The line can be pretty long on Saturday evenings, and the wait much longer than what you would expect for that line. There were only 3-4 people ahead of us when we got there, and we ordered a lemon honey tea with aloe and boba. The good part about this place is that they can adjust the sweetness and ice levels of drinks to as low as 25% of the drink. The space here is very cramped when you are ordering, and there are line markers out the door, since the line does tend to go out the door. The wait itself was longer for the drink than we would have expected, about 10 minutes for 1 drink. It is pretty chaotic and I don't like that there is no seating available. There are so many other bubble tea places in the area so I'll be trying all the other ones as well. read more

Finally got a chance to try this place!! I am a die-hard fan of *ANYTHING* mango. It takes two to mango ;) and I'm so glad that my friend wanted to go on this adventure with me because that meant getting to try another mango drink, hehe... We came on a cold, somewhat rainy, overcast day (ugh @karlthefog), and there was still a line out the door. Upon tasting what we ordered, I could definitely see why!! I got the mango sago, and my friend got the mango crystal. The mango sago kinda reminded me of mango lassi combined with falooda. There's HELLA mango pieces floating around in the drink. Yummmmmmmy :) it's pretty rare to find a place that serves sago drinks, so I was really excited when I came across i-Tea!! I tried my friend's mango crystal, and it was really good too! It had a rich mango flavor, and there was a clear jelly at the bottom. Drinks only come in one size. They're hugeeeeeee! I'm a huge fan of boba, but I'm so glad I ordered the sago drink. Would get again!! The only thing I was kinda bummed about was that you couldn't adjust the sugar level for the drink I got. :( Bottom line: Amaaazing!! Would go again in a heartbeat. A mango lover's dream!! They have a unique selection of drinks. I can't wait to come back and try more of what they have to offer. Really wanna try the agar boba!! CASH ONLY!! read more

i-Tea - Mango sago and mango crystal - Desserts Near Me - Oakland, California

Line is so unorganized no sign whatsoever. Getting boba takes forever only one spot for pick up and order. read more

i-Tea - Desserts Near Me - Oakland, California

My favorite brown sugar milk tea place around here (p4) the mango sago dessert is also one of my favorite drinks here read more

i-Tea - P4 brown sugar - Desserts Near Me - Oakland, California

it was my last day being in oakland since i was here for a visit and this boba shop was the place i stopped at since i was craving boba. lemme tell youuuuu this place has the best creme brûlée milk tea drink omggg! better than feng cha i'm ngl. i def recommend this place to try! read more

After several disappointing tries, I have been unable to find a good boba tea shop in Sacramento that uses fresh fruit and ingredients. I was excited to try my luck in Oakland's Chinatown, where there is an array of tea shops touting fresh ingredients and brewed teas. Ultimately, I was attracted to I-Tea's popularity, fresh fruits, and variety of teas/smoothies offered. The itty bitty shop is sitting on an active street surrounded by Chinese vendors and eateries. There is little parking available, but we found a space pretty quickly on a Sunday when parking is free. I-Tea only accepts ca$h, so we hit up the nearby Bank of America ATM in the small square nearby. Although the shop was crowded with people ordering or waiting for their teas, there was a method to the madness. The cashier was friendly and moves quickly, keeping everyone's orders moving along. Even so, it took about 10 minutes from waiting line to pick up time. I-Tea offers a variety of flavors which impressed me, given the small size of the shop. I tried the Matcha Milk Tea with red bean and matcha pudding for $4.25. You choose the percentage/amount of ice and sugar you want; I chose no ice and 30% sweetness. Much to my disappointment, they used powdered tea but I quickly forgave them after my first sips-it was delicious! The sweetness was perfect, and I liked the consistency and flavor of the pudding and red beans. I have tasted stronger matcha and hoped for freshly brewed tea, which is why I deducted a star. However, for me, the experience was a positive one. If you have time to wait and don't mind drinking your smoothie or tea on the go, I suggest trying I-Tea. read more

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SO SMALL AND SO SLOW. This wait is real because it is so small and the staff seem very disorganized. My roasted oolong milk tea with grass jelly is a pretty basic drink but theirs didn't have much tea flavor and was a bit watery even after I asked for light ice. Grass jelly was pretty good. I don't plan on coming back for this wait when there are so many other boba places around. read more

There's a reason that there's a line. It's delicious. The mango sago always fulfills my mango craving. I have yet to learn to ask for a less sweet drink. I forget every time that it's an option, but you have to say it. The cashier won't ask you how you want your boba. I typically like mine less sweet, but it seems fine the way they make it. It took me 10 years to realize that the plaza had a parking garage. I'd rather pay to park in the garage than drive around looking for parking in Chinatown. It's always busy! This i-Tea has no seating or food to order (which I realize was an option at other i-Tea locations). I also took a while to realize that there are multiple i-Tea locations...this has been the only one that existed for me until this year. read more

You can't go wrong with i-Tea, ever. THIS LOCATION ONLY ACCEPTS CASH. Although, this particular location didn't serve the same great taste I've had at every other location I've encountered, it was still good (the reason for one less star). The boba also tasted a bit old and inflated, which is odd because i-Tea is ALWAYS busy, so I'd expect them to always have fresh boba. I was, however, surprised to find that this location is only meant for you to line up outside the door. It's super cramped and the poor workers have to work in what feels like no a/c conditions. I know this seems like a negative review, but it's not. Like I said, it's great here...just a different experience than I've had at other locations. read more

Best milk tea/boba in oakland. Best brown sugar boba latte compared to yokee, t4, fengcha. Only place with mango sago. Sun moon lake ruby is the dumbest name but it's delicious with cheese foam. Also their cheese foam isnt as consistent as other places. They have so many drinks that are consistently well received. Cons: calling out order numbers is inconsistent. They may or may not come out to say your number when its busy. Gets really crowded because its tiny. Idc about service. Its chinatown..cash only read more

Came in with some friends for some late evening indulgences and tried the tiramisu milk tea. It was yum yum yum! I've never had that drink before, but have no regrets for trying it! It was the perfect drink for me! My friend, getting the mango sago, enjoyed her drink very much! Seems as if that drink is an addiction; she always chooses it! read more

i-Tea - Desserts Near Me - Oakland, California

My favorite spot to go to for a refreshing drink! Strawberry mango fruit tea! Delicious and super refreshing. There's mango chunks and strawberry on the bottom with the tea. Soooo good! I usually would get it with 50% sugar and 50 iced. It's the perfect amount. The K2 is good too which is the taro milk tea with grass jelly. The staffs are friendly. This i-Tea is a little small compared to the rest, but they're as efficient as the other location. read more

i-Tea - Desserts Near Me - Oakland, California

I-tea is one of my fave boba spots in the Bay Area. I became a fan after visiting the SF location but have become a loyal customer at the Oakland/Alameda ones as well. I tend to get the classic with 50%-80& sugar, 100% ice, and switch on and off between their boba, egg pudding, and boba. It's taken me a while to determine how much sugar I want in their drinks but I think i've reached the right amounts. I enjoy that they have tons of toppings in addition to the classics that you would normally get. - Boba - soft/chewy with just the right amount of sweetness - Egg pudding - My go to! A thicker consistency than the tofu but less sweet than the boba - Tofu - I enjoy the texture of this one since you don't need to break it up as much as the pudding. It's less on the sweet side so it's a nice option if you don't want too much sugar in your drink It's a small shop that's basically order and go. Not a good place to come if you're in a group unless you're open to sitting in the plaza it's located in. TIP: Check in on Yelp first to get 1 FREE topping. read more

Had the panda drink, 50% sugar. Very nice tea flavor and the pearls were nice and chewy. Might try a tiny bit more sugar next time... Tried Honey Aloe Green tea, 50% sugar. That one would be better with more sugar. read more

Best boba ever. My #1. Honey Boba is top tier chewiness half n half tea style boba. I-tea's milk tea is smoother and better tasting as well. Heavenly. Also the cashier's speak Cantonese! And when I walk in I can smell a strong aroma of mango which means their mango drinks are top tier as well. Go here read more

i-Tea - So irresistible I had to take a few sips before taking the photo - Desserts Near Me - Oakland, California

I got one of the traditional mixes of milk tea w/ red bean & egg pudding + matcha pudding for 75c bc credit card requires a min $5 purchase unfortunately. I suggest getting 50% sweet bc 80% was personally too sweet for me. The milk tea needs a slightly more strong tea flavor, but their pudding and red bean are good. I like the variety of choices they offer here and it's affordable. Note: i-Tea currently does not serve their frosties (aka smoothie blends). Boba Guys is hella good, but i-Tea is pretty darn good too. read more

My favorite place for boba in Oakland! The boba is always soft as chewy, just like it's suppose to be. I usually get my drinks with half boba and half coffee jelly. You are able to customize the amount of ice and sweetness in your drink which I really appreciate. Usually 50% sweetness is perfect for me. I've only gotten their Okinawa milk tea, but I've heard that their matcha is also a favorite. Only thing is that you have to remember to have cash on you. read more

i-Tea - Okinawan milk tea, half coffee jelly & half boba, 50% sweetness, 30% ice - Desserts Near Me - Oakland, California

I love their boba. I especially love their chunky delicious durian sago. I am so sorry if you hate the smell but this is heaven for a durian lover. No fake powder wannabe boba, just pure chunky deliciousness! Comes up that boba straw like durian heaven with small round sago balls like the asian dessert you can't find easily. Worth the wait, worth the money. Bring cash, be patient. You are waiting for heaven. read more

Whoa! Their boba has improved so much! It's rrallly sweet so if you order boba, I'd suggest 30% sweetness. They also added lots of new drinks to their menu. I love their taro slush! They also have a happy hour from 3-5pm but only selected drinks. read more

i-Tea - Happy hour select drinks $2.95 - Desserts Near Me - Oakland, California

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"Start from the low expectation" quote from one of the queen of milk tea (just my friend who drink a lot of milk tea lol) had said. But my drink was average, wasn't too bad This place should be consider as a "walk-thu" because there's only one stool and couldn't sit any where, and perhaps total of three customers could fit in there. You basically just have to order, wait, and go It's my first time there, so you know as a newbie I was taking my time choosing. The cashier was nice and answer some of my questions, but she was very hectic so I felt hectic and just rush on my order. Got the Signature Pearl Milk tea, it's just regular milk tea with added pearl (no need for topping) Warning: No food, no popcorn chicken or anything edible, ONLY sell drinks. Cash only! My I-tea experience: I went to I-tea and they said $ only so I went to the bank, went back and got my drink, hungry so I ask for popcorn chicken and they said they only make drinks so I went to Quickly to get my chicken. Well got my exercise for that day -.-' Self-memo: get drinks from I-tea and go to Quickly or some other restaurants for food. P.S: the drinks are HUGE~ very satisfying ^.^ read more

i-Tea - Signature Pearl Milk Tea - Desserts Near Me - Oakland, California

I came here before heading back to LA after finding this place on Yelp. The place is super duper small, and the line was pretty long. I ordered the passion peach tea or something like that. It was a purple/blue drink that has a gradient color. To be honest, I only got this drink because it looked cool and I assumed it would be good because it had passion fruit flavor. My mom got the 3 G's so it was a milk tea that came with pudding, grass jelly and pudding. I got my drink within 5-7 minutes of ordering. I was super surprised that my drink came out to be carbonated... quite disappointed because I thought it tasted really good but the carbonation made my stomach feel weird so unfortunately I had to throw it away.. The milk tea was good though. I'm usually one to not like milk tea but i-Tea's was really good. The toppings were surprisingly all good and not too much. I will probably come back and try something else on the menu if i'm ever in the area. read more

Super small store with no seating but definitely a spot to hit if you want a quick boba to go. Decided to try the mango sago because of other yelp reviews and it was amazing! Little sago and chunks of mango in a refreshing mix. read more

i-Tea - Thai tea - Desserts Near Me - Oakland, California

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Please note: I've been here once and have only tried one drink. The bubble tea: Got a green milk tea with boba, 50% sweet, 50% ice. Good tea flavor & super chewy boba!! SO CHEWY!! 50% sweet was still very sweet- I think it depends on your add-ins. Boba is always sitting in sugar syrup to keep them from getting mushy, so next time I'll anticipate the added sweetness and go with 30% sweet or less. The store: Tiny! No seating and limited standing space. You'll likely have to wait outside until they call your number on the bottom left of the receipt. The service: Cashier is friendly. There were only 2 or 3 people ahead of me and it took nearly 10 minutes. Maybe someone ordered a lot? Maybe they were waiting for a new batch of boba to finish cooking? Who knows. Parking: Flat rate $2 parking under the building. Meter parking? Good luck. Conclusion: Next time I'm in Chinatown, I'd like to come back to see if their boba are consistently super chewy. If you happen to be in the area and are looking for a bubble milk tea, this place is solid. I would not specifically travel to the area just for a $4 tea thoug read more

Always order the signature milk tea with boba. It is classic and very tasty. 4.25$ for a huge cup. read more

i-Tea - Desserts Near Me - Oakland, California

Best bubble tea in Chinatown. I love getting boba here. The flavors are pretty unique and I would say that its comparable to the bubble tea from hong Kong and Taiwan. I usually get the taro sago, fresh mango qq and white peach oolong tea. It's great that they also have agar boba! The downsides are: This location can get crowded but the drinks are worth the wait. Note that this location closes earlier than most I-teas at around 8 pm every day. There is no seating at this location. There are no food options. read more

Itea is always good. It's my favorite boba chain. THIS PLACE IS CASH ONLY! & there no sitting inside. However it's good to get when in the area. I only go here when I'm with my parents. Anyways, they are quick & drinks are good. They are at times super packed but well worth it. Although there are tons of boba places in the area that are better or worse. read more

My go to place for grab & go milk tea. After trying countless boba shops around the Bay Area, I have come to the conclusion that iTea is a place you can never go wrong with. Small venue, but the quality drink and good price makes up for it! They also don't charge tax either so the price shown is the final price :) CASH ONLY! There are ATM's for bank of America, Wells Fargo & Citibank nearby. I have been going to this location for 3+ years now and the milk tea has never failed to hit the spot! read more

i-Tea - B1 (classic boba milk tea) 80% sugar, 30% ice - Desserts Near Me - Oakland, California

I am really impressed with i-Tea! It's definitely on the same level as Sharetea and Sweetheart Cafe, which are my top two shops for boba. I ordered the passionfruit green tea (no surprises there!) with boba, which I was able to get for free having used the Yelp check-in offer of one free topping, and I paid $3.75 for a 16 oz drink. This is cheaper than the prices at Sharetea, where the same size drink is almost $5. What I really enjoyed about my drink is that it had a perfect sweet and tangy blend, it was mixed really well with the green tea, the boba was perfect, AND it had actual pieces of passionfruit mixed in the drink as well! I thought the addition of the passionfruit made the drink even better than I had hoped for, and now I can't imagine ordering a passionfruit green tea boba without pieces of passionfruit in it. This store in particular is incredibly small (fits a max of 6-8 people comfortably) and it has no seating room, but the service is really quick, and the staff is friendly. Note that this store is cash only! read more

i-Tea - Passionfruit green tea with boba - Desserts Near Me - Oakland, California

This is my FAVORITE boba spot in East Bay! It's not the easiest to get to (Chinatown parking, sighhh) so it isn't my go-to.....HOWEVER it is worth coming to for the huge selection of drinks. Everything I've tried here--fruity or milky, boba or pudding--is so good! My favorite is the Jasmine Milk Tea with pudding at 70% sweetness & 30% ice. Every drink I've tried has had a prominent tea flavor and I've definitely gotten a drink or two with some runaway tea leaves in them....nothing like real life PROOF right?! They lose a star from me for their hours. Understandably they close a bit earlier than your average boba shop, but closing on 8pm on a Saturday just doesn't make sense to me. Don't you want my money? Cash only, start a stamp card! read more

i-Tea sets the bar for my boba standards. By far, it may be the place I compare everywhere else to. Sadly, every i-Tea location is very inconvenient for me, so going to one is always a rare treat. I love the various combinations of drinks they have. Their creama is also one of the better creamas I have tasted. Gong Cha was always my gold standard for creama, but i-Tea beat that for me. Their creama is so thick and salty and blends perfectly with their tea. I also have tried their gauva fruit tea which was extremely delicious. It was not too sweet at all and was really refreshing. It's definitely somewhere I would like to frequent more! This particular i-Tea location is very small. You cannot sit inside, there are no chairs or tables. It is more just a small shop with barely enough room to stand inside, which is why the line often goes out the door. The cramped space makes it hard to be able to see the menu because everyones in the way. Customer service is so-so, but their drinks are just so good that it deserves 5 stars alone IMO. read more

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Unsmiling cashier, no seating area and does not give you options on sugar level added to certain drinks. Cash only. Pass on ever coming back. There are other tapioca drink shops around. read more

This place was super packed with a long line so we decided to wait as well. If there were that many people, it probably was worth the wait. Waited almost 30 minutes for our drinks because there was a big party of 20 in front of us & we went during peak hours at about 3pm. The drinks didn't disappoint. I wouldn't say it was worth the money though. 2 drinks for $9 is a bit pricey. The drinks were really large which I felt was a bit much. The pudding in the drinks were a good addition. read more

i-Tea - Desserts Near Me - Oakland, California

Excellent smoothies! My go to is the taro smoothie with chia seeds and almond milk. So very yummy!!

I-Tea is awesome! Yummy drinks, fresh menu, good proportions, quick service, and great location. Mango Sago is so good (esp. if you're a fan of mango pudding). $4 Mango Crystal is good but not as good as mango sago. Their mango tastes nice and fresh. $4 Milk Tea with sweet tofu pudding and red bean is also del-ish, love the combo! $3.50 Milk Tea with pearl, grass jelly, and pudding is average. Doesn't mesh well together. $4 Taro Milk Tea is boring. $3.50 Avocado Smoothie is good, has a pretty distinct avocado flavor. $4 You have the flexibility to adjust the level of sweetness and amount of ice. read more

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Serendipity took over on my first visit to i-Tea. I ordered a pretty plain passionfruit green tea ($3.50) with boba ($.50). Whilst waiting I spotted the QQ series (no idea what QQ stands for) and wanted to kick myself for not ordering this much more interesting drink loaded with bits of fruit. And then to my surprise and delight a drink appeared with tons of fruit and pearls. (I ended up with the QQ I wished I'd ordered!) I'm loving the proliferation of next generation Taiwanese tea shops popping up all over Berkeley and Oakland. I especially like the option to choose your own desire level of sweetness. I opted for 30% sweet and still found I could have reduced it further and been happy. i-Tea's menu is huge. If you're a first time bubble team drinker, try something from the milk tea specialty series (signature black milk tea) or or the i-Tea fruit tea series (passionfruit green tea). The kreama option always looks interesting to me but then I opt for a more traditional tea. Whatever your pleasure, remember that i-Tea is cash only. read more

This is a nice place in Oakland Chinatown, there's an interesting lineup of drinks both coffee, tea, fruit and slushies. Now a lot of places also give an option to express how much ice and sugar to add. There's usually a line, good sight to see in Chinatown. It's a small work space, they do come outside to the sidewalk to get people their drinks. The drinks are good, but the reason I'm giving it two stars is the service is slow, in my personal opinion unreasonably slow. I'm not simply complaining just because they have long lines. There have been times in the afternoon or evenings when no one else was waiting ahead of me and it still seemed like it took a while to get my drink ready. Maybe they're putting extra attention to the drink but when I've gone to a different place in the area with seemingly less staff working I've seen they turn around drinks faster. I'm giving them two stars now but I hope they improve. read more

As someone from the San Gabriel Valley in SoCal, I've been spoiled by good boba tea shop options ranging from the long established (Ten Ren) to the newer wait-in-typically-long-line for a big cup (Half and Half) to single-location but quality tea (Tenju) to juice specialties (Tastea) and more. I was surprised that I could add i-Tea to a list of decent, enjoyable teashops and definitely my go-to place for boba in the downtown Oakland area, if not the greater Oakland area. These aren't powdery, condensed teas, and you have multiple options for the amount of ice and sweetness you want, so they thankfully are not automatically too sweet. But to be safe, if you like minimal sweetness, then request less than "normal." I have ended up coming here after dinner or later at night. For some reason, it's usually an unplanned stop with friends, spur of the moment. Whenever someone craves boba after a meal, this is the place to visit. There usually is a line, and it's the only place that's bright and lit on this street (and Chinatown over all) at night. The line moves quickly though! read more

A tiny little boba shop -- Im not joking, there's barely space to stand in here. I had the matcha with red bean 30% sweetness and that is the PERFECT sweetness....it wasn't too sweet and it wasn't bitter at all. I would definitely come back for it again. Keep in mind -- It's Chinatown; CASH ONLY! read more

i-Tea is a great addition to the many boba shops in Oakland Chinatown. I would recommend their jasmine tea with aloe. 80% sugar is good. I try not to get milk teas as much, but I've tried their okinawa milk tea, and it's delicious. Their 100% tends to be too sweet. 80% hits the spot for all the drinks. The only gripe I have is that the lines are usually very long. I wouldn't recommend coming here if you're in a rush. It takes maybe 5-10 minutes to get in line and order. And maybe another 5-10 minute to get your drink. During rush hours, aka after work or weekends around lunch time, be prepared to bring a nice long novel to read. They're opening a location in Castro Valley soon, I hear. Can't wait! It's closer to where I live, and you can avoid the Oakland Chinatown parking situation. read more

i-Tea - Jasmine tea with aloe - Desserts Near Me - Oakland, California

Stopped by last Saturday and here's a timeline of events: 3:15 PM - Arrived at I-tea, realized that it is almost literally "a hole in the wall," received a menu from one of their employees standing outside (nice touch!), got in line? It was hard for me to tell how the line was forming since people pretty much just clustered around the tiny entrance. After a few minutes, though, the same employee handing out menus started to direct people to stand against the wall of the building which really helped. 3:33 PM - Finally got to the front of the line, placed my order, snapped a photo of my receipt, took a panorama of the inside of the store, and other snaps. Began to upload things onto Yelp, look for other places to try out, answered email, la la la. 3:57 PM - Got all 6 of my drinks and ran back to my car since I didn't pay the meter and the parking po-po in Oakland don't play. I took advantage of these 2 promos: 1) Buy 5, Get 6th Free 2) Between 3-8 PM, free chubb/supery cup (think Purple Cow tubs) upgrade for Series B & C drinks. Got: 4 - C7 Taro Milk Tea w/ Pearls 1 - B8 Rose Milk Tea w/ Pearls 1 - Signature Pearl Milk Tea I asked that all of them be at 50% sugar and 30% ice. I know other places that let you choose the amount of sugar, but I've never seen the ice option before. Reminded me of how my mom would make sure to order soda without ice whenever we went to fast food places. You taught me well, Mom! As for the drinks... they were just alright. And as for the boba, I still prefer the consistency found at Purple Kow. But then again, I only got different variations of milk tea. Since they have these promos going on, it might still be cheaper to try out other options at this place than to head back to Sweet Booth (my normal go-to when I'm in Chinatown). read more

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