This lemon tea is absolute summer survival fuel! Just looking at the crystal-clear tea broth gets…read moreyou going. Take a sip, and the full-bodied lemon acidity instantly wakes up your taste buds. The tea base is light and crisp without a hint of astringency, striking the perfect balance between sweet and sour. You can taste the genuine, aromatic lemon freshness in every gulp--super refreshing and deeply satisfying. The history of Mascarpone dates back to the late 16th and early 17th centuries in the Lombardy region of Italy. Legend has it that its origin was quite accidental: a duke's chef was making dessert when he accidentally dripped lemon juice into boiling milk, causing it to curdle. Trying to salvage it, the chef drained the curdled whey, mixed in sugar and spices, and unexpectedly created a brand-new cheese with a velvety smooth texture. This became the predecessor of modern Mascarpone. This milk tea is essentially a gourmet dessert in a cup! Its soul lies in the towering cloud of whipped cream on top. Unlike standard whipped cream, this rich, velvety cap is infused with Mascarpone cheese, giving it an exceptionally luscious milk flavor and a silky texture that melts in your mouth without feeling heavy or overly sweet. The cocoa nibs sprinkled on top add a delightful layer of texture, while the smooth, aromatic milk tea below pairs the tea and dairy flavors in perfect harmony. While matcha is widely celebrated as a symbol of Japanese culture today, its roots actually trace back to China. Originating during the Sui and Tang dynasties, matcha reached its peak during the Song dynasty (960-1279 AD). The tea tradition back then involved grinding tea cakes into a fine powder, pouring boiling water over it, and whisking it vigorously with a bamboo whisk to build a thick, frothy foam--a ceremony known as Dian Cha. During the Song dynasty, the Japanese monk Eisai brought tea seeds, along with these processing and whisking methods, back to Japan. Over time, the practice took deep root, absorbed Zen philosophy, and evolved into the traditional Japanese tea ceremony (Sadō) we know today. Thousands of years later, this vibrant green, ceremonial beverage remains a soothing sanctuary for the modern soul. This matcha drink executes "freshness" to absolute perfection. Crafted with premium matcha powder, it preserves that signature delicate bitterness and clean sweetness, skipping any harsh astringency in favor of a natural, grassy aroma. The real highlight is the perfectly rounded scoop of matcha ice cream on top. As it slowly melts into the matcha base, the creamy dairy notes seamlessly blend with the tea, transforming the texture from crisp and refreshing to rich and velvety smooth.

Love this location! (It's right next to my house. Otherwise I think objectively the location kind…read moreof sucks.) They had some hiccups during their opening, like tap to pay not working, but I was overall impressed with how quickly the staff could churn out drinks. I'm also excited that they have $4 base teas! That tends to be my kind of order. I wish that more of their milk drinks allowed for non-dairy options, for some reason only a couple had alternatives :(

This spot had a lot of buzz when it appeared so I was excited to try it! I came after work on a…read moreweekday and it was pretty busy, but it didn't take too long to get our drinks. You order at their kisoks and then pick up the drink when its ready. I got the grape jasmine smoothie and added taro balls to it. The drink itself was pretty good and refreshing, but nothing that spectacular. I also thought the taro balls were pretty standard - these are tinier than your usual ones.

Seattle-Area Boba Shop Review #120…read more Teabydo, AKA Chabaidao/ChaPanda is the next Mainland Chinese boba shop to invade Bellevue. Now we just need a Chagee and maybe a Nayuki to complete the quintet (Heytea/Teabydo/Molly) of premium "New Style Tea" Chinese boba houses. This particular location has apparently been open for a couple of weeks now and is well past the grand opening stage. Puzzling, given how unprepared the place was when I dropped in on a weekday for a drink. Arriving just past 11:10, the first thing I did was walk up to one of the two convenient kiosks to order (as there was already a small line for in-person ordering). I noticed the drink menu looked very short, and glancing over at the screen at the front counter, I could see the kiosk was missing around 2/3 of the drinks. Not that I cared too much since the drink I was aiming to get was there. Finalizing all the adjustments and toppings, I started to check out, only to be greeted with an error screen. Yay technology. So I had to line up a bit, no problem. Stuff happens. Finally getting up to the front, I tried ordering the same drink, but with light ice as the menu states I'm able to do. Nope, apparently the menu is wrong and they only have full ice and no ice as options. Okay, fine I'll try regular ice. I want to add boba though. Nope, it isn't ready yet. At this point it's more than 20 minutes after opening, and there's no boba yet? That's fine for a local independent boba shop, but this is ChaPanda! They have almost 9000 stores, how have they not figured things out yet!? Given the wait time for fresh boba, I decided to leave and revisit later in the day, this time ordering at the counter without an issue. While waiting for my drink, I noticed a couple of flasks over by the pickup area, filled with tea leaves for sniffing. There's a Gardenia Green Tea, which smells floral and grassy, an excellent combination. There's Jasmine tea, a little disappointing given a heavily over oxidized smell overpowering what should be bright flowery notes. Then finally the Oolong, giving off a mild smell with some almost rancid elements. Not a good sign, given that's what I ordered... Oolong Milk Tea with Soybean Cheese Foam, Large, Regular Ice, 50% Sugar w/ Boba ($8.98) - Let me start by saying - wow this drink is EXPENSIVE. More expensive than Molly. More expensive than Chicha San Chen. Yeah, the drink is larger than the other two, but is the quality as good? In terms of tea, the answer is decidedly no. The tea has basically no fragrance, which on a positive note means that's no rancidity to be had. Instead, there's a slight funky tanginess and saltiness from the cheese foam on top, then a captivating roasty nutty note from the soybean powder mixed into the foam. I actually really like the inclusion of the soybean powder - I haven't seen another boba shop with this unique addition. While basically drowning out all the more delicate tea flavors, I found it very enjoyable to drink. Otherwise, the drink gives a relatively rich and creamy mouthfeel, pairing with a sweetness that's very sweet but not cloying. I would probably opt to reduce the sugar if I visited again. Clearly, the focus of TeaByDo is not the tea base, but rather the accompaniments. On a positive note, the ice level was also fine at regular. It's actually similar to light ice at most other boba shops - enough to completely cool the drink while leaving only a couple of chips left over. I can see on a hot day, this drink might actually need more ice than regular. While this drink is located in the "Classic Milk Tea" section rather than "Fresh Milk Tea," I feel like this drink still has tons of dairy, not even including the cheese foam top. At least, my stomach certainly was feeling it an hour later... The boba TeaByDo serves is heavily marinated in a brown sugar solution. It's very sweet and flavorful with brown sugar minerality, probably one of the most flavorful boba I've had in a while. This soak gives a really soft, velvety, and sticky texture on the exterior that doesn't harden or firm up even when cooled down fully. That unfortunately means that the interior is also on the softer side, decreasing some of the requisite chew and bounce. It's not too far gone, and I certainly wouldn't describe it as being mushy. What's puzzling is that with most pearls being softer, there were some shrunken pearls which were actually too firm. Maybe they don't stir the boba enough while cooking? Milk Tea Rating: 4.5/5 (More of a 4/5 but I personally really enjoyed the flavor of the soy bean flour) Boba Rating: 4/5 TeaByDo is a mixed bag. The drinks are pretty good, but they still have some major issues that should have been solved during the soft opening phase. Assuming that they do have it all figured out, I'd be willing to return to try out more. (Normal Rating would be 4*, but subtracting 1* for all the issues they had) Bathrooms - I didn't see any, but I also didn't ask if they had one.

I tried Hechalou for the first time and it was so good! The jelly toppings are so unique and I…read morereally liked their sesame jelly and buckwheat hun kue! I have never had sesame flavored as a topping before and I just loved it! I also loved the texture of the hun kue! The store itself was also well maintained and I loved the design of the store and the staffs are very nice as well! I had few questions about the menu and she patiently answered them! Definitely should try it out very recommended!!!!

I think this is my new fav milk tea spot! Big fan of Molly tea and heytea for reference…read more The signature house blend milk tea has pretty strong tea flavor and the black tea hun kue jelly is so good! Has a nice texture kind of like egg pudding, and I like that it keeps better in the fridge overnight than tapioca pearls. I got their recommended sweetness level and it was perfect. Black tea hun kue

Overall: 5 stars…read more Uniquely decorated store that has lots of mirrors and greenery to make the place feel bright and alive. I liked their menu, which offers some original takes on the now popularized drinks. Peach Green Tea - Refreshingly flavorful in both the tea front and the power of the fruit. The peach pulp was easy to eat and tasty. Food: +1 Presentation: +1 Price: E Atmosphere: +1 Service: E Menu: +1 Insta/Yelp/Beli: @amei_eats Insta/TikTok: @ameizing.race

Happy to see a new high quality matcha place in Bellevue. It is the same location as the previous…read moreChi Cha San Chien tea. They moved to Bellevue square. Parking is rough but, I was told you could try Safeway across the street. If possible buy something from Safeway although they are not super vigilant o about their parking (as of the posting of this review :)) Tried the Next Level Matcha latte. It was so good. Love the creaminess of the light cheese cream that is not over powering. I am not a fan of very sweet drink so I am grateful for the 10% sweetness option. It was just perfect and plenty sweet or was a good balance with the rich earthiness of the matcha. Very tasty!!! Definitely consider downloading the app and order ahead as the line can be long. You'll get new sign up perks that's worth the effort especially if it shortens your wait time. The ambiance feels comfortable- light and fresh with mirrors, white and green palette. There is a photo booth too. I didn't try it. I would return to try the other matcha drinks for sure.

This location doesn't open until 2am, as I recently learned because I swung by around midnight and…read morethey were closing, so it's only the international district's Gaga tea that stays open until 2! The tea quality here doesn't disappoint though! Love the consistency, and the fast service. There's a few tables to sit down at to play some games, so it's a cute little kid-friendly rest stop in the middle of your day. Check this place out after picking up groceries at the trader Joe's across the street :)

I'm happy to see a new boba spot here replacing the old one! It's a good location right next to the…read moreTrader Joe's/Staples. I tried the Green Grape Green Tea Slush since they're having a 50% off deal at the moment. Really delicious and refreshing!!

I've been wanting to try Miss Boba for a long time since some of my favorite foodie influencers…read morerave about it. I'm excited they now have a location in Renton! I tried their Oolong milk tea as that's one of my favorite drinks when done well and I'm pleased to say it was one of the best Oolong milk teas I've had! Inside was very clean which is to be expected since it just opened up.

My boyfriend has never been to Miss Boba while I have visited their Kent location years ago. When I…read moreheard that they were opening up another location, I was glad to hear that they were doing well enough to open up another location. As we entered, we were greeted by probably one of the best looking interiors for a boba shop that I have seen. It has a minimalistic vibe with lots of lighting so you can study, read, or take great pictures. They had Fairly Oddparents playing with no sound but it was nostalgic. There was a family ahead of us who ordered quite a bit but the cashier was patient and ensured to check to see if he got their order correct. He told us to hold on a moment as he labels the cups before taking our order. We got a large brown sugar cream boba brulee, a large matcha brown sugar boba and a large black milk tea. It did take some time to get our drinks, but again, there was a large order ahead of us. It was neat to see them use a small blowtorch for the cream brulee drinks though! I also saw they whisk their matcha was cool too. The drinks were perfectly made when we did receive them, it reminded me of how good it was when I first tried them. Even my boyfriend was very impressed. We look forward to coming back whenever we're in the area!

Pretty exciting to see a Vietnamese coffee place pop up in the factoria area! There are so many…read moretempting options but as a first I wanted to try their signature Phin & Fire. This is their Vietnamese coffee topped with what they call "Fire Coffee Cloud" I asked if they put condensed milk into the cream but they didn't know what is in it because it's a "secret" recipe. With 50% sweetness this tasted perfect. It's sweet but not overly sweet where I feel like crap afterwards. The vietnamese coffee is strong with a slight beautiful viet coffee bitterness aftertaste. This is a very delicious and strong coffee and exactly what I need as a pick me up for the day. The staff traded fun banter with each other and seems to have a great time working there. They are charming and are eager to help me choose and explain the options. Service is fast and the interior is lively and cute. I'm definitely coming back to try other options. What a wonderful addition to the factoria area. Thank you!

Located in a small plaza with plenty of parking. Upon entering, the inside decor was nice and there…read morewas plenty of seating. We ordered at a kiosk so didn't interact too much with the staff. Our biggest complaint is how long the drinks took to be made. There were two small parties of two, ahead of us, waiting for their orders. Even then, our drinks took close to 45 minutes before we finally ended up getting them. We debated on just cancelling our orders and leaving but glad we didn't. The coffee was actually really good and the pandan flavor complimented it without overtaking the roasty coffee taste. Honestly just wish it didn't take so long to make because we wanted to pop in and out as we normally don't come onto this side of town.

the soft serve was amazing!!! however it was sort of messy so I did have to eat it off my hands and…read morerinse my hands in the bird bathe fountain. However I would do it all over again if I had to! that soft serve was amazing!!! I got half green tea and half thai tea with boba and caramel sauce. Amazing. 10/10 would eat again!

This place is awesome. I got the Thai Tea Coconut Water drink and my partner got the regular Thai…read moretea. The coconut one was super refreshing and the perfect amount of sweetness. My partner's Thai Tea was half sweet and was perfect. It seemed like real quality tea. The design of the cafe was great too. Beautiful colors and aesthetic. Super unique. Great outdoor seating too. Will be back soon!