Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Family Recipe Boba

I’ve been coming to this place for two years, and I don’t know what happened in the past month, but they’ve gone downhill FAST. First, and most importantly, they changed their boba. Their boba used to be this great fresh dark boba, but now they have clearish/yellowish pre-made boba that’s hard. For that reason alone, I won’t be back. However, in addition to the change in boba, everyone who works here is completely unfriendly. In the past month, we’ve been hurried out over an hour before they close at 10pm so that they can close super early. This place used to be my favorite. If they brought back their old boba, I’d come back but without it, putting up with their rude workers is NOT worth it.

Great customer service and had a great time! Such a chill place to go and get boba and on top of that it’s so good! The boba there is great and has the best texture out of all the boba I’ve had!

Today I went to Latea for the first time ever and placed my order. I received no assistance from the woman taking my order, which was okay, because the menu board was pretty clear. She asked me a question about happy hour but didn't explain anything about it, but mentioned that I could add it on. She seemed rude, so I didn't ask any additional questions. I was told that the added "boba" would be a 10 minute wait, which I said was no problem. I sat and chatted with a friend while waiting and when my order was called I took my drink and left. I didn't see any bobas in it, but I just thought that maybe the milk tea was cloudy and they were in the bottom. No bobas. Everything else about the drink I ordered was fine, (a medium coffee milk tea with quarter sweet and light ice) however no bobas is kind of a big deal when I waited 10 minutes for it. I don't mind waiting, but it should be right if you have to wait.

Great bubble tea selection. The prices are high, but the product is worth it. The “large” is more of an “extra large”. It will last awhile. Lots of seating available and good music. Great place to study or hang with friends. Highly recommended!

Delicious bubble teas with customizable sugar levels. And their boba is perfectly chewy and soft every single time. I make it a point to come here to get boba every time I come back to Chambana—this place seriously stacks up/beats a lot of NYC bubble tea joints. I definitely stan their regular milk tea.

The tea I've gotten from here is pretty good and is decently priced. I have not been too impressed with the costumer service, however. Nothing too bad, it's just that everyone I've encountered there seems uninterested and almost annoyed.

Having tried many of the Taiwanese chains around San Francisco, during our visit I was curious as to how the bubble tea is around UIUC. We got the house milk green tea and yogurt oolong tea at 25% sweetness. The milk green tea had a strong tea flavor which I preferred, and was just the right amount of sweetness. Not sure if it was made with real milk though and has a slightly off taste. The yogurt oolong tea seemed to be yogurt flavored, not made with yogurt (i.e. yakult) as we expected. At 25% sweetness, it was still slightly too sweet for our tastes but you can definitely taste the tea. Overall, the drinks had good tea flavor and were refreshing.

The best tea bar in Campustown. The tea is tea, not some sweetened mysterious liquid with weird color. The space is comfortable. There are two big tables for studying and one nice sofa for relaxing.

2017 review: 5 star
Little crowded sometimes, but i think it's the best bubble tea in town.

2019 review: 3 star
What a scam, five star points got depreciated. Adding boba needs 30 points?

Great bubble tea but also a huge selection of different types drinks and addons. Very big college clientele just hanging out with friends and doing school work. My wife and I stop everytime were in town. Vanilla Milk Tea for me, House Green Milk Tea for her.