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Sophie Dau and Cole McCartneyEditor-in-Chief and Guest Writer
As our parting gift to Rowland Hall, my friend Cole McCartney and I decided to rate some of the Boba places in Salt Lake so you now know where to waste your free periods. We chose three boba places to compare: Bambu (3310 500 E), Tea Bar (1201 Wilmington Ave), and Kung Fu Tea (464 600 E). Why should you listen to our ratings? Well…
Sophie: I feel I have some expertise in this topic mainly because of my exposure to many different boba places. I’ve made it a goal to try boba in every city I visit, so I’ve tried different places all across the country. My favorite boba in the world is Presotea in Montréal; we went on Interim and I haven’t had anything like it since. Although I only started drinking boba in high school (and won’t have the background knowledge like Cole), I think I have a valuable perspective because I’ve learned what makes a boba place good.
Cole: I’d say I’m fairly qualified to review boba. I grew up drinking boba and used to live in Southern California, arguably the boba capital of the country. I’ve tried just about every flavor available and every combination of add-ins. I’ve probably had boba in at least five different countries and dozens of different cities, so I have a pretty good idea of what good boba tastes like. There was a girl in China who was hospitalized for drinking too much boba. I aspire to be her.
First stop: Bambu
First stop: Bambu
Cole - Red Bean Boba (25% sweet)
Cole - Red Bean Boba (25% sweet)
REVIEW: It was really good—I was amazed at the size of the red beans, but they added the perfect texture, and they added a slightly sweet and earthy taste to the drink. Maybe the beans were a bit too massive, and it was kinda hard to suck them up through the straw, but it tasted sooooo good.
RATING: 73/90
Accessible from RH - 8/10 - It’s just a 10-minute drive; granted that I made 3 wrong turns, it wasn’t too horrible. Definitely easy enough for a little excursion during your free period.
Taste - 9/10 - I asked for ¼ sweetness, and it was almost the perfect amount of it. Maybe a tiny bit too sweet, but that’s just my preference. Not overwhelming but just right.
Texture of boba - 8/10 - It was mostly good, but it could have been more consistent—some of mine were on the hard side, but for the most part they were a beautiful squishy texture.
Sustainability - 7/10 - They accepted reusable cups, which is always a plus.
Options on the menu - 10/10 - There’s A LOT. And since it’s a Vietnamese store, it’s boba with a Southeast Asian spin. They have classic milk tea, smoothies, Vietnamese coffee, chè, halo halo, avocado shakes, and pandan waffles. Literally anything you could ever want.
Ambiance - 7/10 - It felt very clean. The music was weird, but whatever. I think the place felt a bit too sterile and lacked a certain degree of charm I would have liked.
Amount of boba - 7/10 - Fairly generous but not overwhelming.
Service - 10/10 - Very fast and the cashier was nice.
Price - 7/10 - It’s fairly expensive, but compared to other places it’s a bit cheaper.
Sophie - Coconut Milk Tea with Boba (50% sweet)
Sophie - Coconut Milk Tea with Boba (50% sweet)
REVIEW: I’m slightly biased here since Bambu is my favorite boba place in SLC, but I thought it was so good! The coconut milk tea is the perfect amount of sweetness with a bold flavor that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else. It has a hole-in-the-wall vibe which always makes it such a nice, unexpected surprise.
RATING: 76/90
Accessible to RH - 8/10 - It’s slightly out of the way and confusing to get to the first time, but if you have the time it’s worth it.
Taste - 10/10 - Like I said in my review, their coconut tea is the best.
Texture of boba - 8/10 - I like their boba for sure, but in my opinion, it isn’t anything special; it’s yummy but doesn’t overshadow any of the tea flavor.
Sustainability - 9/10 - They let me use a Stojo!
Options on the menu - 10/10 - I’m definitely the kind of person where once I find something I like, I only order it, but from what I can tell there are TONS of different options on the menu.
Ambiance - 7/10 - I think it’s a cute place, but it doesn’t have the charm of Tea Bar, you know? It feels very minimalistic.
Amount of boba - 7/10 - Maybe this is my fault, but at first, I felt like there was too much boba and then I accidentally drank them all, so I didn’t have any by the second half of the drink.
Service - 10/10 - The cashier was super nice and helpful about my Stojo.
Price - 7/10 - I paid $4.88, which is a little pricey for a drink, although it’s a similar price to other boba places in the valley.
Second: Tea Bar
Second: Tea Bar
Cole - Red Bean Milk Tea (25% sweetness)
Cole - Red Bean Milk Tea (25% sweetness)
REVIEW: I’d say Tea Bar is a fairly decent place for boba. I got a red bean milk tea, which was pretty good and not too sweet (¼ sweetness). The boba was a bit tougher than I would have liked. My biggest complaint with Tea Bar is that it’s been thoroughly colonized. The line is always so long with long swarms of basic colonizers invariably ordering taro milk tea.
RATING: 55/90
Accessible to RH - 7/10 It’s fairly close to school.
Taste (sweetness) - 7/10 You could definitely taste the earthy notes of red bean, but I felt like they could’ve been more bold with their flavors. The sweetness was just right.
Texture of boba - 5/10 The boba was a little chewier than I like.
Sustainability - 5/10 - I mean nothing special here.
Options on the menu - 7/10 Fairly wide range of options. They serve lots of street food as well.
Ambiance - 6/10 The shop feels very welcoming when it’s empty. Otherwise, it’s a mess. The cashier screaming out your name at the top of their lungs when your drink is ready is quite lovely, really.
Amount of boba - 6/10 The boba to tea ratio was not great. I had to ration my boba while drinking it and even then ran out too soon.
Service - 7/10 - Nothing wrong with it.
Price - 5/10. It was pricey.
Sophie - Coconut Milk Tea with Boba (50% sweet)
Sophie - Coconut Milk Tea with Boba (50% sweet)
REVIEW: I know this is a hot take, but Tea Bar is not my favorite. I think it’s slightly pricey and not as good as other boba places I’ve been to; nothing about it jumps out to me. What it lacks in flavor though, it makes up for in ambiance. From their cute chalkboard with all the options to the cozy sitting area to the park nearby to wander, I love hanging out at Tea Bar. Unfortunately, I don’t ever feel like the drink is satisfying enough to justify the cost.
RATING: 53/90
Accessible to RH - 4/10. Logistically, I hate Sugarhouse :)
Taste (sweetness) - 6/10. As I said in the review, it’s definitely good but nothing special.
Texture of boba - 7/10. Tastes like boba! Pretty straightforward.
Sustainability - 7/10. I couldn’t use my Stojo, but pre-Covid they did take reusable cups.
Options on the menu - 8/10. They have a lot of options flavor-wise and seem to have a variety of drinks, but I don’t think they have the more obscure options like Bambu.
Ambiance - 10/10. As I said before, the ambiance of Tea Bar and the surrounding area 100% make it worth it.
Amount of boba - 7/10. A little much, but that’s not really a bad thing.
Service - 9/10. It was super busy when we went, but the cashier was nice and everything moved surprisingly quickly.
Price - 5/10. I paid $6.73, which is a lot more than I want to be spending on boba outings.
Last Stop: Kung Fu Tea
Last Stop: Kung Fu Tea
Cole - Red Bean Milk Tea
Cole - Red Bean Milk Tea
REVIEW: I didn’t have high expectations for a large boba chain. And rightfully so. Everything was pretty mediocre. The flavors and textures were off, and nothing was special about the store itself.
RATING: 54/90
Accessible to RH - 8/10 It was just a short drive away.
Taste (sweetness) - 4/10 - It had a faint taste of plantains?? I don’t think that’s an inherently bad flavor, but maybe it doesn’t belong in boba tea? Just a thought. Also, it tasted a bit too milky. I don’t want to taste cow when I’m drinking boba tea.
Texture of boba - 5/10 - They were kind of tough.
Sustainability - 4/10 - The cups felt like a very hard plastic material, which probably isn’t the best...
Options on the menu - 5/10 There was a fair amount of options on the menu, but some of the flavors just seemed wrong. Reading their names evoked a visceral reaction in me.
Ambiance - 4/10 It was clean but impersonal. They had cute sumikko gurashi plushies, though, which made up for the otherwise flavorless interior.
Amount of boba - 7/10. There was a generous amount. Normally I’d like that but since they were a little tough it wasn’t as pleasant.
Service - 8/10 The cashier and staff were nice.
Price - 9/10 It wasn’t too expensive.
Sophie - Coconut Milk Tea with Boba
Sophie - Coconut Milk Tea with Boba
REVIEW: Kung Fu was slightly disappointing on all fronts. I thought everything about it was fine, but nothing stood out to me. The place had a cute interior, the service was good, but the tea was not great. It met the expectations of a chain store; it was a good if you don’t know SLC, but if you take the time, the local places are better. Overall, an average experience.
RATING: 50/90
Accessible to RH - 6/10. It’s super close by! Driving in that area of SLC scares me, though, so it loses a few points there.
Taste (sweetness) - 6/10. I forgot to ask for half sweetness, but the tea itself was fine. I didn’t feel like it had a bold coconut taste and it was overshadowed by the boba though.
Texture of boba - 4/10. It was too squishy and I didn’t feel that good after eating it.
Sustainability - 5/10. They were apologetic for not taking my Stojo, but also the lid is sealed on which I assume makes it harder to recycle.
Options on the menu - 3/10. It had a S’more drink option :/
Ambiance - 7/10. I thought it was a cute place but a little generic.
Amount of boba - 2/10. I had way too much boba; it almost gave me a headache.
Service - 9/10. The cashier was nice and the service was super fast.
Price - 8/10. This was the cheapest place, at $4.15, but that’s only slightly less than Bambu and not worth it in my opinion.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Sophie: My recommendation is hands-down Bambu. I think it’s a unique gem that has a wide variety of authentic options. Although Tea Bar wins on location and aesthetic, Bambu has much better drink options and doesn’t fall too far behind on any other category. Check out Bambu when you have time! What’s a high school experience without running late to class with boba in hand?
Cole: Bambu is easily the winner. They have the best quality boba and tea, the largest and most unique array of options, a fresh ambiance, and friendly workers. I definitely recommend coming here during your free periods (or even skipping class for it).
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