Tiger Sugar — Restaurant in Edison

My daughter and I went here yesterday for the first time after she had heard multiple super-enthusiastic reviews. It was the first time either of us have seen such hype about a bubble tea place, which makes you equal parts intrigued and skeptical, I suppose. My daughter, like many other kids her age (young teens) really enjoys this tea, and we have been to multiple places quite a number of times. While we are partial to Vivi’s down the road- excellent drinks and helpful, genuinely warm staff- we were open-minded going in and hopeful the drinks would be good.

The place itself is quite small, but that’s no big deal, as that’s generally the case. There were two workers behind the counter- both pretty young- and the service time was pretty good, though there were only a few people there at the time (around 1 on Saturday), so waiting a long time wouldn’t have made much sense. When I asked the young man at the counter if they’ve been busy, he said, “ Well it is a weekend.” This was a fact that was certainly undeniable. After a moment or two, he concluded with another truism that it was good for business. Though the tone wasn’t exactly unfriendly, there was a discernible note of condescension that one sometimes encounters with young people at popular places, as though you’re not quite on their level, and there’s something critical that you can never quite understand. I personally find this kind of thing pretty funny, but it is notable in that this place was the first of its kind where I noticed this.

To the drinks: my daughter ordered one of the milk tea drinks with boba that she usually does, and I ordered something like a brown sugar black tea with lemon.

Our conclusions: Generally, my daughter is pretty enthusiastic about these drinks and is pretty averse to being negative in general about this type of thing. She was pretty quiet at first, then made some tepid positive comments. About 15 minutes later, she said: “That tea really wasn’t very good.” She said the tea was ok, but the boba wasn’t- that it was tasteless and just not as good as she was used to. So how refined can the palette of a young teenager be, you might ask? As I said before, she has had a LOT of these drinks, she makes her own boba at home, and pretty much knows what she’s talking about. A lot of young people do, to be honest, and as she’s right among the “target demographic” for these drinks, so I’d say her opinion is pretty valid.

As for my drink, which we both tasted, it was the first time ever I’ve been all but sure that it was made with powdered tea. It had the same cloying, trying-too-hard to be tea flavor with intense lemon-like flavoring that was initially unpleasant and actually got worse over time. In fact, although we drink a lot of different teas at home, and prefer “real” to powdered tea every time, this tasted worse than some other powdered tea I’ve had before. In the end, regardless of how this tea was made, it really wasn’t good. And for the price, it especially wasn’t worth it, though, to be honest, I wouldn’t drink it again for free. This is not exaggeration- it really was that unpleasant.

My daughter wants to go back “one more time” because we both believe in giving places a couple of chances before disavowing them for good. I will update my review at that time if things change, but a lot will have to change for that to happen. It’s great trying new places, but sometimes old favorites are old favorites for a very...

The line on opening day was insane, like people-in-Taiwan-waiting-two hours-in-line-for-Krispy-Kreme-donuts-insane. Ironically, the Tiger Sugar craze is expanding in the US now despite the craze having been mostly dead in Taiwan for three years now.

The biggest criticism I have is that Tiger Sugar offers no sugar level adjustments for the milk tea drinks, even though almost every person in line was asking for it. As a result, I walked away with a full 100% sugar #2 boba+pearl+jelly drink that tasted like a liquid candy bar. The brown sugar flavor is present in the milk, but any tea flavor is buried beneath layers and layers of cloying sweetness. I also drank a #1 and my impressions were similar. The boba and the pearls are both chewy, but neither has any distinguishable brown-sugar flavor that cooking in brown sugar is supposed to impart. This means that the signature drinks are merely just milk teas made with tapioca and Instagrammable brown streaks and nothing more.

As far as I can tell, all the drinks are the same size (18 oz cup) and same price: $6.10 + $0.40 tax. The menu today didn't even include the full regular menu (#7 and half of the tea drinks were blocked out), let alone the seasonal menu that includes drinks like the Mango Sago. This location currently also has no loyalty program, no online ordering, and no compatibility with food delivery platforms. I don't expect any of these things to change during a soft opening, but their absence do make a grand opening considerably...less grand. As with many "grand openings", this one was really just an extended soft opening with marketing attached to it.

With such a limited set of offerings and few customization options (can't even pick a cup size), I cannot in good conscience recommend this particular Tiger location over any of the other established milk tea drink brands in this part of Edison, which is already saturated with competitors who have been customizing their drinks for years. Americans are known for loving their sugar, but the heart and soul of milk tea has never been sugar. We already have sodas, not-from-concentrate juices, and Venti frappuccinos for that.

P.S. To the one reviewer here comparing Tiger Sugar to a Michelin-starred restaurant, I'd like to ask how many Michelin-starred restaurants he's actually been to and whether he's ever been asked how he would like his steak cooked or if he would like ice in his...

Let's spill the tea. Often imitated by other bubble tea shops but can the original live up to its own hype? The answer is unequivocal, "yes!"

While it is a misnomer that Tiger Sugar were the ones to bring over Brown Sugar Milk tea from Taiwan, they are however synonymous with having a more specific and signature drinks all having the rich and complex profiles of teas and incorporating brown sugar and stripes going down the sides of the cup. Tiger Sugar is also credited for popularizing the Brown Sugar Milk Tea craze on Instagram. Have you seen their bubble teas? All are a work of art! The employees make their drinks with finesse and visual art in each cup. I’m a fan!

I had Signature drink #4: Brown Sugar Boba Milk + pearl w. espresso pearls + cream mousse. I noticed they do not use powdered milk but instead, use milk, or any milk alternative. The milk is smooth and creamy while the brown sugar taste is fragrant. The espresso truly made it for me. I tasted dark chocolate notes. Nirvana! Now let’s talk about the bobas. Big and small, party in my mouth! My cup was overflowing with joy! Just look at those stripes going down on the side. Oooooh, I get it… Tiger Sugar! Tiger Stripes! Year of the Tiger! As per bubble tea baristas, all drinks can be made hot so I had to try it. It came with delicious bubbles but be aware, that you do not have to shake it.

As per the employees there, today is their grand opening on May 28th, but if we wait a week they will have their newest flavors as well. What you may ask? How are these to tempt your bubble tea delight: Black Sugar w/Pudding, Lychee with bursting bubbles, Strawberry Mochi, Taro Pudding, and Mango Sago. I’m sure I missed a few.

The place is easy to find and the parking was surprisingly not as bad as I imagined. There are spaces on the right-hand side as well as the front of the store. They do have a bathroom but no seating...