Stopped by for a midweek treat for their amazing deal: Tuesdays 12-5pm = BOGO on any drinks if you follow them on Instagram and post to your story My order: * Crème Brûlée Thai Milk Tea - less sweet, less ice ofc * Crème Brûlée Matcha Latte - less sweet, less ice Got one for me and my roomie, which made it even better Both drinks were super delicious. The crème brûlée layer is really creamy and light. it complements the Thai tea perfectly without being too heavy. The matcha latte was smooth and well balanced too. They offer two boba options (brown sugar or honey), we went with brown sugar and it was cooked perfectly. Ideal QQ texture, not too soft, not too chewy. Also, this spot is just a quick walk from campus, which made it feel extra nostalgic. definitely brought me back to my U of I school days. Highly recommend if you're craving something sweet and want to raise that A1C by a few points! read more

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Jasmine Milk Tea was very good and fragrant. Grapefruit green tea didn't have a ripe, sweet grapefruit. No issues with service and prices were reasonable. read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

I absolutely loved Latea Bubble Tea Lounge in Indianapolis and was distraught when it closed down last year. When I saw I would be driving through Champaign, I was so happy I could get to try one of my favorite boba shops in the Midwest again. As with the other location, it's located in quite a busy location, with lots of traffic and difficult-to-find parking. On this inside, they have two kiosks you can use to order. We ended up getting two drinks: Taiwan Oolong Milk Tea, L, 50% Sweet, 50% Ice w/ Brown Sugar Boba ($7.25) - The tea has some sweet earthy notes, us quite fragrant to the taste and mixes well with the sugar and cream. The drink overall is quite creamy and is a bit frothy at the top. The brown sugar boba is less consistent in size than the honey boba for some reason, with some pearls noticeably smaller than others. The chew is a bit more firm than my ideal texture and pretty much identical to the honey boba, though, but perhaps just a tad firmer. In terms of flavor - when mixed into the drink I'm not sure I could tell the difference between the two types of boba at all. The flavor of the sweetener kind of overrides both the honey and brown sugar. Perhaps I'll have to get both again but in the same type of drink in the future? Milk Tea Rating: 5/5 Boba Rating: 4/5 Jasmine Milk Tea, XL, 50% Sweet, 50% Ice w/ Honey Boba ($8.70) - The tea exhibits a very solid jasmine flowery flavor and combines with the creamer and sugar, making the drink sweet and creamy. The honey boba is a bit softer as compared to the brown sugar, but still has a good chew. The boba gives your jaw a workout for sure. For some reason, even though both drinks were ordered with the same sweetness level, the jasmine was way sweeter than the other drink, almost cloyingly so. Unfortunately we were on the road so we couldn't dilute the drink down with some additional tea. Milk Tea Rating: 4/5 Boba Rating: 4/5 While I mostly enjoyed the drinks from this Latea location, I feel like it's not quite as good as the original. Still, the drinks are good and I would still recommend Latea to anyone looking for boba in the area. Bathrooms - Two individual unisex rooms. read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Interior - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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I tried this tea lounge for the first time today and loved it! They had a ton to choose from and I went out of my comfort zone and got the ube crème brûlée with boba and it was really good! It wasn't something I would normally ordered and it was definitely a fun one time treat, but I wouldn't get it again. I love my milk tea and that's probably what I'll try next time. The store was super clean and my order was ready for me when I got there. I will definitely order from here again! read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Ube Cr. Brulee Milk Drinks - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Hands down the best boba I've had to date! Absolutely delicious! I ordered the ube crème brûlée milk tea with oat milk and brown sugar boba and wow..... I have no words to describe how delicious it was! I can't wait to go back and try the tiramisu! - The workers were really friendly - The interior is clean and really cute. (The bathrooms were also nice and clean ) - Our order didn't take long at all. Great service! I can't wait to go back and try more drinks! It was pure deliciousness in a cup! read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Menu - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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Upon first walking in on a Saturday afternoon, we were firstly Impressed by the lounge chairs and the chill ambiance. The atmosphere is relaxing and it wasn't too busy. I have gotten matcha strawberry drink in MYC at Cafe Joah in east village and the flavor profile is pretty comparable. The matcha is strong and the base is real crushed strawberry that is sweetened. What I like about this drink however, is that it has a thick and rich in consistency so it is pretty filling and a good snack! Getting their boba as a topping is also a fantastic experience since they hand roll their boba in this location! Further more, their extra large sizes are iconic - larger than the size of your face! Lastly, one thing to note is that the surrounding area has a lot of Asian food - for good reason: UIUC has many international students from China so the boba drinks and chinese cuisine here is actually more legitimate than one would think! Highly recommend this place! read more

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Great tea and great staff! We love the honey boba with any drink. We'll be going back

I started coming here when another bubble tea shop closed. I went to Every. Single. Boba tea shop. In town to try them all. The bubble tea here took me a couple times to get used to, but I think it's because it's so fresh and I get it without sugar added (aside from all the boba!), but it has become my absolute favorite. The boba is homemade. They ask how much ice and sugar you want in your drink, which I love they ask and I love you have the option!! Also, I'm not sure if it's the owner, but there is a lady working most often during the day and she always greets me with a big hi! And ask how's I'm doing, asks if I want my regular, and remembers it. She is truly so sweet and I love seeing her and her kindness in this world too often filled with unpleasant, non helpful and difficult staff. Lastly, it is a cute shop and you should check out the places around it too! read more

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I have tried every boba place in the Champaign area, but LATEA is definitely one of the best in town. Their house-made boba is one of a kind and it stays chewy even after few hours! I didn't get the chance to take a photo of my favorite drink, but please try the Creme Brulee bubble tea with their honey boba. The custard in this drink does not dissolve in the drink and adds to the flavor profile of the overall drink. You can also tell that they use high-quality ingredients because the drinks have an elegant aroma (especially the classic teas and fruit teas). I recommend the Grapefruit green tea out of all the fruit teas-- there's actual grapefruit pulp in it!!! I know I will definitely visit again to try their other drinks as well. read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Oolong tea and their house milk tea with boba - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Ube cream brûlée with no added sugar. TO DIE FOR! Perfect sweetness, the ube is sweet and the cream brûlée is creamy

Got a small taro milk tea with boba, quarter sugar, less ice. For some reason, I wasn't thinking about all the other taro boba drinks I had in the past that were actually smoothies instead of milk tea. This milk tea was SUPER strong, to the point where it was actually kind of bitter. I guess the bitterness was also more pronounced because I got it with less sugar. I do like how they give you the option for less sugar and less ice. But my concoction wasn't exactly my cup of tea (no pun intended, LOL), so I'll have to go for lighter blends of tea next time (such as jasmine) or just get a smoothie with boba if I don't want the strong-tasting tea. read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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Ummm well it was okay. But, the automatic 12% tip setting is UNACCEPTABLE. I didn't notice until after I was done ordering. This should be changed. read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Strawberry smoothie with BOBAAAA - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

The good: One LITER boba?! Yes please! These drinks are so affordable. As someone who lives in Chicago and regularly sees $7 as the price of a basic milk tea with boba, the prices here were so refreshing to see. I paid a little less than $6 for a whopping liter of hazelnut milk tea with boba. The cashier was so sweet and passionate and happy to serve me and my friends. There was also a promo going where the extra cost of boba was free, yet the boba scoop was soooo generous. By the time I finished all the liquid, I still had quite a bit of boba leftover in my cup. The boba quality was perfect. Nice chewyness and not too sweet. And it's also made in-house which is a plus! The bad: Honestly I don't have anything negative to say about this place! read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Hazelnut milk tea, large! - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

This place is located besides other Asian restaurants. They have cute little seating areas with desserts and tea. It's a standard bubble tea place. You pick your flavor, pick your sugar level, choice of milk, and level of ice, unless you want them hot. They do brew their teas and they are all organic leaves (advertised that). They ran out of taro so I picked green tea with almond milk. Apparently large size is a size of a tub of soup. It was so large! I expected that it would come in the hot coffee cup since I've got them hot. I was so wrong. You can definitely share large with at least 4 people. Price was ok, $5-8. read more

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I love Latea's 1000ml teas! They're such a good price for the value. We originally ordered a house green tea with passion fruit jelly, but they made us a milk tea instead. The barista was very kind and just made us another tea. She even brought it out personally and apologized. The tea itself is excellent, especially with the jelly. I would definitely recommend it! read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - House Green Milk Tea & House Green Tea with Passion Fruit Jelly - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Probably my favorite place in #glambana for boba! The oolong milk tea is definitely my go to! So delicious! The boba is also great texture-wise. I've gotten the parmesan fries a few times and they are divine! Although, I should add that they do feel pretty heavy after eating them. The wait for drinks can be pretty annoying as this place can get really busy but staff have always been very friendly and patient! read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Wow I just got this tea delivered and let me say this is one of the best boba deliveries I have ever had. Individual section bag that is sealed to ensure no tampering. The drinks itself were delicious great boba consistency. My boyfriend got the chocolate milk since he can't have caffiene and let me tell you as a boba snob that would never pick a non tea option this was BOMB. The cream on top amazing I am kind of jealous I didn't get it myself. Very creamy and decadent. And my own order was a brown dugar milk tea also delicious and very rich. 10/10 would recommend. read more

From the all the boba spots on the UIUC campus, this one has the BEST matcha latte boba. Verrrry generous with the matcha, absolutely love it. Another variation of the matcha latte is the creme brûlée matcha latte, very rich and tasty. The boba pearls themselves are decent. I exclusively go to Latea for its matcha latte. read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Matcha Latte - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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Update: with the owner's response in mind, I decided to raise the rating to 4 stars. Still: DO NOT order a large "hot" milk tea here. If you want a hot drink, you need to order it in the small size or just completely change your order because they do not have the right cups. This place has really lost it's quality over the years. When it first opened on campus, the tea was really great and true to Asian milk teas. The interior is nice and a great place to hang out. However, with new management, I feel the recipes have changed. I ordered a Hot House Milk Tea, less sugar, and boba. I was really disappointed in a few things: 1) Because they use the same plastic cups as the cold milk teas, the drink cannot truly be a "hot" milk tea. It was more like a slightly warm milk tea. 2) I usually order 70% at boba shops and they never taste this watered down. 3) There didn't seem to be much milk in the drink either. Pros: 1) Cute, clean interior dec 2) Boba topping itself is actually pretty good. read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - "Hot" Milk Teas should not come in plastic cups - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

I ordered the mango black tea with bobba. It was a very good and refreshing flavor combination. I have also tried their matcha madeleines which are really good but a bit over priced in my opinion. read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Had such an amazing welcome and overall experience. Was able to meet with the owner Jack and he presented three of their speciality drinks and delicious tasting deserts! 10/10 would recommend, really nice staff and great in store vibes read more

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A decent milk tea place in town, but there's nothing too special about it. We ordered the matcha tea with cheese float and oolong tea with bobas. The matcha tea has a very delicate flavor, but the cheese float didn't taste as good and thick as last few times. The large portion is HUGE, and they gave you so many bobas that they became a burden :/ Overall it's a very cool place!! read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

I love loveeee their bubble tea! This place has lost some popularity lately because of newer bubble tea places in the area like Kung Fu Tea and Teamoji. By far, I think this place is the Bessemer because the tea flavor in their teas are stronger than other competing places. My go-to's are their green tea latte (matcha latte) and green milk tea. Their brewed teas are deep and earthy which I love even if there is milk in there. Since the pace here has slowed down there is jjo wait either! A nice place to chill and hangout. read more

For boba I can honestly say this is one of the best places I've been to. I tried the recommended rose and bouquet flavor and I was so surprised. Both of the flavors had the flavor of flowers but in the form of a drink. I decided to go 75% sugar level just so it could bring out the flavor better. I honestly think the tea packed with flavor and I was really pleased. The price of the boba is really comparable to other places but their large is larger than the general 20oz most places have as their large! In addition to boba they have small pastries and cakes and smaller appetizers like fries. Perfect place to come and just hangout with friends or come and get work done if you don't mind the busy environment. read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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Best bubble tea in town. Great menu options and vegan options. For those who love boba, it's a most try. The boba are made in house. You can tell the owner really put in a lot of work toward the drinks. read more

honestly really weird tasting boba. it was super bitter and the boba was not made properly or something because it was super hard in some areas/consistency was weird. (i tried a jasmine milk tea with brown sugar boba) read more

I didn't have the best experience the first time I came here, but I think I got this place down my second time. First time, I ordered the Mango Oolong Tea with bubbles with 25% sugar. They ran out of bubbles (urgh), so I had my drink without and the tea itself was very bitter. They were nice enough to add more sugar to it, but it was still so bitter that I didn't want to drink it anymore. I always order my bubble teas with less sugar (25%) from places like Kung Fu Tea, Teamoji, etc...and it's usually still decently sweet for me, so I was pretty disappointed when the sugar level wasn't matching up to the other places. I really wanted to like this place so the second time around I got the same drink...this time I ordered 100% sugar level just to test it out. It was pretty good and not too sweet. It tasted like it would be a 25%-50% sweetness at places like Kung Fu Tea, Teamoji, etc...so I'm guessing either Latea brews their tea really strong or the way they do their sugar levels is different. I'm not sure if anyone else noticed this, but this is just my theory. So second time around, I liked it! I love the design and matte feel of their cups too. read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Oolong Milk Tea and Oolong Mango Tea. - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

The bubble tea here is legit! Oolong milk tea and milk green tea are both great options. The large size here is 1000 mL, which is as much tea as anyone would hope to get. The bubbles are delicious, service is pretty fast, and the premises are clean. The menu has a good variety of food on it, too. With places like Chatime and Milk Tea House gone, Latea stands out even more as the place to go for bubble tea. read more

Latea has really gone downhill. Even though I've left campus, I don't feel comfortable leaving my 5 star review with them up when they have changed dramatically. read more

Is Latea better after their soft-opening? Short answer: no. The most important trait of any food/drinks place is consistency. Sadly, Latea lacks consistency. Depending on what you order, the drink could taste great, or mediocre. Even if you order the same drink all the time, for the SAME drink could be delicious for one day, but nauseating for another day. It seems like they're trying to train up new employees. Time will tell. In summary, Latea is overhyped. Don't let the 5-star reviews fool you! read more

Very fresh milk tea ！we tried the house milktea with redbean and vanilla milktea with rainbow coconut jelly for free ！Taste so fresh and different from other milktea in champaign.^_^ Unique environment and cute boy，sweet "girl "！ ps：This is my first time write review. Sososo fresh！ read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Taste so fresh and different from other milktea in champaign. - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

My absolute favorite bubble tea place on campus! I've been coming here for four years and have always thought it was the best. The brown sugar boba is perfect. The cups are also a great size and the staff is super friendly. read more

As a busy student, sometimes my nutrition comes from a drink. However, this is not just any drink. This highly sourced quality ingredient tea has definitely helped improve my study mood on several occasions. So far I have tried 3 of their teas and have yet to be disappointed. They have always been great about trying to create a drink exactly as I am trying to describe to them. The boba (or tapioca balls... not sure what it is called) have an amazing consistency and you can tell they are fresh. I have tried several in the past that seem to be store bought, but you can definitely tell this one is not. As a student... sometimes i have my budget days but I have been collecting these cups also. They are sturdy cups and great to fill your apartment with. Lastly... lets say I want to bring a date somewhere but not sure where to go... this is the spot. I can enjoy a beverage without spending a fortune and get a vibe of my date. If good... then great! Let the night continue. If not... I am happy it was only a drink. :) Will definitely be back! read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Late night study session - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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I've tried all the bubble tea shop on campus, I have to say they are quite unique from other around that area. First of all, they make boba in-house by using owner's grandmother recipe, and for the brown sugar which is my favorite, they roasted the brown sugar and use it for the marinade over the boba. Isn't it amazing? Second, I've tried Tiramisu milk, crèam bûlée matcha, they are a must try, I like the idea making the dessert into drink. I'll definitely come back to try more!!! Third, the customer service. They are sweet, friendly and willing to answer your questions also being really helpful. They hand out the drink very quickly which is pretty surprising, sometimes they can be really busy but it worth the wait! Highly recommended read more

I came here for their boba and taro milk tea. They never had it when i visited. I was never be able to order my first choice. I ordered their lavender milk tea once, and it tasted really bitter.... sigh I just hope they can have enough ingredients ready. read more

This business is wonderful in a cup. My favorite drink in the entire world and conveniently open until 12am on days that require some late night study. The ambiance is quaint and quiet, yet very busy but the line moves quickly. I liked the fact that Latea is like an internet cafe- everyone there is studying or meeting freinds and drinking tea. Very relaxing and calming. On this occasion, I was looking for a yummy bubble tea- the place I went to prior, though highly refreshing, tasted a little watered down, yet reading Lateas website about their organic teas and variety of customization- I decided to go for it. We ordered the Green Milk Tea with boba regular sweet level and the Vanilla Milk Tea with Boba. Goodness! They were very tasty and fresh. I could tell the difference between the newly organic tea I just tasted and my previous experiences with teas that may have been artificially flavored. I will definitely be returning as I am a huge fan of bubble tea and tea in general. The best being that Latea uses orgfanic ingredients and thats the difference for feeling great and being great from the inside out. Drink to health, sante! read more

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Desserts Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

The purple taro tea with brown sugar boba is so so good!! Not overly sweet but refreshing and fun.

The tea tastes good, but I recently learned that their taro milk tea has milk derivatives in the powder itself (even when ordered with oat milk) and is not vegan, despite being told several times by other workers that it is. If you're vegan or have a dairy allergy, just be wary that they may not tell you the truth of what's in the powders which is concerning, and you may end up drinking something with milk in it... read more

My personal favorite boba in Champaign. You can actually taste the tea flavor when you do 50% sugar and the boba has ideal texture. They've been out of roasted brown sugar the two times I've been here though. read more

Price is a bit much, got 2 teas with jelly for $10.40. But they have a variety of flavors which is great. I got the lavender green tea with passion fruit jelly and regular sweetness but next time I'm going to get it less sweet. The passion fruit jelly was delicious with the lavender green tea; great combo. The other order I got was a coffee milk tea with lychee jelly, interesting mixture. read more