Bobaholics — Restaurant in San Jose

Stopped by Bobaholics to try it out and see if the new branding had changed the tea quality and boba flavors. For background information: this store used to be called Black Pearl; not clear if it's by the same owner.

Ambiance: I definitely think there has been an upgrade with the ambiance and the style of Bobaholics compared to Black Pearl. It's cleaner and has better lighting than the previous store. There are also outlets (on the wall though) in case you want to charge your phone, as well as free wifi.

Boba/Tea Quality: Being a boba/tea shop primarily, this is what impacted my overall review for Bobaholics the most. Simply put, the tea quality is subpar to regional competitors like i-Tea, Tea Top, Tea Spoon, Gong Cha, T4. We tried the green milk tea with boba and the Genmaicha milk tea with boba. Both of the drinks tasted a bit artificial. We could see that rather than giant canisters of tea covering their walls, their walls were covered with containers of powder. The days when Tapioca Express's powder-based boba was acceptable ended a decade ago in the bay area; any boba shop in the bay that is using powder is not going to rank very high. Overall, I would rate the boba itself as 4 out of 10, and the tea quality as 2 out of 10. They have three drink sizes (regular, large, and bucket). For the large milk tea drink with boba, I paid about $6 after tax.

That's more expensive than the drinks at competitors like i-Tea, Tea Spoon, Tea Top, Gong Cha, and T4 -- and you get what seems like less liquid.

Overall, I'm pretty disappointed. I don't think I'll be back for the drinks unless they stop using powder.

I am curious, though, to know what their food menu tastes like. I noticed they have pho on the menu, as well as a number of snacks. If their food is good, then that might be a redeeming factor here.

Location wise, this area can be a traffic gridlock during rush hour on weekdays, but there are a lot of great food stops...

Been coming here since this was called "Blackpearl". I was with Bobaholics during the whole COVID speak in the mic, and waited outside to hear your name thing. For some reason, in the last couple of months, they went to a no-interaction ordering system where you order on a tablet, that’s probably never been whipped down after all the customer’s orders before and still asks for a "TIP" towards the end of the transaction. Two weekends ago, I bought 3 large drinks, so a $21 transaction. The ordering system to me was a lil bit confusing and I mentioned they should just take the order when I was presented with some drinks I didn’t want after waiting several minutes. I wasn’t rude but just made a statement that I was going to pay for another round and have them keep the 3 drinks I still paid for. But a young girl behind the counter said, “It’s not our fault if you entered the order yourself,” and pointed to the tablet. WOW! At that point, I started to tell her “I didn’t say it was your fault, I was just saying…” Suddenly I just walked out and left the drinks. I don’t have time for this new entitled customer service generation where you ask for a tip before the service. I’ve been a customer for years, but now I know you guys don’t care about customers. Just like the drinks I left, you can keep your customer service as there are many Baba shops around the corner to choose from. Won’t be going back anytime soon, unless they change...

I agree with another reviewer here, the drinks are on the pricier side, although their default size drink is the large size at most boba shops.

They have a pretty solid menu with a number of drinks you wouldn’t find elsewhere. The space has a few seating areas so I could see this being a nice spot to hang with some friends for an hour or so. Ordered two drinks and the best part was the boba itself, soft and chewy.

Added the brûlée’d cream to earl grey milk tea, which is where cream is topped with raw sugar and torched. This was quite a disappointment. No caramelization of the sugar whatsoever. Other shops do this topping justice, so I’d skip it here.

I ordered the Okinawa milk tea since I was craving something creamy. I asked which creamer option would be creamiest and was told the half & half would be the best choice. When I got the drink, it was far more tea colored than even a standard milk tea. Sadly wasn’t creamy enough.

Their sugar levels were pretty inconsistent for our two drinks. The earl grey was 50% and the milk tea (drank from the bottom so the topping didn’t affect the flavor) was much sweeter than the Okinawa at 75%. So unless the house creamer is much sweeter than half & half, not sure why they tasted so wildly different.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to get their drinks, but I wouldn’t mind trying their food if I’m in the area since a number of desserts and snacks...