Pop Up Tea — Restaurant in San Jose

It's really cute and adorable. I love the aesthetic of the place. But unfortunately I didn't have the best experience here. As an avid boba drinker, I actually prefer to go with traditional teas, like an oolong tea or jasmine green tea, and that's it. To me, if the bobaristas at an establishment can consistently make those traditional drinks well, then the place is legit.

So anyway, I stopped in here with my partner to satisfy our boba cravings. He ordered a winterberry tea, and I ordered the traditional oolong tea with 75% sweetness and 2 panda waffles. The cashier was a highschooler; he was nice enough. I think he was still being trained since this girl with blonde hair and glasses(who I believe was the manager) was helping him with the register. She was super friendly and happy which I appreciated. I was also delighted that the cashier gave us 3 stamps on our punch card.

Our drinks were made quickly and came out after about 2 minutes. Our waffles took about 5 minutes, and were piping hot when they came out. Also, they were SUPER thick, which I was pleasantly surprised about. They were really delicious too, and had actual pandan in them.

As for the drinks, I wasn't so impressed. I said 75% sweetness but you would've thought my drink was 0% sweetness from how bitter it tasted. I could already tell from a glance it would be very bitter since it was extremely dark colored. Luckily I had agave syrup at home so I added a bit and that sort of fixed it.

My partner's drink was just okay. It wasn't terrible, but he definitely ordered 100% sweetness and it was still a bit too tart.

Overall I would come back for the snacks, but...

Edit 03-25-25: I know that high star ratings for businesses means a lot to them so I will not reduce this to a lower amount than 4. I used to get the Vietnamese Ice Coffee very frequently from Pop Up Tea but recently the quality has fallen to the wayside. I don't know if it's due to the time I get the coffee or if the quality of the coffee itself has depreciated due to inflation. The issue is I still come back due to Pop up being so close to home for me, but each time I feel I would have been better served going to a different coffee place instead.

OG review

Vietnamese Ice Coffee review: I highly recommend this place for Vietnamese Ice Coffee and green pancakes. The secret way to maximize your enjoyment of the Vietnamese Iced Coffee is to pierce a small sippy hole in the top and sip the salt and coffee together. You do not get that favour mix when you drink through a straw. Also another thing you can do here is ask for light ice. Most Vietnamese Ice Coffees load you up on ice it almost makes you feel like you bought ice from the...

Milk tea options are adequate. The atmosphere can range from quiet to loud, depending on when the younger crowd gets here. My niece ordered regular fries and got house fries. When we told them we ordered regular, their response was “but she ordered house”. 🥴 I know my niece is young but she’s old enough to know what she ordered. I asked her if she’s ok with their mistake since she’s the one eating it. She hesitated but accepted it due to her own reasons. When we got back to our table, she instantly regretted it after seeing how much sour cream they used. She was too caught up in the moment to realize how much this mistake would ruined her experience here. I ended up trying to eat most of the top so she could eat the “non-contaminated” fries. It’s unfortunate we didn’t get a receipt so we couldn’t double check while waiting, nor did the employee read back what we ordered. Now my niece has learned to not accept an employee’s mistake in the future, and we will most likely avoid coming back in case she runs into the same person again.

Their pop corn chicken is fine. Pretty small...