Wasn't planning on writing a review because I think the tea speaks for itself but realized it might encourage others to try! Hailing from Socal 626 and having now lived in the Bay area for over a decade, I've tried my fair share of boba joints. I must say, Raretea is on point! The tea always tastes freshly brewed. And all of the drinks I've tried never have the artificial taste (the fruity ones). The boba is perfect and customer service can't be beat. Do yourself a favor and check it out. Bonus: lots of parking :) read more

I came here for the first time on a Wednesday and the staff was so nice! I ordered a jasmine milk tea and it was SOOOOO good! The restaurant was super cute and the employees were super nice! Boba balls were nice and sturdy. Jasmine milk tea was creamy and delicious! Definitely would come back here! read more

I've been to RareTea twice since they've opened, and in general, it's mediocre boba with pretty good tea. The location is great, because there are really no other boba places in the area. Ordering online is super easy, and it allows pick up to be contactless. The wait wasn't that long; it was probably 5 minutes at max, though I went with a friend right around opening, so the store wasn't busy at all. The tapioca is chewy, but doesn't really taste like anything. It's more textural if anything, and it's nothing special. The tea I had (honey black tea) was a little bitter, but that's probably my fault for not getting it sweetened more. I had the black milk tea the time before and that was also pretty okay. Overall, just a decent boba place in what used to be a dry speckle in the Bay Area's boba flood. read more

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Just tried RareTea for 1st time and we really liked it. We had the Okinawa and Hokkaido milk teas w/boba. The boba was freshly made so perfectly soft and chewy. The subtle quality of tea was noticeable, and even at 100% sweetness was just right. Most boba tea places are not very customer service oriented. It was surprising how friendly they were. They had forgotten a topping in one of the drinks, and instead of ripping open the plastic top, they just made me a new one which I wasn't expecting. I have boba probably once per week and have tried a lot the ones in downtown San Mateo and other areas. This RareTea location is much more convenient for me and really the only good one that is between Alameda de Las Pulgas and 280. Anyone who lives in San Mateo or Belmont West of Alameda de Las Pulgas need not go to downtown San Mateo anymore to get good bubble tea. Go to this RareTea location and let's make sure they grow their business as they've had the unenviable challenge of starting up during this pandemic. read more

Thank you RareTea for coming to this neck of the woods!! Love their boba. I've ordered three times (taro milk tea, regular milk tea with boba and almond pudding and Okinawa). Their honey boba is consistently soft and their tea is of great quality. They are friendly and super fast with the orders. Don't be discouraged if you see a line..I promise you that it's worth the wait :) read more

Love this place! I come almost every week, and they know me + my order which is kind of embarrassing? *shrug* Mango passion green tea with aiyu jelly, half sugar, no ice! Aiyu jelly is super refreshing, slightly sweet, and works well with most fruit teas. It can be hard to find along the peninsula. This is my spot for it. :) read more

Love their tea , really good quality and actually tastes like tea. Also their popcorn chicken is probably the best I've had at a boba spot ! The owner Alvin is super nice as well and wants to make sure you enjoy your drinks read more

Just opened a week ago. I ordered earl grey tea with boba. Organic milk, extra ice, half sweet. Nice to have boba tea in a much needed location! read more

RareTea - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Mateo, California

I enjoyed their fruit tea the most, especially the strawberry palmer. The Hokkaido MT is the not best as personally I am not a fan of roasted tea flavored milk tea and too rich and creamy for me. read more

RareTea - Strawberry Berry Crema - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Mateo, California

I went to get some sushi to go after a mani-pedi and as I was returning to my car I realized that the shop in front of my car had changed to a boba spot - nice! So of course I had to drop in and try it! One for me friend and me for me. She had the matcha and I had a passion fruit with double boba - they were very good - no added sweetener - boba cooked through and tasty, refreshing passion fruit flavor - I didn't try my friend's matcha, but she said she liked it - I'm very happy this boba place is so close and convenient - I'm hoping they will get durian flavor, but unlikely since so many hate the smell. To me it's ambrosia! Can't wait to return for my double boba soon! read more

This place is family owned and very professional! Their place is very clean and they follow COVID-19 protocols really well. I really recommend visiting this place especially if you like your boba warm and chewy read more

RareTea - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Mateo, California

My family and I love this place! The workers are friendly and quick!we frequent here a couple times a month!

I've ordered here about 5 times since soft opening. Online ordering a breeze. They've gotten my drinks right every time I've ordered. They taste good. One time my wife ordered using my phone and forgot to tell me, they called me and said my drink order was ready to be pick up (since an hour had passed). Glad to have a spot closer than going to downtown San Mateo. Now I can order online in about 2 minutes and swing by on the way home. The ONLY bad thing for me is that this place is only 3-4 minutes from where I live. It's so close and convenient and the drinks taste good. So I see myself frequently dropping by. read more

Excellent tea drinks, with a wide variety and customized to your liking. The Okinawa milk tea is very good. I've had some of the other non-fruit drinks too and they are all delicious. You can order in person too if you happen to be in the area, and not just online or calling. Easy to order and pick up. Convenient location at Laurelwood Shopping Center with lots of free parking. Prices are reasonable. I think they also have the sturdiest recyclable plastic cups, so your drink is safe and won't accidently spill or squeeze out if you hold your cup too tight. Friendly and helpful service. There aren't too many tea places in this neighborhood and I love they this place exists. They are deserving of your support for business. Check them out. read more

So so happy that they opened in our neck of the woods. Great selection, super fast service, and delicious! No more driving to downtown SM to so-so competitors :D My favs are the Java Milk Tea, Strawberry Palmer, and the Taro Milk Tea. Well-organized and friendly staff too - don't forget to tip! read more

I love this place. The staff are great (hi alvin!) but what keeps bringing us back is the Tea-spresso. I don't know any other place that has it and it is really good. Parking is easy and all the drinks are good here. read more

Great service. Ordering online is super easy to customize. I love the mango mango with aiyu jelly. So refreshing! My hubby goes for the Java with salted crema read more

Their palmers were pretty good. Matcha latte was meh. Boba was soft though. Didn't try the food but not much of a selection. Service from the one staff was good but, as expected, slow. read more

Best Mango milk Crema tea. I love how I can adjust the sweetness and amount of ice!

Boba tea is literally an addiction to me. Had so many boba teas, I can't even count. This place is absolutely on top. Taste natural, not artificial as most boba teas. read more

RareTea - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Mateo, California

Super happy this plaza is getting some fresh merchants! It's such a wasted space but subpar food but Rare Tea is amazing! I've been ordering here 2-3x a week. Fresh teas and good chewy boba. I also like their cups. Hopefully this starts a trend for the plaza. Ready to replace subway, round table pizza, and the stale bagel place read more

This was my second visit and I got 2 fruit teas. They're amazing because they use actual chunks of fruit & they blend it into the tea. I'd definitely go back for their tea. read more

NEW in the Highlands: At last, our own boba tea joint and it's awesome! RareTea took over the Hawaiian BBQ space, and it's serving up Okinawa and Jasmine milk teas every bit as good as it is back in Taiwan ! Props to the owners for braving COVID shutdown and having a go at their small business -- from the looks on the little kids' faces, we are glad and we will be back, often! read more

RareTea - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Great service and.one of.the best bubble.tea places in the area! Definitely try kiwi delight! Super refreshing and tasteful with real kiwi in it read more

The popcorn chicken taste great! My milk tea was great as well. Service was excellent so if I'm in the area I will be ordering again. My order was fast too. read more

I ordered a hot Black Milk Tea @ 30% sweetness for pick up but it tasted like a hot Black Milk Tea@100 % sweetness. I went home and added water to dilute the sweetness and it turned into four cups of black teas. Bonus lol! The tea flavor was good but unfortunately the drink was just too sweet for me. On the other hand, the servers were really nice and that made me feel like a special customer. read more

I stumbled on this bubble tea gem in a quiet plaza anchored by Piazza, a local grocery store. Service was great and folks are friendly and honest. There was a BOGO deal going on I wasn't aware of. Got to try another drink because the person there was kind enough to let me know. Always a good idea to put your order in online in advance to avoid any line up. Our go to's - Black milk tea or Hokkaido milk tea. Rich, smooth, and creamy. - Passionfruit green tea. Refreshing and tasty. - Strawberry or mango ice. Perfect non caffeinated, non dairy options for naturally caffeinated kiddies like mine read more

My husband enjoys the strawberry smoothies here - not too sweet just right. My go to to drink is the classic black milk tea with boba. I can really taste the black tea and I like the texture/taste of the boba. Workers are fast and efficient. read more

Western hills of San Mateo has been a Boba Tea desert for years, good to see one finally opening and it is an excellent one. High quality tea custom prepared with teapresso machine, good selection of choices, good services, nice clean shop, and very reasonable prices. Definitely worthy of recommendation and repeated visits! read more

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i've heard about raretea before but this was my first time coming here and i decided to try it out because i was in the area. i ordered the taro milk tea with boba and it was good, jus as good as you could expect a taro milk tea could be. i haven't tried anything else on the menu but taro was basically up to par for my boba standards. not super sweet (although i did get half sweetness) and i did like the boba however i think the day i went it was a bit harder than i would prefer. not sure if they make the boba like this usually or if i came on an off day, but if i was in the area i'd give this place another chance for sure for a different menu item read more

RareTea - Taro Milk Tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Mateo, California

Kind and warm service. Great employees - comforting every time. Boba is consistently good and wide variety of flavors. Great music and ambiance. HIGHLY RECOMMEND read more

Good quality and fast service. Boba isn't too sweet and custom drinks are fresh. Overall great.

pretty good boba spot! kind of in the middle of residential area off the freeway so its a bit out of the way but they have great service. super quick at making drinks and easy ordering system. I got the mango green tea with cream and it was tasty. flavor reminds me a bit of quicklys but definitely more pricey. i want to try some of their specialty drinks next time! read more

This place has good fruit teas and the boba is a good texture. It's really convenient to order and pay ahead of time and go and pickup without needing any human interaction. Parking is easy in contrast to the shops in downtown San Mateo. However, they don't give enough boba. I always run out about halfway to 3/4 through my drink whereas with most other places I still have some left at the end. read more

A new boba shop in town! There are so many shops around, but there isn't another in this plaza. I found RareTea, and I was was thrilled! I have been 3 or 4 times, and each time I've been very happy. I've tried their Hokkaido Milk Tea, Okinawa tea, and Passion Orange Grapefruit (my favorite). The boba is good quality and the drinks were out quickly. I have ordered ahead and in person, both with satisfying experiences. They have windows set up for contactless pick up, and take your order at the door to keep staff safe too. Finally, I tried their popcorn chicken and it was delicious. There isn't many boba shops that offer good snacks around here, so I'm looking forward to trying their other teas and snacks. read more

I ordered a taro milk tea w/ boba takeout from RareTea in San Mateo. Customer service and the packaging were excellent; my only complaint is that the tea and boba were a little too delicious. Overall, I would highly recommend this boba shop to a friend and will definitely come again! read more

RareTea - Taro Milk Tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Mateo, California

I've had many drinks on the menu and all Drinks are delicious and staff are friendly. The waffle fries are yummy too!

The GOAT spot in the San Mateo area for boba. Hardly any lines/wait, cool employees and awesome boba. Highly recommend

Craved boba at work and NEEDED it to cool off during this heat. I had it delivered and it was 20 minutes EARLY! I had the 50% sweet thai tea with boba. Absolutely perfect and the boba was fresh! I always love a perfectly made boba and WILL be returning! read more

RareTea - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Mateo, California

Get the Cajun waffle fries! I can't stop eating them. So delicious!! And very friendly staff.