Koi Tea — Restaurant in Virginia

This review is based on both my wife's and my personal experience (and first visit) We ordered the following: Berry Good Tea, Thai Iced Tea, Monkey King Rolled Ice Cream.

Let me preface this review with a brief explanation of the 4 instead of a 5 star review. There are a few things that may bother people, and it would be irresponsible not to note them. If you can look past the few things, then this restaurant is a great place to visit in Stafford.

The Negatives:

1. This place is not in a very convenient location, as the parking lot itself is a one way street against the flow of the main road 610.
2. There is really no place to sit to A) Enjoy your order, B)Wait for your order.
3. This is a very small location, and in the 6 minutes my wife and myself were waiting for our order the place filled up. (Crowded spaces make me uncomfortable, so this could impact your experience.)
4. I did not notice a public restroom in the location. (We did not ask for one, and went to use a neighboring establishment.) (Again, these are peeves that could bother folks. These negatives in no way convinced me to never return.)

The 4 Star Rating:

1. Upon entering the facility, we were greeted by a very pleasant gentleman behind the counter, as soon as he noticed us and finished what he was doing for another customer. I watched him eagerly reach out to every single customer that entered after us in much the same fashion. The gentleman,(I neglected to get his name unfortunately) was very helpful in explaining the customization options that were available to us.
2. The menu is condensed and easy to read. The list of options is not overwhelming, and the simple mention of ingredients served to explain the tea and ice-cream options in as clear a way as possible.
3. If you are not aware of what "Rolled Ice Cream" is (I wasn't) then you are treated to a very personal view of the employees behind the glass as they prepare your order. It was fascinating to me at least, to watch the process and helped pass the time as opposed to having them prepare it in the back out of view. This is something I will likely enjoy every time I come back.
4. The Boba (Tapioca bubbles) for the tea and ice cream are damn near, if not, perfect. In other locations, I have experienced the bubbles being too big for the straws, too chewy, or shapeless globs. This place has them in the perfect size and consistency, and I am willing to bet that when we return, they will likely be the same.
5. The ice cream flavor was not what I was expecting or used to, but it really had a good flavor, and I just can't get over the idea of "rolling" it. It is probably the most novel way to prepare ice cream I have seen anywhere in Stafford so far.
6. The tea. Both of the tea drinks we ordered were spectacular in flavor. In my personal Berry Good tea, the Boba seemed to absorb, or get infused with the tea flavor itself. It was so good. My wife's Thai tea was extremely good as well.
7. Unfortunately I am not familiar with other restaurants that offer Boba Tea, so the 3.75 price tag for each, seemed reasonable enough to me considering the generous size of the cups.
8. The 5.75 Ice cream was a decent sized bowl that we split. If there are better prices, I am simply not aware. I know I have had cheaper bowls of ice cream, but there is a certain value in the aesthetic of the rolls and their preparation that I can see as more "exotic" to merit the price. It all seemed reasonable to me.

All these things considered, both my wife and myself left this establishment excited to return and try one of everything on the menu. Visiting their website revealed that they experiment with new drinks and so its fully possible that after we try everything, the menu will evolve which will keep things exciting. This was a great experience for us, and we definitely look forward to becoming regular...

I went in on a Monday at 3:15pm and ordered three Thai Teas with Boba. The boba and Thai tea was delicious and I liked the sealed lid over the cup. However, I was confused as where to order because there was no sign, “order here.” I saw a line was formed, but didn’t know if the customers were waiting to get their order or waiting to place their order. There were three employees working...one was rolling ice cream and two were working on drink orders. One employee looked like they were in training (which was fine), but no one acknowledged me, said hello, or even looked up in my direction when I entered the store. It wasn’t that busy to do either of the three. I just stood there wondering where I should stand to order. When I did order, the employee was very friendly and efficient. However, when I asked for a drink holder (I had three drinks and one of me), they didn’t have any. How are you going to serve drinks and not have drink holders for customers who order more than one drink? They told me they just had tiny plastic bag, which I declined. Overall the tea and boba were delicious and I will definitely be back again to try more flavors. Maybe say hello to customers when they come in...there was a young man that came in after me, stood there waiting about 10mins before he left the store and sped away in his car. Also, please purchase...

Went here for the first time this past Saturday, 6/16. I was very excited about a boba tea place opening in Stafford! However, the wait was not worth it...I ordered 4 of the same kind of tea, all with boba. I was told that there was only enough boba left for 2 teas. I said that was fine, just do 2 with and 2 without. However, I was still charged for 4 bobas. This was really insignificant (60 cents), but even so.

Now, the actual tea...I tried the Sweet Vibes flavor. It was incredibly disappointing. It tasted like there was either perfume, or soap, or some other kind of cleaning solution, mixed into the drink. They were undrinkable. All four of the teas tasted like this, and my family ended up throwing them all out. Super disappointed, as I was looking forward to this as soon as I found out about it. I might give it another shot in the future after they have had some time to work out the kinks, but as it is now, I don’t recommend it (at...