Gong cha (Lorne Street) — Restaurant in Waitematā

Ordered Earl Grey Milk Tea today (8/6/19). I found it to be really diluted and walked up to the counter to inform the staff. Instead of acknowledging my complaint, she asked me instead if I have had earl grey tea before and told me that it was supposed to taste different, assured me that water was not added and refused to do anything about my complaint. I have tried earl grey tea before and am aware that the taste of that tea was particularly distinct from other types of tea but my problem with the drink was it being diluted, not the taste of the tea. Still feeling dissatisfied, I walked up to the counter the second time and informed a different staff. This time, the other staff questioned me again if I had tasted that particular type of tea before and lectured me about the different proportions of tea to milk that they used bla bla bla, clearly indicating that she was also not going to do anything about it. Eventually, she asked me if I wanted a refund or switch to another drink. I agreed and requested for milk tea with the usual black tea. A few minutes later, she told me that they were not able to change the type of tea for me but will only be able to make the same drink again for me. When the drink came, I wasn't sure if it was remade. They kinda just reused the balance of pearls and drink from my previous cup (like seriously? Is gong cha not making enough money to be doing this?) and topped it up with thicker concentration of tea. Sure, the taste of tea was stronger but was still diluted. What customer service! Really left my...

At this branch of Gong Cha I tried the oolong with herbal jelly. It was alright, not as refreshing as other drinks I tried in various other trips of other Gong Cha branches in New Zealand and Seoul. Neither the oolong or the herbal jelly is for the faint of heart. That said, I like strong tea flavors, and I liked this well enough. I'd learned from previous Gong Cha experiences that asking for light sugar and light ice are the way to go for me; based on the fact that light, or 30% sugar, is plenty for me, I can only imagine how sweet 100% is. That said, I absolutely love that they make it standard practice to ask how much ice and sugar one wants; I've never seen that before Gong Cha, although I usually specify my preferences anyway, and it was nice that they knew exactly what I was talking about, and didn't think I was crazy.

Annoyingly, New Zealand Gong Chas (I assume all of them--this one at the very least) don't take credit cards, only certain kinds of debit or cash. I didn't see a sign indicating this, which was almost a problem because I don't tend to carry much cash, and I was literally scrounging up cash to pay for my drink.

This location is right by The Civic, and good for a pre-show beverage to get some caffeine into the system. It had a good amount of seating. the seating along the walls seemed like it would be a good place to sit and work. The seating in the middle was more for very...

Each time we are in Auckland CBD, we religiously get the yummy drinks form Gong Cha each time without fail.

Be prepared to line up and que for your order, they are always busy and swamped with thirty customer.

Great service and fast delivery of your order! We recommend all young people to check this place out!

Background: Taiwanese people love tea so much that they drink it like water. ... Its name is a combination of Chinese characters “gong (貢),” meaning contribution or tribute, and “cha (茶),” referring to tea. Former Gong Cha franchise owner Rodney Tang did not let a failed deal stop him, but turned 84 bubble tea outlets into his home-grown label, LiHO Founded in Kaoshiung (Taiwan, China) in 2006, Gong Cha is the fastest growing tea brand in Asia with over 1200 stores in China, Singapore, Philippines, Cambodia, Korea, USA, Indonesia, Malaysia. Gong Cha is the act of offering tea to the Emperor in ancient China. Tea is offered as tribute to the Emperor.

What is Boba made of? Tapioca balls are translucent spheres; a product of tapioca, a starch extracted from the cassava root. They originated as a cheaper alternative to pearl sago in Southeast Asian cuisine. They are also known as boba (a transliteration of the word "bubble"), or pearls when...