O·CHA tea bar — Restaurant in Greenville

Have been going to O-Cha since I was in high school (so...over a decade, I'm old). Absolutely love the location and vibe. The drinks - both hot and cold - are usually great and while I haven't had many of their bakery items, I've yet to have one I didn't like. Keep in mind that sometimes preparation of specific items can vary based on who is making them. In many ways, this isn't a 'traditional' boba place, but innovation is what led to the invention of boba in the first place, so their varieties and rotating special items make return trips well worth it.

The staff always manages to create a welcoming environment while coming across as genuine. There's nothing I loathe more than overbearing and obviously mandated customer service, scripted phrasing and the like. So an environment that makes you feel welcome without making you feel anxious, pressured, or uncomfortable is much needed find for someone like me who is autistic and struggles with social situations/eye contact/etc.

They're always finding ways to support local artists and foster a sense of community that feels very intimate and sincere, although a lot of their activities are on hold due to the pandemic, their efforts are still appreciated!

Recently, a lot of people have complained about O-Cha maintaining a mask policy, as in... people are mad that a small business is protecting the health and safety of their employees. Please consider that the owner knows their circumstances and employees better than the average consumer. Perhaps an employee or relative is immunocompromised. Perhaps they've lost someone to this pandemic. Perhaps they'd simply prefer to act in an abundance of caution. Whatever the reason, it's not hard to exercise empathy for the human beings behind the counter. If you are unwilling to bring a mask or accept one if offered to you, there are other places to get boba in Greenville. In my opinion, this business adhering to this policy is well within their rights. Wear a mask for the five seconds it takes to order, collect your beverage, go for a nice stroll, take in the babbling sounds of the Reedy River, catch some rays, and chill...

The largest selection of bubble tea you will find in the SC area. Lots of amazing treats to try (all with an explanation and encouragement by the staff) like Mochi Ice cream, Pearls with your tea, and an excellent selection of loose leaf teas. O-cha even creates delicious tea lattes: steeped loose leaf tea combined with steamed milk and then sweet or unsweetened to your taste. The staff is really great at recommending something from the menu if it's your first time here. Delicious, natural, real fruit and yogurt smoothies are a favorite by some of the local artists and Swamp Rabbit cyclists here. There are local baked goods and homemade dishes like (the absolutely delicious) pasta salad, hummus, soups, and salads. They even feature local art in this excellent location on the river. Keep posted on their many events such as tea tastings, Japanese tea ceremonies, meet ups, and live local music performances. Come bright and early for an Earl Grey black tealatte in the morning, or ride your bike to O-cha in the afternoon for a bowl of pasta salad and pita bread paired with a lychee green tea with pearls, or bring a group of friends at night to enjoy the glorious view of the river and twinkling lights while enjoying a tiramisu mochi icecream and a taro bubble tea. Don't forget to sign up for their rewards program - the Bubble Club so you can start racking...

O-Cha is one of the original tea places in the downtown area, and I’m so glad to see that it’s still running. I don’t have any complaints about the service. We ordered and got our teas pretty quickly. The location is wonderful-we sat by a window and people watched because you can see everyone walking up and down the Swamp Rabbit by the river. It’s not far from the main strip and it’s about halfway through downtown, which is really convenient if you’d like to stop and get a snack as you’re walking around. The inside atmosphere is fine-nothing out-of-this-world, but it was neat and clean.

The food and drinks were what we wanted and expected. We got a few little mochi ice creams, which were nice. The teas were very good-I liked that you could still taste the tea itself instead of it just tasting like flavored milk. We got taro and brown sugar (we try these wherever we can to get a good measurement) and I’d say they’re in my top couple of places to get boba...