AURA CAFÉ ™ — Restaurant in San Francisco

I went to Aura Tea twice this weekend with mixed results.

I went for National Boba Day as their Instagram said they were offering $3 drinks. I got the Tropical Dreamzz with the keto boba. I'm glad I paid only $3 because I did not like it. I noticed after I purchased that they use the Torani syrups, and I assume it's the sugar free ones. It may have been less than 100 calories, but it tasted so artificial. The tea also was a little bitter, which I didn't mind. I couldn't get past the artificial taste and ended up throwing it away. I did like the keto boba, which had sort of had the consistency of aloe vera jelly. It wasn't as chewy, but a good substitute for those watching their carb intake. Also, there was only one person working. This was around 10am, so I was surprised all hands were not on deck. This was supposed to be their grand opening weekend. I felt so bad for the employee who had to juggle between making orders and taking orders.

I went today to try their Karl the Fog. I saw someone order it yesterday, and it was blue with an oat milk foam swirled around it, so it did look like fog. Mine did not look like that. And I guess the ice melted right away because it was all blue liquid with no foam. It tasted okay, and I would order it again if I was in the area. It actually tasted what I thought the blue milk at Disneyland should taste. (If you haven't had the blue milk at Disneyland, it's more like a slushie with a coconut-passion fruit flavor). The regular boba was fine. It was very chewy and had the typical sweet taste you expect from a brown sugar boba. But I also threw it away after I ate all the boba. Lastly, according to their Instagram, the drinks today were supposed to be $4 but I was charged the full price. I thought maybe I misread it, so I didn't challenge it. But I was right- I was supposed to be charged only $4, at least for the drink, excluding the topping.

I understand that because there's less calories in their drinks, that it's going to taste different. But I've ordered boba from this company in the East Coast where the calories are 50-60 (depending on the flavor), and I enjoyed that much more than what I've had at Aura.

I'm not familiar with Rincon Hill, or the East Cut as it's called now. It seems they're the only boba place in that area, so they may get a lot of business because of that. But I hope they iron out...

Beautiful location selling nearly flavorless drinks.

This boba shop has a ring light, colorful indoor seating, and string lights, providing some of the tools for a social media post. However, the drinks suck. After seeing a street sign and walking two blocks, I used the kiosk to order a large (24oz) Karl the Fog drink which was slightly over $8, after tax. A large drink costs 75¢ more than a medium (16 oz). It wasn't very busy, but it looked like there was only one person working. There wasn't anyone in the visible part of the shop until after I ordered the drink. Service was good, considered it was nearly 5 p.m.

After about five minutes, my drink was ready. I sat outside in the plaza. It looked very nice, but it tasted like watered-down and sweetened milk. I could barely taste the butterfly pea flower tea. I sipped it pretty quickly and the ice was like 2/5 of the cup when I finished, so you're not getting loads of ice, which is nice. I needed to use a restroom a little bit after drinking that, and there wasn't one inside the shop, but there's one a minute's walk away in the Rincon Annex.

I'm giving 3 stars, because the drinks aren't good. They aren't rich and creamy or flavorful and fell short of my expectations. Also, for $8, you could get something much better from a nearby business. I recommend looking elsewhere before visiting this shop. I thought my drink was overpriced, but there are other drinks at different prices and some food available, and the prices are comparable to similar shops. There's also a happy hour when you can buy...

Update: it pains me to revise my review, but Aura Boba is so much different now. I knocked down one star for them no longer being sugar free since now all the drinks have jaggery. Another star for no longer being fully vegan, so I have to worry about dairy or animal products in my order. Finally, the third star is removed for sanitation! Multiple visits there's been questionable cleaning or drinks tasting off, including my most recent visit I counted at least 6 flies buzzing around the store, which is surprising in SF. My latte was yummy but I couldn't finish it because the flies grossed me out. All the cutesy decorating unfortunately can't make up for the other issues.

Love the sugar-free vegan boba! I've had every milk tea flavor and honestly can't pick a favorite. Today I tried an iced matcha and Milky Way hot, both of which were delicious. The hot Milky Way tasted like a hot chocolate and really hit the spot on a rainy day. They were busy when we arrived so we had to wait a bit for our drinks, fine for us, but the staff was so polite to keep apologizing for the wait and even gave us coupons for our next visit. Since it's the only boba place in the city that doesn't give you a sugar crash I'll...