We were in the vicinity and being the boba connoisseur that I am had to hop in to try Pop. I'm a huge NBA fan so when I think of "Pop" I thought of NBA coach Greg Popovich...but this place has nothing to do with the NBA and shares spaces with Starbread (filipino sweet bread).
When I saw the menu I could tell it was not a traditional boba spot but I asked if they had a regular milk tea. The super friendly workers told me it wasn't listed on the menu but they could make it for me.
So for the regular milk-tea I have it as a 6 for taste and 4 for boba. The taste was average but I bumped them up to a 6. The boba was definitely a tick below average which is why I have them at a 4. I was hopeful that with the high star rating they would be turning over the boba a little bit faster than other venues but I think a caught a batch of boba that had been sitting for awhile opposed to a fresh batch (which happens).
So for regular milk tea would I recommend this place? No..probably not but....and this a big BUT.
The fruit drinks are pretty darn good!
I also tried the
#28 Pink Kiwi Blast- Calamansi Juice with Strawberry, watermelon and Kiwi.
This drink was pretty darn good and would order again.
So to review I wouldn't recc the regular milk tea or the boba but the #28 Pink Kiwi Blast and I would imagine their other specialty drinks (based on their rating) are pretty darn good.
137 boba spots and counting in the Bay Area/NorCal (yes you read that correctly one hundred and thirty four)
Rod's SF Bay Area/NorCal Boba Tiers: This is based on my milk tea taste/ boba taste rating scale with 10/10 being the absolute best. I have actual ranked lists for the South 880 corridor and San Francisco in case you're wondering.
Tier 1 (Alphabetized) "Magnificent 4" aka "I'll get some even if I shouldn't..."
Bubbly, I-Tea, Pekoe, Teatop
Tier 2 : (Alphabetized) "The Almost Elite..but not quite" aka " I'm a fan but not a die hard"
Black Sugar, Caffe Central, Cool Tea, CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice , Factory Tea Bar, Good Earth Café, Gong Cha, Hanlin Tea, Little Sweet, Passion T snacks and Desserts, Soyful Desserts, Tea Station ,The Boba Shop, U Cha
Tier 3 (Alphabetized) "The Above average spots" aka " Sure why not..let's roll" : 85 Degree, BlackBall Desserts, Bliss Sweet, Bobapia, Cha Express, Che-Lo, Keep it, Milkq-Tea Lounge,Puppy Bobar, Qualitea, Super Cue, T4, Tastea, Tata Tea, Tea 18, Tea Breeze, Tea Island, Tea Six, Tea Station, Teaspoon, Teatime, The Ramen Bar, T-Lab, TocoToco,Tpumps,Urban Ritual, Wondertea
Tier 4 : (Alphabetized) "The Average spots" aka " Only if you want to go"
5 Sweets, 99% Tea House, Bambu, BB Tea Station, Boba Fitt, Boba Guys, Boba Pub, Bobo Drinks & Pho, Bubblecup, CaFace, Ding Tea, E Tea,K Tea Café, Mandro Tea House, Mr. & Mrs. Tea House, Orange Tea, Pit Stop Boba Shop, Pop, Pop Tea Bar, Qcup, Samovar Tea, Sharetea, Sno Crave Tea House, Steap (not Steep), Steep (not Steap), Sweet Gelato , Tea Breeze, Tea Chansii, Tea Lounge, T&T Café, Tanca, Tea Lyfe, Teazu, The Tea Zone & Fruit Bar
Tier 5 (Alphabetized) " The Ummm...." aka "I'll only go if you REALLY REALLY want to go..."
Asha Tea House, Belly Good Café & Crepes, Boba Bar, Café Tapioca, Comebuy Drinks, Elixiria, Fusion Mix, Golden Tea Shop, Honey B Tea House, Honeycreme, Ice Monster, Jenjon's Café, Joy 4 Tea, Kaffa Coffee, Little Heaven Deli, Ketsourine Macarons, Maggies Café, Mints & Honey, Mr. Green Bubble, One Tea, Pearl Café, Plentea, Pop up Tea, Posh Bagel, Coffee & Snacks, Qt Monster, Rainbow Tea House, Royal Tea,Sinceretea, Sivan Milk tea, Sweet Heart Café, Tapioca Express , Tea Bear, Tea Hut, Tea Press, Teasociety, Teco Tea and Coffee Bar, TJ Cups, Westea, Who's Tea, Yokee Milk Tea
Tier 6 (Alphabetized) "The I'll Pass " aka " Here is your parting gift..."Big Fat Straw Café, Boba Queen, Coco Café, Fantasia, I Café, Mi tea, Out the Door, Phusion, Quickly, Shincha, Sweethut, Teaster, Ten Ren Tea, Wonderful Foods/Desserts
If you like my reviews, consider "following" my profile for reviews all across the SF Bay Area . Why "follow" someone? It causes the person you follow's reviews to tier to top when you pull up a business. I find this very handy when researching venues.
Rod's Review grading scale explained. Essentially I personally base it on the likelihood of a return visit and I try to be stingy with 5 star reviews since they should be "special" in my eyes. Price/Value also play a role obviously but there are $ and $$$$ littered across my grading scale.
5 stars - "I'll go out of my way" (approx 6 % of my reviews) 4 stars- "If I was in the area I'd go here and would recommend", (approx 38% of my reviews) 3 stars "Maybe if was nearby", (approx 37% of my reviews) 2 stars -"Would likely not return, Only if you want to go", (approx 16% of my reviews) 1 star -"No thanks, even if I was hungry", (approx. 3 % of my reviews) read more