Ok I wanna start off by saying that this review will mostly be a list of things that would take this place from a 5 star rating to a 10 star rating! So though it might appear as a negative review i gave 5 stars for a reason. There's truly no better boba in town, and no better tea. Being an absolute tea lover nothing irks me more than ordering iced tea at normal restaurants and finding that the tea was bitter from steeping too long or too hot or that its watery..bleck! Tpumps on the other hand has mastered its temperatures and timings for each specific tea. The variety of syrups is great. I could rave about this place for days and i usually do on my Snapchat. With that said I love it and want it to stay in business and wanna help them improve so they can kill the competition all the way (RIP Lollicup you dont even come close to Tpumps with your hard chewy boba and nasty flavors, cant even hold a candle to Tpumps )
First thing I think the Upland location can benefit from is the following. Being that I was first introduced to Tpumps in Pasadena I had a Tpumps EXPERIENCE. I didn't just have a tea, i had a full on EXPERIENCE! As soon as I got in line, cheerful Hellos and swamped with samples. At Upland location Ill be lucky to get samples offered even 20% of the time. There's usually just the big self serve container by the door and if there are samples they sit sadly behind the counter and its not shortage of staffing because today i saw about 6 samples sitting behind the counter, (no line, only 2 ppl ahead of me) 4 workers in the barista area, i saw 2 more workers in the back and not a single sample was offered. This is common at this location. If Paul works he is usually very good at offering samples but he seems to be the only consistent one (deserves a raise if you ask me, for me he has become the face of Upland Tpumps, so sweet, friendly, accommodating, hard worker, he is a hustler and will learn your name and greet you by name)
That's the first observation. The second one is more on the products . Once ordered a slushee, first and last time. Its a slushee for about 30 seconds before the ice melts and its just an overpriced iced tea. There was nothing slushee about it. Literally by the time it was in my hand what was left of ice floated to the top but you drink from the bottom of the cup so I wouldn't suggest paying the extra fee for basically extra ice. It was still a tasty iced tea but no one could call that a slushee.
Next on ocassion I pay the extra $1 for Oolong tea (premium tea). When Paul makes it, you can taste the tea and its worth it . When other people have made it they are so hasty and dont steep long enough not giving you enough of the flavor. I had them remake it but they were hasty the second time again as if they were rushing and still it was bland and watery. Now I only order Oolong with Paul. Last thing on the premium teas, rumor has it that the Pasadena location has premium tea on hand (not just made to order which takes significantly longer). If Upland did that they would sell more premium teas, with the long lines taking long enough already,nobody that wants to get back to their life wants to wait an extra 10 minutes for a premium tea.
Next gripe! This place has no PHONE! How antiquated is that? This ties into the long lines and premium tea issue. If i could at least call my drink in that would save me time on lines and steeping premium teas. Also on Holidays I feel like Tpumps but dunno if they're open. I cant call to check and I dont wanna drive over there just to see if they are only to be disappointed. PLEASE GET A PHONE! Like every other business in the world!
Now onto the Boba! Honey Boba here is heavenly but there is one person in particular that makes it and when they do it tastes like straight up tap water. I think they need to have a streamlined recipe that doesn't change from person to person so that the flavor is predictable. A company should be built on a system not on an employees perferences. Can you imagine ordering a cheeseburger from McDonalds and it tasting different at every McDonalds because the employee says "this is how i do it" they would never grow . It must replicatable.
Lastly if your not gonna get a phone, how about an app so that I can order ahead that way! Please.... something more modern and convenient than to have to drive up to see that the line is horrendous and have to drive off (if I'm in a hurry).
Again this is all to make you guys better! I love Tpumps and send people your way all the time and take people with me all the time. I carry your cup with pride and post it on my social media but there is so much untapped potential
Oh sorry one more thing. Alex (I believe he is the owner) is incredibly generous, upbeat, and attentive.
Keep up the great work Tpumps! read more