A step above most other bubble tea shops. Located steps from the dragon gate entrance of the International District, SBT serves up some seriously good bubble and milk teas. I recently had a red bean tea shake with additional red beans and egg custard (toppings are all free) and was treated to one of the best frozen drinks ever. Pretty popular place, but lines have not been unreasonable (that might change when summer rolls around). Service is friendly and snappy. Plenty of choices with endless add-ons and modifications. Highly recommended. (4.5 stars). read more

Not the best taro milk tea, not the worst either. I don't taste the tea much, and they do use fresh taro paste for the drink. $4.95 including boba, fair deal. read more

Seattle Best Tea - Taro Miln Tea - $4.95 - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Everyone was really friendly and the tea was good. Can't ask for more :) I really enjoyed the grass jelly.

Friendly service and even yummier teas! My go to is a strawberry black tea with light lychee jelly and 70% sweetness and this spot had the best yet. Love that they give stamp cards, giving me a reason to try more of their very large menu! read more

Seattle Best Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Oooooohhhhhhh this place is a hidden gem. Now, with all these bubble tea place opening up and all their gimmicks and cute accessorized store, it's nice to find a simple mom and pop shop that still deliver in quality, hospitality and price. We came by wanting a warm drink and so we got a warm taro milk tea with boba. It was cute how it comes in a hot tea cup with a slit on the lid so you can put the boba straw in it. You can taste the taro, and the boba was chewy. It was surprisingly good. They had ice cream there and so I asked to sample and they were so generous with it. I tried the oolong tea, the Jasmine tea and the milk tea. The Jasmine tea was Sooooo good. Unfortunately, it was too cold for ice cream and we were planning on staying outside for a few hours or else I would have gotten ice cream. Price was very good, a lot lower than most places. I just love the hospitality here, the lady was so nice and warm. Will definitely come back and I hope their business continues to grow. read more

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Ah, I didn't really understand the hype behind the bubble tea here. I love the actual store and its decor - it reminds me of an old-style tea house where you can find old Chinese grandparents playing mahjong in the back. However, the bubble tea was nothing special. I ordered a regular Black Milk Tea and got bubbles, but the milk tea tasted similar to powder tea and the bubbles were oddly soft. The good thing is that the bubble tea came out very quickly and the staff were super friendly and willing to give recommendations. Maybe I'll try it again, but there are definitely better bubble tea places in CID. read more

Seattle Best Tea - Milk Bubble Tea. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

The Drink I stumbled upon this place a few years ago while visiting Seattle, and got a chance to visit again. Out of all the places I've tried so far, I still like their milk tea the most. I ordered their standard Black Milk Tea with Tapioca, and it was the same as I remembered. The drink has a well balance of milk and tea. Though the tapioca needs a bit of improvement. The texture and chewiness is good, but is bland and no flavor. But the quality of the tea and milk tea is definitely good and recommended. They also have tea flavored ice cream, which is another plus. The Miscellaneous The shop is right off of the International District / Chinatown Station, quite convenient. The inside is small, but it does have limited seating if you want to take a break from the rain. Part of the interior decor is set up like a traditional tea house, which goes well with some of the teas they serve. Their service is good and employees are sincere. They offer a variety of teas and milk teas along with smoothies. The price is quite reasonable when compared to other tea shops. It is a place worth checking out if you are looking for good tea / milk tea. read more

Seattle Best Tea - Black Milk Tea w/ Tapioca - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Owner is always friendly, professional, and their OG Milk Tea is a must whenever in the ID.

Best boba in Seattle. Many options. Getting pearls or jelly is free!! Quick and super friendly service. Tastes great. Not much else to say really! We go here almost every time we want boba. The few exceptions are when we want to try some other boba place but that almost always ends up being less good than here! read more

Yes, this place is really darn good. No frills, near perfect milk tea. I love that it's unlimited toppings for the same price! As of July, still no dine in. You get a number and wait outside until your number is called. Literally right next to the Chinatown Gate. read more

Seattle Best Tea - Jasmine milk tea, with boba and Mango jelly - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

The best bubble tea in all of Seattle!! Seattle Best Tea is nuzzled right underneath the Chinatown arch, and is a locally owned small tea shop. The staff are always so friendly and welcoming. Seattle Best Tea is definitely my go-to in the city for bubble tea - it's worth it even if you have to drive to the International District just for this. $5 for unlimited toppings is impossible to find anywhere. My favorite is the heavy oolong milk tea with boba, lychee jelly, and egg pudding. The egg pudding is home-made and so so delicious. They also sell ice cream (some asian flavors!) - I've had the taro and the milk tea and they are both delicious. I've heard they do durian, jasmine tea, oolong tea, etc. I definitely have more to try. Pro tip: they sell it by the pint! This place truly is Seattle's best. read more

I heard about Seattle's Best Tea because one of my office mates raves about it all the time. So when he was picking up boba in the International District and bringing it back to the office, I made sure to ask him to get me one too. After all, it's hard for me to make it all the way down to the ID, where this is located, because of the lack of parking available there. The boba comes in one size, a pretty large cup which is sturdier than normal boba cups. I got the original milk tea, with the standard configuration (full sugar and ice) and I thought it tasted pretty good. You can definitely taste the tea flavor, which is always a plus for me since I don't like very watered-down teas. However, the full ice/sugar configuration was not a good idea. The tea was too sweet for me, although it's not really the restaurant's fault (I just got the wrong thing lol). I would highly recommend asking for low sugar if you don't like super sweet drinks. The tapioca pearls were all around pretty standard. Maybe because I had to wait 40 minutes for my drink to be delivered to my office, the boba at the bottom was a little bit hard, instead of the soft, chewy boba that I normally like. There also didn't seem to be that much boba relative to the size of the drink. I really want to try this place again, and next time I'll actually make it out to their location in the International District myself and ask for a drink with less sugar. read more

Seattle Best Tea - Big cup of Seattle's best tea! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Best tea, indeed! We came here for a caffeine pick-me-up and Seattle Best Tea did just that and more. The selection is huge, with all different types of teas, from milk teas, to blended drinks, in all various flavors. Since I wanted an iced tea without any sugar or milk, the staff directed me to the tea selections that could be made iced without any extras. I ordered an Iced Green Tea. Since all of the teas are freshly brewed, it does take a bit, but the wait is worth it. Once my order was called, the owner mentioned that she gave me an extra tea, just in case I thought my green tea was too strong because she confessed to have steeped it for too long. Honestly though, I didn't find the green tea overpowering at all, as I like my teas to be on the stronger side, so really enjoyed the first brew. If anything, it was over-the-top service of having provided me with an extra iced tea, just in case I didn't like it. The flavor for that one was lighter yet still good. Service is fantastic here and the owner is as sweet as can be. Seattle Best Tea has a great selection of teas from China! Don't feel overwhelmed with the wide selection of different teas they have, as the owner and staff are more than happy to help and answer questions on any of the products. Plus, they have ice cream here, with popular Asian flavors like green tea, red bean, durian, etc... Glad to have found this place for my tea fix! read more

Seattle Best Tea - Types of Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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This spot is literally the best milk tea place in Seattle. The bf is pretty serious about his milk tea. We usually go every weekend! We've tried so many places, but he always comes back to Seattles Best Tea. Everywhere else we go, it's usually a bit of a disappointment. We recently moved from Seattle to Lynnwood and sometimes the bf will drive all the way to Chinatown just to get his milk tea from here! That's how much he loves this place. If you want really good milk tea, this place is really the best. read more

(International District) Price is great, service is always really friendly, and the tea is pretty good. I only knock one star down because I've been multiple times and sometimes the boba is good, but more than often it's also really hard / flavorless. I would recommend trying the other toppings like the jellies because those are always great. Paid parking lot nearby, but the drinks are made so fast you could probably get away with parking in the loading zone / street spots. read more

This is my favorite boba place of all time and is the shop that made me fall in love with boba. I used to never actively go out of my way for boba or add tapioca to my drinks, but this store makes the best of the best. I love the taro and jasmine milk tea here. So good! Every time I visit Seattle, this is a must go-to place. read more

Seattle Best Tea - Jasmine Milk Bubble Tea. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Their sweet teas are the best, the flavors are always on point and they're never too sweet, a good combination of tea & flavor (if that makes sense lol). A must when you're in Chinatown & they always get my order right! Check this spot out when you're in the area! I usually mix two flavors but this time I got the peach sweet tea & it is delicious, perfect for anytime of the day! read more

Seattle Best Tea - Peach sweet tea, perfect combo of peach & tea! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

This was my first milk tea find when I moved to Seattle. Thank you for offering an alternative milk tea place to back home in California. This review is for my experience before the mask mandate in Washington. I opted to try the Jasmine Milk Tea with Boba. First thing I noticed was how flavorful and fragrant the milk tea was. Not something I usually experience with milk tea when the dairy portion/sweeteners are added. This was a nice change! You could definitely taste the tea more. Looking forward to trying other drinks here! read more

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Service was great but the drinks to me it just okay. It is located in China town. I order avocado smoothie which blend with real avocado and ice. It was decent nothing special. The milk tea on the hand was good. I came here on Friday night and waited about 15 minutes for the line and another 10 minutes for the drinks. Overall, I don't drink milktea so I am not an expert on it. But their avocado smoothie was not good.. they should blend it with almond or soy milk instead of just ice and water. read more

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Been here a number of times can't believe this is my first review. I don't usually go for milk teas I my usual go to is on the fruity or more refreshing drinks. They have a special called the Pink Lady that a friend told me about and I had been wanting to try. They have well marked and signs stating six feet apart. I was picking lunch and Henry's down the street and remembered I hadn't tried the drink still and was crossing my fingers it was still offer. The staff is always friendly and helpful here it's still take put only which is understandable as it's not a real big space. The Pink Lady drink is lemon with lemon, rose, lychee and lychee jelly. Very refreshing but a little sweet for me personally I beed tp remember to ask for 50% less sweet next. Will definitely be back. read more

Seattle Best Tea - pink lady: lemon, rose and lychee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Seattle is really lacking in the boba department. Seattle's Best according to Yelp is one of the top rated boba places - it is a more run down version of Ten Ren, a tea house that serves free samples and loose leaf tea from traditional Chinese buckets. I made a special trip here in search of good boba / jasmine milk tea, and had high hopes from claims on Yelp that the teas are high quality. * Service - The owner is really nice but speaks practically no English. * Decor - Seemed a little dirty, all teas premixed with sugar and creamer. * Tea Quality - Strong but not special in flavor * Milk Teas - Premixed and extremely sweet. * Boba - Not sweet enough, too mushy, I think I prefer Quickly. The best part of Seattle's Best is the strength of the teas. So far my favorite boba place in Seattle is 20 OZ. read more

Seattle Best Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Full disclaimer, I don't drink bubble tea the way most people do. I only drink milk tea with fresh milk/cream/half and half (not nondairy powder creamer), and I usually get 0% or 25% sweetness, and with boba. I have ordered the Heavy Oolong Milk Tea with fresh milk/0% sugar/boba from here twice, and both times, it tasted extremely watered down, and the boba itself had no sweetness. It was the only time that I was really unable to finish my drink, because it tasted unpleasantly like water with a slight tea aftertaste. I suspect that this shop relies on sugar to enhance the flavor, and powder creamer to make the tea seem stronger. Not what I look for in milk tea, but I admit that I am picky. Suggestions for business: use half and half rather than milk, so that the tea doesn't get as watered down. Soak cooked boba in brown sugar syrup so that it's sweet. Brew stronger tea. read more

Hand down to the best tea in Seattle! I am a tea drinker. I am also picky with tea. I had a chrysanthemum tea. Its exactly the flavor I remember tried and loved in Vietnam. The tea was refreshing. It was not too sweet which I love. The aloe vera topping was bomb! They are not the jelly aloe vera, they are real aloe vera. They have many tea flavors here and milk tea. They also sell ice-cream. All interesting flavor like kiwi, milk tea, durian, jasmin tea, etc. The durian ice-cream was definitely durian. It was creamy and tasty! The service was fast. The workers were friendly and nice. I highly recommend this place. read more

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Employees are very pleasant! Mango Smoothie was awesome. I love this place. I'll definitely be back sometime soon. read more

Seattle Best Tea - Delicious Mango Smoothie - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Delicious milk tea and jasmine green milk tea, without being overly milky or creamy with a good tea flavor. They have good egg pudding and the boba is soft and chewy. Definitely would recommend if you're in the area. Workers are helpful and friendly. There is street parking right across the street that is very convenient. read more

During the summer break of 2023, I was a regular and bought drinks from here around 2-3 times a week. The staff here are extremely welcoming and friendly! One time, I bought drinks but about two or three hours later; I dropped it :( I went back to the store and told them that I dropped my drink and was going to purchase another. They kindly made me a new drink for free and it made my day! They're such good people :) Amazing ambiance!! I also recommend the mango jasmine green tea and just all the fruit teas in general they're all so nice and refreshing! (I really like the mango one and always order it) read more

Love how it is boba and ice cream in the front and traditional tea shop/seating in the back of the shop. The tea is very yummy. Most impressively and what warms my heart is seeing the staff take care of the elders in the community when they come in. And the elders look like regulars who know and adore them. I just imagine if those elders were my grandmother that I would be so happy that the staff would treat her that way. read more

Amazing drinks. Small space makes you feel welcomed. Lots of selection. Highly recommend to anyone read more

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There's definitely a reason why Seattle Best Tea remains a favorite amongst many. SBT has been in the neighborhood for decades and there's a sense of closeness and intimacy with popping into the store on a rainy day, and get greeted by staff who does an amazing job getting to know you and understand your order and preferences. They make an effort to help you decide which drink to order, despite a busy line. I would say that a solid base of SBT's customers are regulars. The shopfront itself is quite small. There's a cramped counter with shelves filled with different tea variations and some seating alongside the wall, as well as in the back. Pre-pandemic, the owners would host tea-tastings and classes. You get to know one of the boss lady, Lydia and her contagious enthusiasm for tea and the broader CID community. Some of my favorite drinks are the heavy oolong milk tea with boba and grass jelly, as well as their fresh fruit drinks depending on my mood that day. I recommend getting light sweetness as their drinks lean on the sweeter end. The tea flavor is great, because they use fresh tea leaves to preserve the quality of the tea, and their pricing really can't be beat when it comes to getting boba in the area. My absolute favorite feature of SBT is the stamp card system they have up by the register. You can get a card, decorate yours with a sticker and get a stamp every time you make a purchase and redeem a free drink after you collect 10. And you just keep it up front for your returning visits, which is perfect for me because I'm always losing stamp cards. It adds a sense of belonging that makes each visit unique. If you've never been to SBT, I urge you to give them a visit, I think you'll really enjoy what they have to offer! read more

Awesome place to get bubble tea or smoothie with a good authentic tea taste of a good big size and at a very reasonable price of $4ish. That's cheaper than many boba places or even in international district! I particularly like the fact that the drink comes with w toppings of your choice (nova and many other things like grass jelly, red beans, custard, etc). That's really a great deal there! Bonus too that this place has such a great service mind. The owner and the young lady helping out the store were kind and patient. The only thing I wish they had are some pastries or munchies that you could have along with your drink (I think they only have ice cream..on top of the drinks on their menu). read more

Seattle Best Tea - Honey jasmine milk tea with red beans and almond jelly. Yum!! ($3.99 excl tax) - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I was pretty pumped to get a taste of the "best tea" in Seattle, but I would say boba-wise, it falls behind a list of other shops like Ten Ren, TeaTop and 7 Leaves, to name a few. If you're looking for just literally tea to-go or takeaway, this is your joint. This place was quick and easy to find. I could easily access it from the LINK tram, however if you're a traveller looking for a place to chill before heading to/from the airport...look elsewhere. They don't have lots of seating, nor is this spot ideal for big groups. So come in a smaller group or just order and go. They are set up like Ten Ren tea, if you know all about that Taiwanese tea ambiance. There are containers, tins, jugs all presented and displayed containing tea leaves to make it KNOWN that they serve legitimate tea. I would say that this place is Korean owned because I overheard some Korean being spoken. They also sell soft serve ice cream which looked good, but I wanted a boba drink to chew and enjoy slowly. I didn't want too much caffeine since I was catching a flight after, so I went with their taro milk tea with boba. I was SO pleased to hear that the taro milk tea was made with real taro. However it didn't even taste legit. Legitimate taro doesn't look purple--it's more pink, and the texture of the tea would be a little more gritty and sandy than watery. I'm not fronting on the legitimacy of what the sweet worker said, but I don't feel a certain type of way towards the taro tea. I would skip it. Maybe their roasted teas and other more traditional items would've been a better choice. Service is the best part about this place. Everyone is very friendly from the moment you walk in with their smiley greetings to when you leave! The wifi is free and strong, so that's a plus. It seems like this place is a local fave with the kids. I might be spoiled with the boba selection and shops in California (both Norcal and Socal), so that's also a part of this review. read more

Seattle Best Tea - Taro mt with boba and grass jelly - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I ordered my usual: black milk tea with light ice, boba, and pudding. The workers are always polite, easygoing, and fast-paced... 5/5 service. This was one of my fav boba places in Seattle... until today. As I got close to gulping my whole drink down, I felt an "odd-textured" boba enter my mouth. I pulled that "boba" out of my mouth, and as soon as I recognized what it was, I freaked out and threw it on the ground; it was a big bug with long legs. I'm very disgusted, and won't be coming back here again unfortunately. I hope other customers won't experience what I experienced today. read more

Seattle Best Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Overall 3.5 but bumping it up cuz the older Asian woman working behind the counter was so cute. I asked her about one of the toppings and she insisted on giving me a sample before making my choice. So thoughtful. Now onto the tea. Is it really the best in Seattle? No I wouldn't say that. Ordered the brown sugar boba. Should've read the reviews more closely as I now see their taro and oolong are more well known. Oh well. I also forgot to tell her the sweetness level and holy damn this thing tasted like a cavity! Way too sweet for us as we usually order it 25%. With that much sugar we couldn't really get past the hit-you-in-the-tastebuds sweetness vs the tea flavor which is most important. Next time I'm in the area, I'll have to try them again and remember to say low sugar. ‍ read more

Seattle Best Tea - Remember to tell them your level of sweetness otherwise it'll be 100% and taste like a cavity - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Came a few times and tried the heavy oolong milk tea, black milk tea and green milk tea. I'm a big fan of the heavy oolong and recommend you give it a try. But all of the teas I've had here have been good, and I'm going to have to try their Asian ice cream when it warms up. The prices here are fair and service is friendly. The actual boba are good and chewy when you get the tea, but they seem to harden quicker than usual, so make sure you finish them first. Finally, they have a punch card, so make sure to get one, because you'll be back. read more

Came from Vegas for vacation and checked this place out after a hearing a friend's recommended and it did not disappoint! We parked on the street around the corner and took a very short walk to get to the shop. Very cute Asian grandma making our drinks but you could tell that she's a pro from her speed and techniques. We got: Honey Jasmine Sweet Tea- First sip was amazing! Extremely refreshing but surprisingly not too sweet despite keeping it at 100% sweetness level. Very authentic jasmine flavor with a hint of lemon. The tea flavor is perfect and not overwhelming nor is it masked by the sweetness. Perfect drink to quench your thirst! Matcha Green Milk Tea- Again, extremely refreshing for a milk tea. Sweetness is perfect at 100%. Does not have a grainy matcha taste which was a plus for me. Can definitely taste and smell the traditional tea used in the drink. Very smooth matcha flavor. Would definitely recommend for matcha lovers! Best part is the toppings are free! We loved the drinks at first sip and would definitely come back here to see the cute gran gran and have us some good authentic tea! read more

First time here and got the black milk tea with boba. This place at 4.50$ a milk tea with toppings is a great price point however there was no flavor. The boba especially had no flavor and was just chewing on tapioca, wish it had some brown sugar or honey on the boba. I should've shook my drink to stir as well. Friendly service. read more

Seattle Best Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

We randomly went to this tea spot while visiting Seattle. It was pretty small, but looked busy so we figured we'll give it a shot. The line was pretty long and there was only one worker. He was quite at making drinks, his time management was spot on. He managed the drinks, taking orders, and great customer service. The drinks were great, boba wasn't hard. It was perfect. read more

Seattle Best Tea - Menu - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Update: Ordered the Rose tea, really nice light rose flavor, went great with lychee jelly, crystal boba and almond jelly. Only bummer: It was a really cold day out, ordered this hot, and got it cold with ice cubes. They acknowledged it was the wrong order, but no apology or offer to make a new one. Went from already cold to ever colder! Hopefully this is one off, they're usually lovely. read more

The bubble tea here is good because it has a noticeable tea flavor. They use real tea leaves to brew their milk tea and standard teas. Some of their drinks are a specialty: their taro milk tea uses real taro, their oolong milk teas use real leaves; their fruit based slushies use real fruit. They owners are sweet and welcoming and are always willing to chat if they have time! They are definitely one of the reasons why I have become a regular. Seattle's best tea also sells ice cream and various other foods (check the fridge when you first come in). Their ice cream is creamy and not too sweet. They have different flavors like pineapple and durian to accompany milk tea and strawberry ice cream. They rotate their flavors, so some of them might not be in stock now, but will be later! Some of the foods they sell are 粽子 and 肉圆. Overall tea shop rating: 8/10 read more

This is such a cute little teashop located in downtown Seattle in Chinatown. It's a very authentic teashop feel and reminds me a bit of Ten Ren's Teatime where they focus more on tea quality than having a bunch of fancy Instagram-ready boba drinks. Highly recommend checking this place out if you're in the mood for boba in Seattle. read more