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    RareTea

    3.3 (98 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
    Updated 3 months ago

    Order RareTea Takeout or Delivery

    RareTea Photos

    Business Info

    RARETEA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - RareTea

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    Menu as of 06/2025
    Krisstina C.

    I love coming to rare tea to get a drink. They're very quick with putting out orders and the quality is always great. I also love how they have a good snack menu. [[HIGHLIGHT]]It's a pretty small boba shop but they have some indoor seating.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]They also have gachapon available with cute prizes![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I recommend trying this place if you're near!

    Takoyaki
    Teena N.

    The service here is excellent, they are SOO kind to me and my kids. They have claw machines and delicious drinks and food, you can always find parking around the area. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The ambiance is a nice hang out spot to chill with your friends and chat for a little.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I usually just come order a drink or food and play their crane machines.

    Found a long hair in my drink today. [[HIGHLIGHT]]I know mistakes happen, and I'm not trying to bash the place since I come here often, but I wanted to mention it because cleanliness matters.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Hoping it's something that can be improved, as I'd love to keep supporting this business.

    Menu
    Brian T.

    Happen to be in alameda and found this place. Good service here and they have claw machines to pay to play. [[HIGHLIGHT]]There are some seatings inside.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Ordered on kiosk. The kitchen is closed at 7. I got the Okinawa Pearl Milk Tea but more milky than tea flavor. The boba was good. Came out warm and chewy. Also tried the rose matcha latte but the ratio was off. It was very rose flavor heavy. Decent boba place if you are looking for good chewy boba but the drinks I got were ok.

    Roasted oolong milk tea
    Sydney J.

    I stopped by to order a drink and snack. I got the roasted oolong milk tea, 30 sugar no ice and sweet potato fries. You can get 20% off your first purchase if you order via Snackpass mobile app. The tea was only a little sweet which is how I intended, but I wish there was less milk since overall the tea flavor wasn't as strong as I'd like. The sweet potato fries came and were sweet but wish it was more spiced. I would also prefer it to be a little crispier. It came with ketchup. They have some small crane/grabber machine games. [[HIGHLIGHT]]There is some outdoor seating at Alameda landing which is the plaza it's located in.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] It's not hard to get lot or street parking nearby.

    Honey milk tea & coffee milk tea (both with boba)
    Sandy Q.

    I sent hubby here to get us a few boba drinks. We ordered coffee milk tea and honey milk tea (both with boba). The drinks were mediocre. I couldn't taste the coffee in the coffee milk tea. There was no distinct tea flavor in the honey milk tea and the boba was too chewy and bland.

    Carol C.

    Date: 5/15/2024 Time: 3:40 PM 65° Sunny Leaving T-Mobile, I noticed Encinal High School was having a fundraiser at Rare Tea. My daughter attended Encinal (CO'97). Of course, I will support the cause. I can't count the numerous times I have walked by Rare Tea without ordering anything from them, always worrying the amount of sugar that is added to the teas, milk teas, smoothies, etc. Then I never knew they served yummy appetizers. Seeing the fundraiser, I stopped in for a tea. Thanks to the help of one of the employees and a representative from OKAPI, I uploaded an app to borrow and return a glass. Then I was able to order a beverage, 1/2 off on first older. So many choices of beverage, and they all sounded refreshing and delicious. Beverage: Peach tea, no sugar and boba. Price: $6.25 (plus 60¢ for boba). 50% discount, final price: $3.43. Tea was indeed refreshing. A return visit is a must for the appetizers and teas.

    Jasmine Green Milk Tea

    Don't go there, you'll regret it. The milk tea doesn't taste like milk tea at all; it's just sugar and water. It's disgusting and a waste of my money.

    Green Milk Tea with mini boba
    Elizabeth L.

    This RareTea is located in the middle of Alameda Landing. It is usually busy here on weekends and weeknights, so parking in this area may be hit or miss. I had only been to this location once before my most recent visit, but I had been to the Berkeley location at least a few times - I feel like the drinks at this location are not as consistent as the Berkley location. I ordered their jasmine milk tea with boba. When I tasted my drink, it tasted off and after a few sips, I realized it was the milk that tasted a bit different/strange. I let one of three employees know - he told me that they recently changed their milk, so that is probably why. He was nice enough to offer to remake my drink or pick a different drink, hence I am giving them 3 stars, instead of 2 stars. I gave him my old drink back and decided to get a creama/snow cream green tea with boba. I received my new drink shortly after and it tasted okay, but so much better than the milk tea.

    Milk

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    Page 1 of 3

    Ask the Community - RareTea

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    Top Up

    Top Up

    4.2
    (386 reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$

    First timers with a party of 12 and found our new favorite boba/snacks spot in Alameda. We ordered…read morea total of nine drinks ranging from Thai iced tea, to mango and strawberry slushies, taro, with added fun lychee poppers etc. - we basically ordered half the menu and still felt wanting more! The fries were the perfect texture and came out fresh. We occupied majority of the space and the staff and owners welcomed us and did not rush us out (this literally happened at a neighboring boba spot in alameda- they were so rude. I forgot the name, please feel free to read my review on them). I encourage you to try this place out! Cheers!

    The absolute worst boba shop in Alameda. Do yourself a favor and don't go here…read more I've been here multiple times because I kept giving them another chance, but every visit seems to come with a new problem. One time there was a hair in my drink. On several other occasions I ordered a smoothie, only for it to be handed to me already melted. Even the popcorn chicken has gotten noticeably smaller over the years. The drinks aren't good either. The flavors don't taste authentic at all--they have a very artificial, fake taste, like they're just dumping flavored powder into a blender instead of using real ingredients. The shop itself is also poorly maintained. You can see dust and spiderwebs around the store, and it doesn't feel like cleanliness is a priority. I've given this place more chances than it deserved, hoping it would improve, but it never does. Save your money and go somewhere else.

    Photos
    Inside where you order - there's a kiosk or you can walk up
    Inside where you order - there's a kiosk or you can walk up
    There's 2 self-ordering kiosks at the counter.
    There's 2 self-ordering kiosks at the counter.
    Inside

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    Inside
    Chicha San Chen

    Chicha San Chen

    4.6
    (313 reviews)
    5.7 mi
    $$

    So cool to have this great tea spot close to campus!…read more This is a spacious, stylish, modern, and comfortable space to relax and enjoy your milk tea. Very convenient to order on one of the two self service kiosks, though a line can form at times (wish they had at least one more). There's a useful screen showing all of the orders that are ready and being worked on. There's a good amount of seating well spread out with some tables and a large communal table. Some power outlets near the wall for charging. There's a cool tea tasting and education area where they let you taste and learn about tea. They have some of the best tea of any chain, you can really taste the tea flavor. Their boba also comes warm and fresh in your cup. And how fun is their built in cup holder rope!

    If you like tea this is the place to go to because they do a tea demonstration in Georgia did an…read moreamazing job with describing the taste how they smell and taste and how to make it as well. . It was very informative and takes about 15 minutes which I really love and I really enjoy and learned a lot about tea. . Also I love coming here and getting the green milk tea with Boba and it has your Taro Boba and taro paste too. You can have it less sweet or no sweet and you can have it with less ice or more ice it's all up to your choice. . This is near the university and parking is a little challenge but there's also street parking and parking garage too. Hope this review helps and thanks for reading and have a yelp-tastic day.

    Photos
    Main counter
    Main counter
    Busy any time. Lots of nice table configurations
    Busy any time. Lots of nice table configurations
    HH signage

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    HH signage
    Dim Sum Best Of Taste

    Dim Sum Best Of Taste

    4.3
    (86 reviews)
    0.9 mi
    $$

    We wanted a casual, late afternoon bite and decided to try this spot. What a little gem! Cute…read moreinterior, and every dish was surprisingly delicious. Casual spots tend to be hit or miss, and this one was a strong hit. Will be one of our go-tos going forward when we want a dependable, casual bite. ---- Steamed pork dumplings - hearty, yummy, good flavor. Nicely executed Steamed chives dumplings - also tasty and nicely executed Fried chicken wings w/ sauce - not going to lie. When we saw this, expected it to be heavy and with imbalanced flavors. However it was actually absolutely delicious and creative. The combination of flavors, sauce, and texture worked well. Definitely getting this one again! Passion fruit bubble tea - got it half sweet to enjoy with my meal ---- Other notes: They have seats and we dined in at the window counter. Made our meal more enjoyable to people watch! Parking can be tough in Webster but you can almost always find free parking down an adjacent street

    Parking is difficult but I found street parking about a block and a half away…read more This is not a typical sit down dim sum spot where you can pick and choose or watch the cart go by and order off of the cart. It is order and pay first. It has a limited dim sum menu but it came out pretty fast and we ordered a few drinks. I ordered the strawberry match latte. I liked a few items even though it was a limited menu but I think if I'm looking for the normal dim sum atmosphere I'd skip but if looking for a quick bite not bad. They only have about 4 to 5 tables. If I wanted a drink and one or two dim sum items I'd return or you go.

    Photos
    Front case decor
    Front case decor
    Flaky and delicious
    Flaky and delicious
    Thai ice tea

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    Thai ice tea
    Gong Cha

    Gong Cha

    3.5
    (208 reviews)
    2.6 mi
    $$

    This is one of my favorite boba spots in Alameda. We recently stopped in on a hot afternoon to…read morequench our thirst. Tried the Matcha Iced Smoothie (matcha, ice, and milk) and the QQ Passionfruit Green Tea (includes coconut jelly and boba), both in Medium size. Substituted herbal jelly for boba in the QQ Passionfruit Green Tea drink. Both drinks were refreshing and satisfying. I like the variety and changing specials that Gongcha has throughout the year. Service is always prompt and attentive at this spot. You can order at the counter or in one of the kiosks. Definitely sign up for their membership rewards for discounts off future purchase and members specials that they run. Plenty of seating inside too for locals to bring their laptops and work remotely. I also love that Gongcha uses biodegradable boba straws (made from sugarcane pulp), which hold up really well. Note: sadly, they no longer offer their happy hour drink special after 6pm (BOGO half off). But still have various seasonal specials throughout the year. If you get hungry, there's a Peppermint Baguette food venue (which I also recommend) inside the same shared store space (different order counter) with tasty and good priced Vietnamese dishes, snacks, and banh mi sandwiches too.

    I should expected something was off when it was completely empty during peak weekend time…read more Staff didn't greet us... which yknow -- if the drinks are good, I can overlook. But you could see that the one person who was making drinks didn't really care much. The drinks were very watered down and powdery. The matcha was so light green and tasteless. Given all of the ingredients it feels like it would be impossible to taste flavorless but it was. I've been to other Gong Cha's before and they were way better.

    Photos
    New ownership, so the Phở Nation section is now closed!  05/02/23
    New ownership, so the Phở Nation section is now closed! 05/02/23
    Matcha Milk Tea with Pearl
    Matcha Milk Tea with Pearl
    Brown sugar boba milkshakes!

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    Brown sugar boba milkshakes!

    RareTea - bubbletea - Updated August 2026

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