Ding Tea SDSU — Restaurant in San Diego

— Review — I only do reviews when I feel they're worth the time for. Came by here after work since it was the closest. I can usually rely on Ding Tea to give me some decent drinks, but my first time at this location was a complete shock.

At around 10pm on March 24, 2025, I ordered a Large Thai MT at 75% sweetness level . Thai MT tends to vary on sweetness, depending on what boba shop you go to. So I went with 75% to be safe, but damn, this felt like it had none. As soon as I tasted it, it was insanely bitter. The kind of bitter that makes you want to wash your mouth. I made sure to mix it, too, in case it just sank to the bottom, but nope. In my head, I already knew why.

But since I hate wasting, especially since this cost me $8.47, I waited 'til I got home to try it again. The common source of sweetness for a Thai MT tends to be either condensed milk or half & half. I tried to fix it by adding both, separately, but nope. Did not help at all. Neither did some water.

The problem is that this batch of black/thai tea they made was most likely over-steeped. The longer you cook tea leaves, the more bitter it gets. First time I've ever had to dump a Thai MT down the sink :(

Maybe I'll come back to try other drinks and maybe whoever made it just didn't care enough to remake the batch, but based on previous reviews... I don't think I will.

The aesthetics are wonderful and the place overall seemed spotless. Staff seemed pretty chill. But none of these matter if the drinks aren't good.

— Ratings — Cleanliness: 5/5 Staff: 4/5 Drinks:...

Waited 20 mins for an under done waffle. I order 1 tea and 1 waffle, my tea was done sitting on the counter with everyone else breathing on it as they calling people who had order after me🙃 THEN they started waffle. They said it burnt, then they said it was fine, the middle was liquidy and I heard one of the girls said that's the way its supposed to be. Honestly, I would understand if they were busy but there were 4 people working in the front and only 5 orders including mine. Horrible customer service. Big fan of this Chain from Orange County, if you like them in OC, don't come here you will be sorely disappointed. The tea was just okay, taste like stuff you can...

Very rude customer service. Sarcasticly talking to the lady and her kid next in line with me because they didn't know what to order yet. They got my order wrong and insisted its good, I believe it is good but I order the same all the time everywhere and thats what I wanna get for the 7.50 drink I paid for. They have a Policy that if u tried the drink u cannot get it replaced or refunded. Ive been coming here for a while to know that so I came back with my drink and I asked them to either replace it or refund my money bec I know im not gonna enjoy what I paid for. The guy refunded my money. Im cool with it. Very bad customer service. Never ever...