. In 85 degree Boston weather this was cooling. It is a bit hidden but we went into the food court to find it. Coming back again :) Service was so good. read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Drink order E1. Cold Mango Jasmine Green Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

See all

Seeing the review so give a try. The fresh squeezed lemon black tea is so good and tasty. read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Large fresh squeezed lemon black tea. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

As someone who at this point has tried almost every boba shop in the Back Bay/Downtown area, I can say that Happy Lemon definitely stands out as one of my favorites. Although the location isn't as convenient (it is located inside of a food court with a very different vibe than most other boba shops), the taste, quality, and value is great. I ordered a taro milk tea with boba which was great. They added some foam and taro chunks to my drink as well, which made it very enjoyable to eat. I was also very happy with the size of the drink - they only have one size - but it leaves you feeling very full. I'll definitely return to try some more of their fun flavors! read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Taro milk tea with boba - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Located in the food court great service and yummy drinks. 10/10 would recommend the strawberry green tea with lychee

Happy Lemon made me very happy during my jury service. This location is in the Corner Mall food court which for me was a pro as the location was convenient. My go to order was the mango slushy with boba. My slushy was blended with lemon pulp which was tart initially but complemented the sweetness of the drink. The boba was really good majority of the time. There's only one size but it is really tall and filling. I definitely recommend if you are in the area. read more

Boba tasted like rubber, they cannot customize my drink. This is my first time trying happy Lemon and it was a great disappointment. I ended up throwing my drink away, which never happened before with boba. I will have to stick with other boba shops. read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Surprised that I found a good bubble tea place inside a building that's similar to a mall. Usually mall food tends to be mediocre and overpriced. Double the mediocrity if the food is Asian. But I was pleasantly surprised that Happy Lemon had bubble tea that was better than some places in Boston's Chinatown. I had a milk tea while my companion had a fruit flavored drink that contained lychee jelly and a hint of their namesake lemon juice. The fruit flavored drink was actually better than the milk tea. Not overly sweet yet still refreshing. Their tapioca pearls had a good firmness. The milk tea was forgettable. read more

I got 2 medium bubble milk tea with puff (~close to $10 with tax for 2 drinks) and thought these Happy Lemon's beverage tasted more unique than other boba places I'd been to. The custard/cheese (?) I couldn't tell what it was tasted a bit salty but yet still sweet enough to go pretty well with the tea. They were a bit rich though, so if you are looking for something light, may do well to skip this option. For me, I love milk based tea (rather than water based one), so it was a nice change of taste to tey their drinks. The cashier who took my order was patient and polite (I couldn't decide what I wanted) and their large size drinks are actually pretty decent, so no complaints there. The only thing I had was, there were some online offers available. However, for whatever reasons, the cell phone reception at their store was pretty sporadic/almost null (I couldn't really get any signal), so it was kind of hard to navigate when you are trying to activate the special/coupon offer while buying, too. Overall though for the service/taste, this boba shop is pretty good! I wouldn't mind stopping by again. P.S. no designated seating at this shop. It's mostly for take out, but you can just grab any food court seats/tables next to this shop/within the same area to enjoy your drinks/treats! read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - 2x medium milk tea with puff cream ($9.63 net) - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I tried the lemon yakult with aloe at Happy Lemon, and I liked it! Though I did choke a bit when a large cube of aloe rushed through the straw and hit my throat. Yes, be careful. Happy Lemon is located at the Corner Mall food court (Food Connection) in Downtown Boston. Service wasn't the quickest with one person taking orders and making drinks, while another co-worker focused on drink making, including making more bobas. I didn't mind waiting. I did however mind that 3 individuals who placed their orders after me got their drinks before I got mine. read more

See all

I was so happy to find happy lemon during our trip. This particular happy lemon doesn't have the complete menu. I order mango matcha, it's too sweet and the mango flavor is just not right. We are from CA and we tasted almost all the drinks from happy lemon. Pretty disappointed because i expect all happy lemon will provide the same quality. read more

One of my favorite boba shops made it to the East coast. The drinks are on the expensive side, but worth it! They do stamp cards, but is only eligible for this location, and not the Harvard one. I ordered the green tea with cheese foam. A definite go-to drink at this location. Happy Lemon only carries two sizes: medium and large. (I personally think the medium is a small, and the large is the medium) but that's just me. No minimum credit card charge! read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Green tea with cheese foam - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

My first happy lemon experience was in Beijing, when I had a taro ball milk tea--sooo good! I know everything is different here but I still visited just for the memory. Strawberry green tea with lychee jelly: surprisingly tasty! Very strong green tea with strawberries and lychee jelly Bubble tea: just normal Checkin bonus is BOGO! The best deal ever! read more

See all

Seriously the worst boba I've ever tasted in my life. Went inside to give it a chance and wasted my money. They can't even make a simple decent brown sugar milk tea or slushy.... The milk tea taste gross and the slushy was as watery as a glass of water with mixed mush. The boba is so chewy and needed to be cooked more, and it tasted like they tossed some liquid sugar in with the boba...so when you drink it you taste 3 things --- the chewy tough boba, the overly sweet liquid, and the nasty drink they concocted...absolutely disgusting. Don't even bother going there read more

Salted Cheese drinks are the way to go! Sounds gross and weird but it tastes just like a sea salt coffee/tea. The salted cheese foam makes the drink creamy and rich with a little salty note. I got Salted Cheese Green Tea with boba. It was perfect. The boba was the perfect chewiness and the drink was on point. Don't forget your Yelp Check-in offer! 15% off! read more

I wandered around the food court across from Primark for a good two minutes. This station is next to the Sushi Time station (just in case any absent-minded Yelpers like me might miss it). I wasn't sure what to order, so I decided to ask the servers there what their favorites were between the salted cheese green tea and the Oreo tea. One of the workers expertly and kindly answered my questions about the consistency and heaviness of each. I chose the salted cheese green tea because I haven't really seen that anywhere in else. The salted cheese green tea combo is much better than I expected. The thick, sweet cheese froth, reminiscent of a whipped cream version of cream cheese frosting, settled comfortably on top of the green tea. As per one Yelper's suggestion, I decided to mix the two flavors. It was really good--the slight bitterness of the green tea paired excellently with the sweet cheese. It wasn't too bitter; it wasn't too sweet. I would highly recommend this refreshing drink. Next time I go, I'd love to try the Oreo one with boba, which is one of the other popular drinks served here. Also, I underestimated how heavy the drink was, so next time I will wait until I have a totally empty stomach to drink it. read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Salted cheese green tea! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

See all

Love the taste of the bubble! Sooo Fresh! I ordered Iced bubble tea 50% sugar and less ice! Perfect drink for sure! I hope there is another Happy Lemon stores open near my house so I can drink it more often:) read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Yum! This place has the best jasmine milk green tea. I haven't tried the popular lemon drinks, so maybe next time. Like most typical boba places, you can alter the amount of ice and sugar in your drink. The only downside is this location is a but inconvenient and also has the normal hours of the food court mall. Make sure you grab a stamp card so you're rewarded with your returned visits! read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Drink sizes - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

TLDR; good location, decent tea, nice if you're nearby and craving bubble tea Location-wise, Happy Lemon can be found inside of "The Corner Mall" right next to Downtown Crossing. It's a convenient walk from TJMaxx, Forever21, Primark and all the other shopping areas there, as well as the Park St T stop. Drink-wise, they have a decent selection, ranging from salted cheese tea to milk tea to strawberry green tea with lychee jelly (which is what I got). It's definitely on the pricey side for what you get, but it's not a bad tea. I'm not a huge fan of the fruit inside of the tea since it doesn't seem fresh at all and is tasteless, but it looks pretty. Time-wise, I didn't have to wait long to order my drink, as there was only one person ordering in front of me. Since there was only one other person who had ordered before me, I didn't have to wait too long to get my drink either. The area inside of the mall for this shop isn't huge since it is just a vendor on the side, but it seems very much like a come-and-go-quickly kind of place, so I wouldn't expect you to need to wait long to get your fix. I personally would not look forward to coming back again, as there are so many other bubble tea spots nearby that are more worth it for the price (for me) but maybe I'll stop by once to try the salted cheese teas that are reviewed so highly. :) read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Strawberry green tea w/ lychee jelly - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

My friend has recommended this Boba to me. I ordered green tea with salted cheese. This is my favorite boba in Boston, especially the salted cheese. Highly recommend everything with salted cheese. read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Green tea with salted cheese. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

this is a small kiosk inside of the food court mall. the syrups here definitely pack a punch and I found it to be quite potent compared to other boba/drink places. I ended up diluting my drink with water at home and I still couldn't finish it, which is surprising considering I like sweet things. read more

Tried a different drink from what I usually get. It was good. Prices are not too bad. Friendly employees. Environment is great.

Rock salted cheese and green tea - Odd as it sounds, it was delicious. I just loved the balance of sweetened green tea flowing with the cheesy layer down the hatch. It takes just a quick few practice sips at first to adjust the tilt level of the cup each time you drink so that you can get the right 50/50, ying yang balance to mix a bit in your mouth. I've gone twice and had it cold each time, medium for $4. Staff is quick to take your order and smooth transaction both times. read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Location: Inside corner mall (one entrance across from Primark and the other entrance by the theater). Happy Lemon is inside the food court and right across from the Philly Cheesesteak shop. Service: Efficient, friendly, respects all sanitary regulations during the pandemic. Line was short and moved quickly. Drink review: I got the medium milk tea with tapioca and salted cheese. The total came to $5.62, which is the typical price range for bubble teas. The size of the drink was enough to keep me full despite having skipped lunch. I really liked the taste of the milk tea itself, and the salted cheese added a sort of saltiness that was reminiscent of a sweet yet salty black sesame soy drink to me. The drink also did not seem overly sugary as the brown sugar bubble teas I've had at competing stores. My only complaint is that the tapioca seemed overcooked? They were only slightly chewy and seemed more on the mushy side. Shile I enjoyed the taste of the milk tea, I was disappointed with the tapioca. Maybe this was just a batch of tapioca that sat in its syrup for a little too long. It seems like the shop offers a variety of combinations and flavors so I might come back to try other drinks in the future. read more

See all

This is not Taro..... way off. Taro is purple. Also they ran out of Boba!? What..... customer service is always very bland. Disorganized read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Supposed to be Taro, it's not. And no boba? - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Located inside the Corner Mall, so it can be hard to find. Best cheese foam drinks around the area. Jasmine green tea with salted cheese is my go to but their oolong is pretty good too! The sweetness is a tad bit too sweet for me without adjusting but it's balanced with the cheese foam. If you prefer less sweet drinks, I would suggest getting it at 50% or 70%. read more

This boba shop is located inside a food court in downtown Boston area across the street from Primark. It is small and there is only seating that is communal for the food court space. They accept credit card. They won't prompt you to ask if you want light ice or sugar but you can definitely request these things. I tried the kumquat lemon iced tea with lychee jelly and thought it was refreshing and super sour. I also tried the strawberry green iced tea with lychee jelly and it was very sweet in comparison. I got both in a size large and found both to be refreshing. I've been to two other Happy Lemon locations in California and prefer it over other boba shops. They are famous for their cheese cream that they use on top of their teas. Today was national iced tea day too! read more

See all

I never liked Happy Lemon when I was younger, but one day I got nostalgic when I found this particular one in the food court and since then I've become basically addicted. Refreshing, tangy, and cool are words that come to mind when I think of the general flavor profile of Happy Lemon - it's not milky and saccharine like boba places. Their salty cheese line is pretty good and a really unique drink - its more like a salty yogurt than actual cheese, but makes for a nice mix of flavors that isn't too sweet. My preferred drink is always the yakult with aloe special, which is pleasantly tangy and cool. They also have boba but I wouldn't say it's really their strong point; its more offered for people who aren't too familiar with Happy Lemon and expect it to be a boba place and not a lemonade/tea place. Same with the milk tea - not their strong point. They have stamp cards (10 stamps for a free drink). Docking a star because service can be pretty sluggish and slow, and they often only have one person working and it can take more than five minutes for my drink to come out sometimes because the person is just working so slowly. read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Happy Lemon is probably one of my favorite boba locations, especially for their salted cheese. The first time I had Happy Lemon was in California, and while the drinks are comparable, there are some aspects of this location that aren't ideal. The location is in the Corner Mall and is more of stand in a food court than a cafe. Furthermore, it's more expensive here. Regardless, the green tea with salted cheese is still one of my favorites. While it sounds a little weird, the salted cheese is more like a creamy topping with salt that compliments the sweeter green tea. I've also had the bubble milk tea with puff cream and milk tea with oreo & tiramisu salted cheese; they're tasty in their own right. If you're going to be back, I also suggest getting the stamp card! All in all, one of the better places to get boba in Boston! read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Green tea with salted cheese (left) and bubble milk tea with puff cream (right)! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

If you're looking for this place, it's in the mall with common food court seating, so it's definitely not a hang out spot like other stand alone bubble tea shops, but it's worth a visit if you're walking the area or getting food from the other stores. Anyways, I got the salted cheese green tea with tapioca. I really liked it! The boba seemed to have been soaked in honey, so it had just the right amount of sweetness and chew to it. The cheese mixed into the tea gave it a traditional milk tea taste, but with an added depth and robustness due to the thickness of the cheese and salt. It was a bit sweet for me, so if I order it again, I'd ask for it less so. In general, worth a try. I like going to boba tea shops to chill with friends though, and the food court scene wasn't really my vibe. read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Salted cheese green tea with boba - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I think this a great spot to grab a tea as you're making your way through Downtown. This is in the food court near the sketchers/champs. The staff was really nice and let my friend try the puff cream before ordering a drink. We ended going for these drinks: Lemon Mango Slushy with Boba Classic Milk Tea My friend thought the milk tea was amazing, but wasn't a fan of the puff cream and avoided the drink with it. I really like my lemon mango slushee. It was very refreshing and had little bits of lemon which I loved. read more

Happy Lemon - Boston - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I love Happy Lemon wherever it is in the World but Boston is still Boston and low key everything is okay here and while the boba is decent it's not as good as I had it elsewhere and that makes me a little sad nevertheless it's still one of the better boba chains around so I still say stop by if you're in the area! read more

Great bubble tea place with high quality boba. Unfortunately not in the best environment (the Corner Mall in Downtown Boston). I personally prefer to just grab my drink and leave, as the food court tends to be extremely loud, dirty, and filled with homeless. Don't let that stop you from going to Happy Lemon though. While not cheap ($5-6 per drink) I have enjoyed both of my drinks I've bought here. The first time I got a large green milk tea with boba and the second time a large taro milk tea with boba. Both tasted great. The service is quick and cordial. Something important to note is that there is a $5 minimum to use credit cards, but that's not hard to do given the price point of the product. read more

Such a cute place, but minus a star cause I stood there for a while before I got helped. :/ Tried the kumquat with jelly and it was refreshing. read more

See all

Ok I'm a huge fan of Happy Lemon on the West Coast, so I was so excited to see they have spread to the East Coast! Their drink selection is slightly different, but their quality has not suffered whatsoever. Also they sell HATS! (You best believe I got one.) The only downside was that it was hard to find in the food court. If you've never been, if you think you went far enough, keep going. read more