HEYTEA (Edison Festival Plaza) — Restaurant in Edison

sorry but I've been straight up CACKLING over the person who posted about the "bobo" being a slur or whatever and it's times like this that make me sooo sad that we can't comment on other people's reviews because LMAO!!!! being pressed over "bobo" being derogatory in Spanish when it's transliteration from Chinese is funny because 1) turns out the same sounds can mean different things in different languages and 2) the context of "brown sugar" before the "bobo" is enough for people to understand (unless you're that poster, I guess). I guess that person would be happier if it was "boba" as commonly accepted transliteration, but alas, if the logic is what it means in Spanish, "boba" is simply the feminine of "bobo" and nonetheless retains its negative meaning in Spanish. Good thing it's an English transliteration of a Chinese word, and not actually Spanish!! Anyway, it's just a bad faith interpretation and huge reach over not getting a magnet, the latter of which is understandable frustration (if I must look at it generously) but perhaps the attempt at some kind of ethical call out with no regards to linguistic convention is certainly A Choice To Make (but thank you for making that choice, so that we can all have a good laugh).

Fun fact: "boba" in Chinese refers to breasts (a silly nickname because of the round shape, but caught on into the mainstream and the rest is history) so... if one must lead the English Renaming Revolution For A Neutral Name, it may be time for a return to "bubble" or "pearl" (sorry to west coasters, who are famously very attached to calling it "boba" lol)

anyway... no escuches a esa persona, HEYTEA es deliciosa 😉😉 especialmente la bebida con uva...

I granted two stars for the bubble tea— it’s excellent (I got a floral flavor both times which I believe was red blossom?).

I knocked off three stars from this review because the customer service at this establishment leaves a lot to be desired. When my sister and I visited this HeyTea location last week, we were told by a polite and sweet cashier that we do not have to explicitly ask for boba in our bubble tea to get it and that the bubble tea automatically comes with boba.

Last night, I ordered for pickup on the HeyTea app, and due to what I was told last time did not specify that I wanted boba (it came with an extra fee and the drink was already quite expensive, leading me to believe what the cashier had told me last time). Upon picking up my sister’s and my bubble tea, my sister and I noticed that there was no boba. We went back inside and explained what we were told last week and that our drinks didn’t have boba. We then politely asked if we could get boba on the side as an additional order, or get a refund. The barista we were speaking to deadpan said “no” and walked away. It was quite dismissive and rude…I mean, really? While I understand there may have been a miscommunication, how hard is it to be nice?

We ended up walking to the bubble tea shop next door and they sold us a big cup of freshly cooked boba for a small fee without...

Warning: This review contains photos that may make Spanish speakers feel uncomfortable.

We waited in line for 1+ hours and finally got to try this somehow popular-back-in-China tea shop.

Their drinks are okay. The taste, quality, and freshness of the drink is somewhere near AKIHI down the road, but their store definitely has more people and smells like an “anime convention” if it makes sense to you.

However, it really put our moods off when we saw their menu. I understand they were based in China, but if now they are trying to impress the American market, I am sure Spanish-speaking customers, especially who are identified as “brown,” won’t appreciate how they name their product. It is not just a typo on the paper menu, but names actually used on their website and their stores all over the world. Fendi and Barbie even have collaborations with Heytea. Wow. I was wondering why their location in midtown NYC was so empty.

Originally we started this review for the NJ-shaped magnet, but the staff told us those were given only to the first 300 customers and there was nothing they could do at the moment. How about putting a note on your board about first 300 only, or just put...