Nothing special, but the only decent boba place within USC proximity. Cute decor, cute mascot. Decent food and drinks. The milk tea may not be as strong as Tea Station's, but it is drinkable and so are their flavored teas and slushies. My favorite is the green milk tea. It's nothing that will wow you, but it is close enough to campus for a quick boba fix. Pros: - free wi-fi - open relatively late - most of the meal options are decent and edible - popcorn chicken is standard Cons: - some of the other appetizers are pretty gross like the tempura fish. blehhh read more

Disclaimer: My stars are based on comparison to other bubble tea available around USC. I pretty much always get the Original Milk Tea. Yeah, the price isn't a steal and the cups are small (compared to Washington where I came from), but I don't recall ever having a problem with my drink. I crave it often, and currently have two stamps going strong-missed place one of them for a while. I recommend this over the UV place (theirs is a strong second) and Boba Loca (I go there for convenience). The popcorn chicken is sooooo good! But I don't get it often because it is ~$4. Cash Only. read more

For the price of six dollars, the quality I'm the location, this joint gets five stars. The mushroom minced pork was tender and juicy- the perfect complement to the rice. The steamed veggies could have had a little more flavor but still ok. The popcorn chicken was tasty and soft inside, though the mild is probably a medium spicy. Great joint near the USC area and way better boba here then the boba loca joint on Vermont. read more

Cup O' Joy has steadily been taking over as one of my FAVOURITE BOBA PLACES of ALL TIME. I'd rank it THIRD in the entire Los Angeles metro, FIRST in Los Angeles itself. 1. Coco 2. Boba Loca (Not USC Boba Loca!) 3. Cup O' Joy 4. Ladybug Tea House 5. I Heart Boba's coffee Honestly, I have been ALL OVER THE MAP of America for boba. I've lived and visited every major asian hub in America. Yes, even Flushing, the GREAT Flushing, but even in Flushing Cup O Joy would be near the top! This is the third best in LA area. It is THE BEST in Los Angeles itself, as, Coco is in Sawtelle, and Boba Loca's Los Angeles location is nothing like the rest of the chain. For a while, I went here every day. I go once a week now, because I work so often. The staff is INCREDIBLE and work at INCREDIBLE speeds even when busy. The food is "good" for Taiwanese food. Not the best I've had, but if I don't want to go all the way to Arcadia for some Sinbala, it certainly satiates. If I was not familiar with Taiwanese food, I'd think it was great, since most starts at Great and goes up from there. This is a place you can go, play Jenga with friends, hang out, everyone there knows your order (ok maybe thats because I go alot) and the milk tea is GREAT. It's a little loud for studying/working. So what is this MILK TEA EXPERT's regular order? MANGO MILK TEA, NO ICE, NO BOBA. Try it, you will be so happy you did. The milk tea is perfect for mango accent. I've tried many other drinks which I also love like Jasmine Milk Tea or plain Milk Tea. They are all good, but definitely try the Mango Milk Tea. I highly highly highly recommend it, I bring all my friends there, and if you were my friend we'd already have gone. Please do try it. You will love it. Price is right! Seriously for me say it's the best in LA, is pretty big. I've had almost EVERYTHING in LA. I'm not joking. I am obsessed with Milk Tea. So please try it and if you don't like it, never trust my reviews again. :) (Note: I do not drink Tapico Boba. So I cannot remark on the boba itself. I do not like extra calories and extra sweet tastes, so I do not drink anything with boba. Maybe that's why I've never had a bad experience here. So maybe try your drink without because it's ALL REALLY FREAKIN GOOD!) read more

The boba here is so-so. Nothing special, and frankly I only think it's still in business because it's one of the few boba places around. First time I ordered the taro milk tea, it was powdery and mixed poorly, as well as being watery. There definitely wasn't enough boba, and I ordered a large. Why so stingy? I've had their original milk tea, it is watery, and pretty flavorless, it's also not that sweet either. I don't really recommend this place, unless you're desperate. But, there are much better boba places around L.A. Okay, so it turns out I have had the food from here. I had the popcorn chicken meal, and I have to admit that the popcorn chicken is really good here. The whole meal itself was good, except the egg was bitter because it was overcooked. You can always tell if an egg is overcooked if it has a greenish yellowish rim around its yolk, and trust me this one had it, and it had it real bad. Everything else was really good though. Just, not the boba. Get a meal here, and get your boba elsewhere. read more

The boba is really hit or miss for me. Sometimes it's super chewy and delicious; other times it's soggy and bland. I really like the regular milk tea and cherry blossom milk tea, but I would avoid anything with strawberry in it. I've ordered strawberry milk tea on two separate occasions, and both times the drinks tasted off. Yesterday I got the strawberry (I know) toast. Honestly, it was a disappointment. It looked nothing like the picture that was displayed. I expected something like the brick toast that they serve at Half n Half, but it's literally a piece of thicker toast with strawberry jam slathered on top of it. The toast wasn't firm enough to hold the weight and moisture of the jam, so the middle parts sunk in, which made it difficult to cut. I would not get that again. I come here often though; it probably has the best boba that's within walking distance of USC. Most of the time I get the regular milk tea with mini boba in the chubby cup. IMO, mini boba is harder to screw up as I have had fewer instances that it's not at least decent. The staff here is also super nice and friendly. Don't forget to check in to get 10% whenever you're payign with cash. read more

Great management. Tim and his wife are very welcoming. The food and drinks are amazing. There is a great selection of boba drinks, teas and shakes plus a variety of snacks. Free WiFi to do any type of work. Great place to socialize with friends. Last but not least the prices are reasonable. read more

Cup O' Joy - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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This has been my Home Boba spot for years. Love the drinks, love the food, && LOVE THE PEOPLE! Every time I'm visiting I make sure to spot by! Very college friendly and very welcoming all the time. Never have had a bad encounter! So check it out!!! read more

Cup O' Joy gets 5 stars for their boba drinks because they're really good. Their service is slow and not too friendly. While I was standing there I noticed a few things that appalled me. The paintings on the wall have a blanket of dust and their walls are filthy. Cup O' Joy is not lacking in business, they seemed busy when I was there. They should hire a professional team to come in and deep clean their walls and peel the blankets of dust off their painting. Cup O' Joy gets gets 1 star for their cleanliness but ill give them 2 because their boba drinks are delicious. I will be more than happy to change the two stars to five if they clean their business. I don't think I would dare to use their bathrooms and would probably be nervous to check the back. Hmmmmm.... read more

Cup O' Joy - Chubby cup! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Good boba, not great. Free parking in private lot. This spot is right next to a Bank of America ATM machine. The Peach green tea with lychee was very good, but kind if tasted like the fruit syrup from a can. The honey milk tea and coffee milk tea was so so, I say skip it! 10% off with yelp check in! read more

I had such high expectation for you, Cup o' Joy, but your raspberry slush and black tea left me... sad, to say the least. Both had such strange textures and aftertastes that my sister and I literally had to toughen up to get ourselves to down them. On the bright side: no lines, no wait, lots of parking, open late, and 10% off if you pay with cash and check in. I think I would rather go to the racist lady on the other side of campus or pay $6 for some club fundraiser than come back. Strange experience. Oh, and the bathrooms were a bit traumatizing. Heavens. read more

Cup O' Joy is your typical taiwanese-style boba shop. It's not the most clean environment nor is it the coziest, but it's a great place to just relax and chat with friends. Don't expect a BobaTime or Ozero but do expect good bubble tea and great food. The boba is typical. Tastes like normal boba and there's nothing off about it. The regular milk tea is always a go-to option however like many other boba shops, Cup O' Joy has a huge selection of drinks including fruit slushies and all different kinds of milk tea. The quality is alright. I got a mango slush one time and asked if they used real fruit and they said it's all from powder. Other than that, the drinks are decent. The food is pretty good. They have a wide range of meals and snacks from popcorn chicken, fried fish balls, and all different kinds of meats. The meals come with rice, salad, and a hard-boiled egg. It's a pretty good deal and the food tastes very authentic. Overall, Cup o' Joy is a nice little place to grab some boba and a snack or two. It's also a great place for groups and many student groups from USC have discounts. Would recommend. read more

3 Stars. I think this place is basically equivalent to a Quickly's level boba shop. It's not the best but it's cheap and close to USC so it makes sense to come here if you don't have time to drive a bit further. A typical milk tea will be around $2.75+ and then it's an additional 50 cents for boba so you're looking at around ~$3-4. Remember the check-in deal - pay with cash and you'll save 10% off your order. The boba is often a little too soft but sometimes they get it just right. Most drinks are pretty underwhelming and not that great. I like that there is a lot of parking outside and there's also a Bank of America ATM in this plaza too. If you do have a car and don't mind driving a bit further, Coco's in DTLA is just 2 miles north from this place but the only downside of it is that parking there is really difficult because it's next to LA Live / Staples Center. That's my go-to place around USC. read more

Review is for my Postmate delivery. I'm a little obsessed with this place and have it delivered to me a few times. Their popcorn chicken is seriously one of the more authentic ones I've had in LA. Their meal, like chicken cutlet....etc..are also pretty good. Of course nothing is as good as what you get in Taiwan, but good enough to satisfy my cravings. I always order their popcorn chicken and fishcake. Fishcake gets a little hard when it's cold, but I'm pretty sure it tastes better when you eat it at the restaurant. Their boba milk too is a little on the sweeter side for me, but the boba itself is pretty authentic (It's hard to believe, but I've had some really bad ones before). read more

They deserve no stars. I was a walk in and a first time customer. Heard them call my order grabbed it and wet home. Opened my food to find it wasn't my order. Called and told them the order was wrong. Told them to have correct order ready. I got back to the restaurant about 11 minutes after I called. New order wasn't ready. Watied 10 more minutes then asked where my order was. A few more minutes later order was ready and handed out by the manager. Rude man didn't want to even listen. Don't go here! Waste of an hour !!!!!!!! read more

I think I just found my new favorite summer drink Super Fresh Fruit Tea and added a little bit of raw honey to give it extra sweetness. Yummmmm. read more

Cup O' Joy - Super Fresh Fruit Tea. Yummmmm. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Los Angeles, California

This is a good place to get boba when you're craving for one. Their milk tea/slush/smoothies are a bit on the sweeter side, and their boba is more soft than chewy (which I like). It does get crowded sometimes, so sometimes you're in and out in 2 min and other times you have to wait 10 min or so. The service could be better, but most employees are friendly. Also there's a discount on large milk tea boba on Tuesdays and Thursdays around noon if you order from Tapingo. (great deal) BUT I DO NOT RECOMMEND THEIR POPCORN CHICKEN (too oily and made me sick) read more

Eh. Seriously. I'm originally from a super Asian area where there are bajillion top-notch pearl milk tea places, and this just doesn't compare to home. The boba gets really chewy and hard after a couple of minutes for the smoothies, and even in the milk tea, it's just not like an actual tapioca ball - more like a lump of tapioca. The smoothies are alright - the kiwi one is pretty good though - but same thing. The boba pretty much ruins it. I'm pretty sure the milk tea is made out of powder, too. It just doesn't taste the same. Overall, this place is good for a quick boba fix, but not for much else. read more

the best thing about cup o joy? the proximity to USC. I used to live on the Figueroa side of campus and cup o joy was just a walk down the street. i'd like to give this place 3.5 stars, but decided to round up because i am in love with the snacks they have. i'll have to admit, their boba is wayy too soft and soggy for my taste but their rainbow jelly is delicious! like i said, i love their snacks! mini pork dumplings (filled with juice!!) and delicious popcorn chicken. I come for boba (or better described, flavored tea with jelly) and always seem to opt to get a snack as well read more

If you're in the USC area, Cup O' Joy is a solid choice for a boba fix. They have a pretty good assortment of options to put your boba in: regular teas, slushes and milkshakes...oh the milkshakes (it's basically blended ice cream--hard to mess that up). They do run out of ice cream pretty often, so have a backup in mind if a milkshake is your first choice. My biggest complaint is that the fruity flavors can be overwhelmingly sweet, but everything's good for the most part. I like the consistency and taste of the boba. The consistent 'B' rating makes me a little nervous, but I usually don't get food here so hopefully I'm OK...? If anything, the popcorn chicken is a decent snack if you don't have other options. Service is hit or miss...usually a miss. Typically not super friendly and I've had the occasional mess up (which they've fixed, but not with a smile ha). Don't know if I'd go out of my way to go here, but it's a great walking-distance option for boba if you're around USC. I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could. read more

Honestly this is a decent boba location ..I prefer Volcano across the street ! Boba: the boba is how it's suppose to be ! Chewy! A lot of options Popcorn chicken review : eh nothing amazing probably at the bottom of my list ! Don't think I will crave popcorn chicken from this location read more

Oh the cravings of a USC boba addict... Suffice it to say, there are very few boba places within a 10 minute walk from the USC campus. If you're DYING for boba and don't have a means for transportation, then Cup O' Joy will be your best bet for some semblance of decent boba, plus it's pretty affordable. Then again it has been a while since i've been back here. Who knows, maybe they've gotten better, maybe not. I have a car so if I have a craving I'm booking it to a better boba location to indulge. read more

pretty good food but the prices have went through the roof chicken strips and fries and a lemonade $21.00 never again

My favorite boba place. I have been coming here for years. Seriously since 2000 when I was at SC. Can't be lien I am just doing a review. But for real, best boba and the drinks are always so cool. And the snacks are really well cooked. Love them!! read more

You can get a container of mixed fried things for very cheap here. Standard hermetically sealed boba and milk tea menu.

The price range is reasonable and the amount of food is definitely worth it. The drinks are great and there's a large variety of smoothies, slushees, teas, etc. Great staff and always welcoming. They also have a stamp card for drinks, which is a great idea. read more

This is my favorite boba place near USC. Their mango milkshake with boba is so good! The drinks are pretty big too - I always get their smallest size and can barely finish all of it. It's great for a quick grab and go, but I've seen a lot of people working on laptops in the store. Plus, it's close to the campus. read more

I've been going here for the past 4 years and I love the boba drinks AND the food. I get the milk tea drinks and all the flavors taste amazing! They offer the option of getting boba or jelly, and I recommend trying the aloe jelly because it's fruity and refreshing. The popcorn chicken snack/meal is always a winner. read more

Not my favorite boba shop but this is the closest one from the USC campus. Once I went late night to study but I soon realized that boba shop isn't really the greatest place to study. It has okay quality boba but I would not come here if it wasn't for the convinent location. Oh and if you are a yelper, check in and you can get 10% off. green apple black tea - good yogurt slush - dislike green apple slush - too sweet taro slush - okay milk green tea- okay It also makes me sad that they don't have red bean slush here! :( read more

Given the limited boba options around USC, Cup O' Joy will serve your needs if you need a boba fix. The milk teas are good, not great and the same goes for the boba. Standard price, usually no problems with parking, customer service is fine and everything else is pretty unremarkable. read more

Always the best spot for boba. Super fast service. Chubby cup is the best size for these great tasting flavors and boba. read more

Cup O' Joy - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Los Angeles, California

This place is no Half and Half, but it's as good as you're going to get considering how close it is to USC campus. I honestly don't think it's as bad as some people make it out to be, but then again, I'm not very picky. The boba is chewy and the milk tea is pretty smooth. I usually get a regular milk tea, half ice, half sugar, and with boba. I've also had their popcorn chicken - I love it! Very flavorful and they give you a hefty portion, all for a reasonable price. I don't usually eat in, but I don't think it's as bad as what the other reviews say - it's your typical eat-in shop in my opinion. Basically: if you have hella high standards for quality of drink and restaurant atmosphere, you probably won't enjoy COJ. But if you're looking for a little something something to nibble on and to drink, whether it be for a fast meal or a study snack, this place is for you! read more

I am so in love with their rose milk tea! I'm a big stickler for boba that's cooked right and let me tell you it's delicious! Popcorn chicken is awesome as well read more

Good customer service. The guy was really nice, I think he was hitting on my boyfriend though. Haha. I got a Passion Fruit Guava Orange slush (yes! Hawai'i POG) and a snack combination. It was fulfilling for $7 not bad! The place could be a little cleaner though. read more

Popcorn chicken is a good quick snack. Can ask for it to be spicy/not-spicy. The drinks however have always been just ok. Nothing wrong with them but just not as good as the boba places I've had before around socal. I love how quick they are to deliver food and the portions are great. read more

Delicious tea great food amazing environment! The workers were so nice especially the older gentleman that works there he was so sweet and nice even offered us free chicken to try and it was delicious; I ended up buying two orders! It's juicy and soft and breaded and the sauce is so good! Anyways the mans hospitality just put this place in my fav places to go! Thank you who ever you may be!! read more

I love the popcorn chicken. It's delicious. Your better off ordering ahead so you won't have to wait that long. Usually your order is ready with 10 minutes. read more

Decent Boba. There are many types of drinks (milkshake, slush/smoothies, milk teas etc) and snacks (popcorn chicken, fried tofu, sweet potato fries etc.) you can choose from. I personally love their oolong milk tea with boba. This is my to-go place for boba because it opens till midnight and it's walkable from the USC campus. Pretty good place to chill and get some work done too because there's free wifi (password is "colorboba"). The place recently got renovated too! It didn't really make a lot of difference in my opinion but I guess it looks a little bit better than before. read more

Not very clean and kind of cramped but they have low prices and are opened late. I haven't had a chance to try their food yet but it always looks good and lots of people are always eating in. Usually I grab a rose milk tea (delicious, not too sweet, perfectly flavored with rose) in the chubby cup size because it's such a great deal! Other milk teas and slushies I've tried have been good too, just be sure to shake your drink first or all the flavoring/syrup will settle at the bottom of your cup. The staff has always been nice and the wait (at least for drinks) is never too long. I still need to try the food but if it's anything like their quality of drinks then I'll be happy! read more

An awesome Taiwanese food and boba place around USC!! You can't imagine how much tears I shed the first time I found out about this place after eating salads/hamburgers for a semester. Yummy and reasonably priced!! read more