Asha Tea House — Restaurant in San Francisco

Asha Tea House was born from a love of tea first founded by engineers David and Diana Lau. This establishment's namesake "Asha" is Taiwanese for "someone that enjoys life", and the hope is that patrons of Asha Tea House will enjoy the flavorful drinks and be reminded of the little joys we have in our lives. Asha uses only high-quality whole leaf tea in crafting their specialty tea beverages. In addition to their tea beverages, patrons can also purchase a variety of whole tea leaves to take home and enjoy. In partnering with local artists as well, one can find plenty of Asha-branded and tea-themed merchandise as well as pottery.

Asha Tea House has two locations - one in Berkeley and one in San Francisco. The San Francisco location is near Union Square, which makes it a perfect pit stop for those already exploring the Union Square area. The store itself is on the smaller side, but does have a seating area for individuals looking to enjoy their tea treats in store. There's also a tea bar of sorts at the back where one can reserve time slots for tea tasting sessions in-house.

I was in the Union Square area and decided to pick up a couple drinks to enjoy. I went with their hojicha latte (hot), a classic Hong Kong milk tea with boba, and a Hong Kong coffee milk tea. The hojicha latte was not to sweet and well balanced with the earthy roasted hojicha working seamlessly with the smooth creamy dairy in the beverage. The Hong Kong milk tea was easily my favorite as a fan of the good ol classics, and you can really taste the difference in the quality of tea that Asha uses. Last but not least, the Hong Kong coffee milk tea. Personally I didn't sample this one as I'm not a huge coffee fan (sacrilegious I know, but what can you do); however, my friend who did try (and finish it) said it was a good blend of coffee and tea for those of you looking for a drink with a bit of an extra caffeine kick to it.

If you're a fan of high-quality tea, then Asha Tea House is definitely worth the visit (at either of their locations, whichever is more...

Asha is one of my favorite boba places! I was so excited about working in the city when I found out there was an Asha nearby, since I live in the South Bay. I used to go all the way to Berkeley just to get me a solid Hong Kong milk tea, but now, I'll just grab one on the way home.

Their drinks aren't like the other boba places that line Kearny, but are rather high quality. No frills. No fuss. No glass containers. Just great quality tea with amazing flavor.

The Hong Kong Milk Tea is one of my favorites as it reminds me of, well, the milk tea in Hong Kong! I love the milky taste of this one.

My other favorite is the Matcha Green Tea Latte. You'll find a million pictures already posted of this. The vibrant green color taste just as vibrant. If you like quality tea, you'll love this drink. It's silky and absolutely divine.

The place is very conveniently located as it's very close to Market and on the way to the BART station. It is a little small so it gets crowded quick. The Berkeley location definitely has more breathing room. The décor is similar to that of their first location; modern, sleek, and with a little rustic charm

The staff have always been so friendly and one of the best parts of both locations.

Overall, this place is top notch. It is on the pricer side with a Large size running up to $5.00, but the quality makes it all worth it.

TIP: If you get a receipt sent to your phone or email address, you'll automatically start a rewards card (considering you pay with the same card). 10 visits =...

Inexplicably pricey and far too pretentious with a snarky staff that are inflexibly too precious for their terrible service and inconsistently made product. I gave this place several tries because their Berkeley store is pretty good. Here, if you like common familiar single serving green teas served with attitude and rudeness, then this is your place. They look like they have a nicely curated selection of loose leaf bagged teas to take home. But I've not really purchased anything but the Dragonwell supreme. It usually is my fave and is available in other fine tea storefronts, but it is a little pricey here (probably for the real estate) and here they should take out the "supreme" because it is not. This tea should be but is not lightly voluptuous, fresh tasting, nor has the spring time first brew minerality that is the defining characteristic of other far superior dragonwells. This SF Asha's only draw is a luscious rustic looking Hawaiian mochi cupcakes that are baked by an outside vendor and ironically sells out faster than the tea: they're not too sweet and don't look anything like they taste. I don't usually give poor ratings, if I rate at all: but the staff is daft and rude for average pruduced single serve tea. Go to their Berkeley store, instead if you must have an eastern family of green teas and the Hawaiian mochi cakes. They have more treat selections in Berkeley, better service, and more fair college town prices for...