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Seattle Best Tea

4.5 (685 reviews)
Closed • 10:30 am - 8:00 pm
Updated over 3 months ago

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SEATTLE BEST TEA ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Good for kids
Dogs allowed

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Recommended Reviews - Seattle Best Tea

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Passion fruit green tea
Samantha C.

So fresh!! They know what they're doing. We got the mango green tea and the passion fruit green tea and both were incredible! The tea flavor is intense and you can tell it's freshly brewed. There's also unlimited toppings!! What!! That itself deserves a 5-star. We didn't get any toppings and the tea was great on its own!

Michelle S.

I am very confused on all these 5 star reviews. I came here in the afternoon with my boyfriend. I got the lychee green tea, less sweet, less ice with lychee jelly and he got either the mango or passion fruit green tea, regular sweetness and less ice. Both our drinks tasted water down, barely any tea flavor. Service was disappointing, I felt as though the worker was having a rough day and looked like they hated their job. I'm giving it 2 stars because we also ordered the ube ice cream which was decent. Don't think I'd come back to this business.

Menu
Casey I.

My husband and I were walking around Chinatown. We wanted a sweet treat after lunch and found this boba shop. The ambiance was cute and quaint, small and clean. On the walls, there were articles about the boba shop. The service was good, the man was friendly and advised me which drink to pick. I ordered lychee black tea with boba, 50% sweet. The tea was great, not too sweet or bitter. The boba was soft and chewy, not too firm. I would come back when visiting Seattle!

Menu Nov 2025
Kyle T.

TLDR: My favorite boba in the Seattle area. Great drinks, fair prices, amazing service, cozy/authentic vibe, locally owned Drinks: I've never had a bad drink here from their milk teas to their fruit/standard teas. Drinks are adjustable in ice + sweetness (75, 50, 25, 0) and all toppings are free Price: While having gone up in the past few years, prices are fair for Seattle and all toppings are complimentary with your drink. That means no +1 or +75 on top of your drinks. Also, they have a stamp card system where you can buy 10 and get 1 free across both the ID + UW locations. Service: The staff here is extremely kind and knowledgeable about the menu. No matter how busy the store gets they have always been patient and genuine. Ambiance: The look of the store hasn't changed in the 5+ years I've gone here. There are tea barrels lining the back wall and the overall vibe in decorations screams community and culture. 5/5 stars, only wished the ID location opened later (closes at 8), but sometimes if I really want boba I'll go to their UW store (closes at 10)

Jasmine Milk Tea Ice Cream
Christine L.

Was visiting Seattle and craving boba, but when I saw their ice cream flavors I had to switch! Got the jasmine tea ice cream- which had such a strong jasmine flavor it tasted like a flower, in the best way! Also tried the ube, milk tea, and dragonfruit ice creams- all delicious! Price is also super reasonable at under $5 for a small (and you can get two flavors!). It's also a very generous small- they give you a ton of ice cream! Honestly this place needs to come to New York- would give Chinatown ice cream factory a run for their money. Service was also super sweet and helpful. No seating inside.

Emily Z.

Solid black milk tea. Got 50% sweet. About $7. Quick and friendly service. Not much seating inside, more of a grab and go place. Will be back!

Kiwi Fruit Flavored Sweet Tea with Aiyu Jelly
Makenzie D.

Super convenient stop for bubble tea in the international district! Located just across the street from the light rail, Seattle Best was a perfect stop for a refreshing fruit tea on the way to a Sounder's game. The kiwi fruit tea was decently sweet, and the aiyu jelly was light, a bit lemony, and super refreshing. All of their teas are super customizable, and their toppings are included, which I haven't seen at many shops! Overall a great place to stop for a bubble tea. I'll definitely be back to try their milk tea.

Jasmine (left). Wintermelon (right)

Cute little cozy shop selling boba and ice cream along with other things like tea leaves and tea sets on the side. Customer service 5/5. The prices of toppings were built in. The jasmine milk tea was 5/5. Wintermelon milk tea was 3/5. It was notably sweeter than other places and darker as well.

Outside
Felinn A.

Was looking for a quick caffeine pick me up and this was the spot. It's in the heart of Chinatown right next to the gate. They have a wide array of drinks and ice cream to offer as well. I ordered a heavy oolong milk tea with coffee jelly for about $7. Fast service and good flavor on the drink, a little on the sweeter side. Easy place to walk in, order, and take it to go. Appeared to be a good local staple as they had pictures of all the people and customers they serviced! Felt homey inside like your typical mom and pop's shop.

Drink
Albert T.

We visited Seattle Best Tea as our last stop on the Small Business Food Walk for the 2 for $6 milk teas. This shop has a very homey feel, almost as if it were originally a traditional tea lounge opened decades ago, then converted partially into boba and ice cream shop maybe 15 or 20 years ago. My guess is this is probably the very first boba shop in the CID, very similar to something like a Ten Ren in other Asian American-heavy regions. Black Milk Tea, 50% Sweet ($3) - This drink comes with boba. Everything seems to be mixed by hand at Seattle Best Tea, with no particular regard to drink consistency and repeatability. They scoop the boba and sweetener rather haphazardly - in fact I'm not even sure if they actually made my drink half sweet. After tasting - the drink was far too sweet, cloyingly so, making my mouth almost pucker as if eating something sour. The addition of creamer is quite heavy as well, resulting in a drink that has essentially no taste of tea. Finally the nail in the coffin - the boba is almost inedible - way undercooked, hard with basically no chew, with the pearls all different sizes and shapes, some big and some small, some round, some smooth and some bumpy. Milk Tea Rating: 2/5 Boba Rating: 2/5 Heavy Oolong Milk Tea, 50% Sweet ($3) - On first sip, I couldn't tell that this drink tasted any different from the previous drink. It was only after sipping them side by side, I found that this tea was possibly a bit more earthy. They might as well have mixed creamer, water, and sugar instead of adding tea - there would be minimal difference in taste. Milk Tea Rating: 2/5 Boba Rating: 2/5 That's not to say the drinks are undrinkable - I still finished them after diluting with some fresh brewed tea at home - but they just aren't good. This type of drink might have been acceptable 10 or 15 years ago when the boba scene wasn't as vibrant in the US, but nowadays there are way better options. It's probably best to visit Seattle Best Tea only for tea tastings and fresh tea, rather than getting their boba. Note: It is quite possible that the drinks were bad on my visit due to heavy traffic from the food walk. I did notice they had a fructose dispenser in the store but they didn't use it at all. I am planning to give them another shot in the future.

jasmine milk tea and heavy oolong milk tea
R C.

Jasmine green milk tea was yum. The consistency of the bubble pearls was perfect. Service was prompt. We took our drinks to go space is cozy.

Mango fresh tea with lychee jelly
Michael O.

I got the mango fresh tea with lychee jelly and it was very fruity. They unfortunately did not have mango jelly which I would have loved to try. Sizes for the drinks were one size only and the price was very reasonable. Would definitely come back again. My gf got lychee milk tea and my other friends got wintermelon milk tea, peach slushie with crystal boba and they all generally liked their drink. Service was fast and they were friendly.

Vinh M.

This is a long-standing boba place in Chinatown, and for good reason too! Their quality is exceptional even after many years, and I light up every time someone gets something for me or if I get something here myself. Since my friend picked my drink up for me, I don't have anything to say about service, though I remember the interior being quite small and having no seating. From previous visits, you order up at the counter, and there's tons of drinks to choose from. You get a free topping for anything you order, a huge plus here! I requested the peach milk tea with grass jelly, 50% sweet and less ice. I'll admit peach isn't my favorite flavor for milk tea but I still loved how much tea flavor I was able to get from my drink, and the grass jelly made it soooooo much better! There's been a huge spike on the number of boba places Seattle has for a while now, but I feel the consistent quality of Seattle Best Tea keeps it up there. A highly recommended place!

Jasmine milk tea with boba & Black milk tea with lychee jelly

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8 years ago

Their oolang heavy tea is really good! Love that they use the real stuff, no powders!

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5 years ago

One of my top places for bubble tea! Staff is so friendly and let me test the sweetness the first time I tried it here. Highly recommend!!

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8 years ago

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7 years ago

Delicious bubble tea and even better service! So glad we stopped here. The shop is very zen as well!

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So good!! And they don't use powders! The boba tastes great and the texture is perfectly chewy. Must try!

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8 years ago

Some authentic tea. You can actually taste the tea. Chris was such a delight to us, he is the reason I want to go back

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Ask the Community - Seattle Best Tea

Do the boba pearls have gluten?

In general, boba is made from tapioca, which is a gluten-free starch extracted from the root of a cassava plant. Though I am not aware of any other types of boba, I think it's safe to say it should be gluten free wherever you have a boba drink.

Can you change the sweetness of the boba tea?

Yes! They allow you to change to your liking.

View All 4 Questions

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