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Rare Tea Chicago

4.5 (30 reviews)
Open • 11:30 am - 9:00 pm

RARE TEA CHICAGO · YELP ASSISTANT

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RARE TEA CHICAGO ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Dogs allowed

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Recommended Reviews - Rare Tea Chicago

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Thai Milk Tea with boba (but bad boba)
Julia L.

Thai milk tea had a roasted undertone but lacked that special taste. The boba itself is bad quality. Overcooked, it seems, swollen so much that it keeps clogging the straw. It had that weird tapwater taste, and the texture was filmy and gummy. Idk how to describe it exactly, but it's too soft on the outside and breaks apart weirdly when chewing.) I would definitely not recommend this place. Honestly could not even make myself finish my drink due to the bad boba. Very disappointing since I had been craving boba tea all day. At least the service was fast. The ambiance is very bright and the inside decor is trendy. Standard upbeat boba tea place vibes (but with bad boba). Maybe this was just a bad day or the employee making this batch of boba was untrained, but there are enough boba places in the area that I'd rather explore the other places instead of risk another go with this one.

Interior
LJ J.

Delicious boba tea selection. Cute interior very instagrammable . Tried the Rose Matcha Latte was really delicious. Perfect for anytime of the day!

Manisha P.

This spot recently opened 2 days back at my neighbourhood i.e. Lakeview and i'm addicted with it already. They have a vast menu to choose from for non dairy people like me and smoothie options as well. Their milk teas are awesome! I got the jasmine milk tea and the taro milk tea! Both were great! Service is pretty fast & the people are awesome as well! Ambience is cute and simple. Highly highly recommend anyone in the lakeview area to drop by!! I will visit again!!

a hand holding a cup of coffee
Victoria F.

I'm always down to try a new boba place, and I was happily surprised by how much I enjoyed my drink at RareTea. I ordered their Duo Grape drink, which was the perfect drink for the hot summer day! I did ask for less sweet, and it was the perfect sweetness. The jasmine tea flavor was strong but not overpowering, and it paired well with the tartness of the grapes. The snow cream provided a hint of saltiness, which sounds gross but was actually delicious. I didn't get to try their milk tea or tapioca, so I will have to make a return visit for that.

Some limited seating in this quaint little tea shop
Genna G.

Stumbled upon this cute little boba tea shop while looking for an after school treat for my daughter. We split a mango smoothie with boba and it was amazing. So many delicious menu items -Lots of boba tea options and flavors to chose from . I'll be back to try more!

Wendy H.

It's a cute bubble tea shop. There's enough seating for maybe 6 people. The people were nice. I ordered the Okinawa Milk Tea and it tasted pretty good. It was empty here but it's nice to stop by after a long walk.

Vibe
Nikita B.

Walked into this boba place on a casual sunday afternoon. We were greeted promptly and we were able to order our drinks promptly. I ordered the rose matcha tea which was refreshing and the perfect beverage for a warm summer day. The drink tasted amazing and I love that they have the option to tone down the sweetness or the ice in the drink. Overall, this is a solid boba place and I would definitely come back here again.

Lychee smootea and Okinawa milk tea
Clarissa H.

Oooh a new boba tea place opened up on Broadway! It's a cute small place, perfect to grab a drink before grocery shopping or browsing books at Unabridged. I ordered the lychee smootea and it was great! It had a good consistency (not too thick), a strong lychee flavor, and would be perfect on a hot summer day. They even have some vegan options on their menu. It's cute, clean, and definitely a spot I will be coming back to!

Taro Milk Tea w/ boba
Chad S.

THE WHOLE PLACE IS DAIRY FREE! The taro milk tea was creamy and mildly thick. It made for an extremely tasteful flavor. The peach green tea was great as well. If you're someone looking for a cozy play to grab a drink- this is the spot to scratch that boba tea itch! However, don't expect to be greeted or the tea explained by the staff. If you ask for something special you likely won't get it (for example, little ice means they put no ice in it). Small thing, but you want to feel your money is going to a product and business that cares about you. I guess they just know their product slaps so the customer service is lacking.

Okinawa Milk Tea
Stacey H.

Nice, friendly service but the taste is okay, not amazing. Some items on the menu are not actually sold (yet?) like the ice cream milk tea. I tried the Okinawa Milk Tea and it was a bit too powdery of a taste for me. The prices should be a little lower for the more "basic" milk teas in my opinion. A small space but there are tables to hang out!

Thai Milk Tea
Ria O.

Fantastic milk teas, absolutely love having a dependable boba shop near me in Lakeview :) (pleasantly surprised by the Okinawa Milk Tea!)

Leon L.

Brand new Boba shop open in chicago downtown. For all tea lovers, give them a try! They have Tea-presso similar to coffee espresso, but for tea! Staff are very nice and helpful. Even for those who love sweet, they have option for sweet tooth to help your craving as well. I noticed they used fresh fruit for their drink. I cant wait to explore their menu and see what more they can offer. They don't have food yet. But this is a great place to visit after a meal to get some refresher or boba tea for dessert! Highly Recommend!!

Outside View from seating area

I've always wanted to try Rare Tea but finally got the chance to stop in today! The inside is super cute and I was greeted the second I walked through the door. They had a pretty large selection of drinks but I went with their signature Okinawa Milk tea since standard milk teas are usually my favorite. They really lived up to their reviews! The milk tea was amazing and had the perfect amount of sweetness. I found out the unique flavor comes from a bit of roasted brown sugar. The milk tea was decently priced and the size was pretty large as well. They also play great music inside so it's definitely worth stopping by! :)

Taro Milk Tea with maybe 10% Taro 90% non-dairy creamer

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Photo of M R.
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1 month ago

Best boba in all Chicago and priced well. Can't complaint on anything. The service is good too.

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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4 months ago

My favorite place for Boba tea within walking distance of home. Big menu and comfortable seating area.

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2 years ago

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4 years ago

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3 years ago

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4 years ago

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

Delicious! And friendly service, and plenty of options for anyone's liking. So glad we have a Boba place in Lakeview East now!

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3 years ago

Tasty! Great, balanced drinks. Got the coffee milk tea, 50% sugar with grass jelly and it was delicious.

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4 years ago

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4 years ago

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3 years ago

I have been going to this place since it opened. The tea is good and you can adjust the sweetness. They also serve bubble waffles now.

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

The staff is always super friendly and the store is very clean. The drinks are consistent and delicious.

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Review Highlights - Rare Tea Chicago

“I'm always down to try a new boba place, and I was happily surprised by how much I enjoyed my drink at RareTea.”

Mentioned in 2 reviews

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Smoothie Joint - Green line

Smoothie Joint

4.6(56 reviews)
0.5 mi•Lakeview

Got something cool and healthy from this locally owned business in Lakeview East. It may be pretty…read moresmall inside but they still create some pretty big flavors. Smoothie Joint is also one of the healthiest places. Has many things on the menu to choose. There's smoothies of course as well as bowls made with açaí, or other fruits and stuff. Came at breakfast. It's a good place for a healthy start. The main things of course are the smoothies, but that's not all, as they also have bowls made with fruits and vegetables. Good healthy items. There's a few of these. It's about $12 for a bowl. The Green Line Bowl is made with avocados and bananas, topped with coconut, granola, and strawberries. Just was kind of small, but it packed a lot in. There's a few other bowls including pineapple. Healthy place to get some breakfast or any time basically. It's located on Newport off Sheffield. There's plenty of offerings for vegans and vegetarians.

it seems to be a smoothie desert in Wrigleyville area, so I stopped on by to the only location that…read morewas showing up on my map - I love the theme here of each smoothie being named after an L route! It's a very cute idea and from walking in you could see that the employee was making each drink with fresh fruit and vegetables - I got the green line express and my friend got the purple line. we both loved our drinks and added the vanilla protein. I am about 85% sure that they forgot the protein in my green smoothie. - here's the thing. there was one woman working there who was running all over the place while talking loudly on FaceTime. she then plugged her phone in in the middle of the room and had her FaceTime on max volume. we waited as the only people in the place for about 10 minutes and she just like did random things. - there were boxes everywhere and it just seemed like they were in the middle of moving out? there were two stools nowhere near the counter on the side (that was where her phone was blasting) it was a total mess and definitely not passing any cleanly tests.... - so yes, tasty and yes, there's potential. definitely not any poison in the drinks, but?!? what's happening!?

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Smoothie Joint
Smoothie Joint
Smoothie Joint

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Ancient Grounds Coffee Co

Ancient Grounds Coffee Co

4.4(60 reviews)
0.6 mi•Lakeview

The Queen wanted to come here to try the coffee flight, but soon discovered that the flight was not…read moreoffered on the weekends, just the Mon-Fri. Ancient Grounds Coffee Co is located on Belmont, not too far from the Red Line. There was plenty of street parking, but was odd that the signs said the training was 24/7, but when I tried to pay on my app, it would not accept it, so I took a photo of the app saying that just to be on the safe side. The store is very bright and clean. We had a problem getting in, initially thinking the store was closed, although we could see folks in there. Turns out that the door is somewhat hard to open, and fortunately the gentleman sitting in the window alerted us to push real hard. Turns out while we were there, he was the unofficial doorman letting others know to push real hard. Since the flight was unavailable, we decided to have breakfast. The Queen got the Best Damn Ham & Egg (bacon, ham, egg, and pepper jack cheese on a croissant) and I got the Breakfast Burrito (sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns, and cheddar cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla, side of salsa). Both of these were quite good, fresh in flavor. I also got a cranberry orange scone, which was also quite tasty. Before I could ask if they could warm it up, they offered to do so. I love pastries and I need them warm, so kudos to them for offering without me asking. The Queen got a Biscoff Latte (secret recipe syrup, a double shot of espresso, milk, whipped cream, topped with a biscoff cookie. This drink is 16 oz in size. She said it was delish and that the cookie was just lovely. I got a standard mocha with almond milk and that was very good as well. There are seating options throughout the location and ample room if you want to work on your laptop: tables, benches and couches. I like that they offer different sizes (8 oz, 12 oz, and 16 oz) for certain drinks, while some come in 16 oz only. And there is the option of hot and cold drinks. Service was cool. The staff was pleasant. Once you place your order at the front counter, they will call you up to the front to pick up your drinks and eats. I have to also mention that they were playing some great dusty tunes to groove on a Sunday morning. I thought the prices were pretty reasonable, especially when you compare it to a Starbucks. Avocado Toast under $10, yes you heard that right. I can definitely see myself coming back here on an early Sunday morning to just chill, drink and eat, it was that much fun. Before leaving, I did thank our doorman for his service in helping all of us to get into the joint. Next time, I will know to use some muscle to get into Ancient Grounds Coffee Co.

A cozy comfy coffee shop with interesting coffee menu. The vibe was very Chicagoan and a quiet…read moreplace to sit and work as well. Free WiFi. The barista was really kind and nice in suggesting flavor profiles. I tried their apple crisp hot latte and it was delish!

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Ancient Grounds Coffee Co
Ancient Grounds Coffee Co
Ancient Grounds Coffee Co - Chaider (left) & Iced Lucky Charms latte (right)

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Chaider (left) & Iced Lucky Charms latte (right)

Rare Tea Chicago - bubbletea - Updated November 2026

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