As one of their newest additions to their Teaspoon locations, this branch has quite a bit of competition in this area but due to brand recognition and consistent quality of their drinks, it's sure to thrive with a few potential tweaks to bring in the crowds!
This tiny mall has extremely tight parking spots and can be quite a pain during peak times but fortunately, it's not a well visited throughout the day. Some pockets, particularly towards the ends of the mall can get busy but most folks are in and out of this place due to classes or activities for children or food/beverages.
As you step foot into this space, you'll notice how clean and organized it is. From the clean floors and dine-in spaces to the display case for their pastries and monitors for their ever expanding menu, you can soak in the newness of the shop. The staff will greet you and may even suggest a few flavors as you peruse the menu. They seem to have seasonal flavors and specials to keep it fresh for regulars while also highlighting the top favorites for new patrons looking for a change of scenery. You may even have a chance to try out a sample of their teas!
The variety of drinks will surely include a flavor profile fit for anyone on any occasion. They offer a good mix of fruit based drinks that are non-caffeinated as well as caffeinated tea infused drinks. A few of their top drinks can also be made hot if you prefer, although, I think they all taste a bit better in their iced variation. My personal favorite is their black sugar assam, although it's a bit sweeter than what I am typically used to (but it has a strong tea flavor which I really enjoy and it comes with boba too). Their boba is decently chewy and a bit on the sweeter side - they don't taste that great in the hot drinks.
For those looking for a place to camp to study or work, they have free WiFi available and comfortable seating which seems to be vacant usually as most patrons take their orders to-go.
In addition to their drinks, it seems this location also has a collection of snacks like chips as well as desserts like macarons and small cakes.
Swag in the form of glass bottles is also available for purchase but other than owning the swag as a fan, there's not much of an incentive - there's no discount for bringing your own reusable bottles/cups (they claim due to sanitation concerns) unlike the big coffee chain just down the street. They do have a mobile app that allows you to rack in rewards points that can be redeemed but outside of that, there aren't many offers or freebies to get you in the door.
Overall, Teaspoon navigates their market for milk tea and fruit tea drinks and while they do a great job at making quality their top priority, I feel there's something lacking in terms of building a strong customer base. There's very little incentive to bring folks in - not many promotions or distinguishing factors that are communicated to potential patrons to make them their top choice in a saturated market. When it comes to milk tea, coffee, or sweet non-caffeinated drinks, there are quite a few choices just within a couple blocks of this location and Teaspoon, unfortunately, doesn't ever come up top of mind. In the Bay Area, purely good quality isn't enough to bring in the crowds; there needs to be some additional qualities to help Teaspoon stand out. I look forward to coming back to try a few more of their drinks but I hope by then, they've figured out a way to sustain a thriving set of return customers in addition to enticing new ones to take a gander - with just a spoonful of their tea, they'll be a fan like you and me! read more