Great drinks here. The sweetness scale is truly Asian and 50% sweet is not very sweet at all, I love it!! Strawberry berry 2.0 - this tasted like it was made purely from puréed fresh strawberries. Delicious fruity flavor. Okinawa milk tea - great flavor and not water down at all. Boba - not bad, but a little soggy in texture. I probably just didn't get a fresh batch. read more

I ordered ahead for a dragon fruit tea, less ice, 30% sweet. It was done within 5 mins. It was still quite sweet, and had an acidic sour tang. While I'm satisfied with the strength of the fruit flavor, I do wish it would've been less sweet since that is not what I would've expected for 30% sweetness. They are on the SnackPass app, so there's occasionally discounts available on there. read more

I tried their strawberry tea with snow cream. It was delicious! I could taste the fresh strawberries puréed in the drink. I ordered 100% sweetness and it wasn't too sweet at all. Actually would have preferred a tad bit more sweetness but nonetheless the flavor was so refreshing. The salted cream on top, which I was hesitant about, actually went well with the strawberry. read more

Service was solid and the interior is just alright. The only reason I got the matcha was because it was a buy one get one free deal but I probably wouldn't get it again cause I could taste clumps of matcha... Great deal though! read more

Rare Tea - Matcha Jasmine Royale (very blurry photo but the size was decent for seven dollars and the matcha was meh) - Bubble Tea Near Me - Berkeley, California

I ordered the thai milk tea through Snackpass and the drink tasted decent, nothing too special. Love how they add so much boba in the drink! Worth the price. read more

Rare Tea - thai milk tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - Berkeley, California

Probably the best bang for your buck closest to campus! Their drinks are on the sweeter side for sure but their daily Snackpass deal is pretty affordable. I got the Brown Sugar Shake with no discount and it was $5.89, with it is 20% off. If you like ice a lot-- check your iron levels and go to Plentea instead, the blended drinks are better. read more

Rare Tea - Brown Sugar Shake - Bubble Tea Near Me - Berkeley, California

Very good Thai Milk tea and regular Milk tea with boba! They don't overdo it on the ice, so you get your money's worth.

2.5 stars! This is a boba shop on the UC Berkeley campus, so parking is a pain. The ordering system is through SnackPass and the service is very quick. The staff are friendly and give free water too if you ask! There's lots of seating inside for students to mingle and study too. I ordered a Grapefruit Green Tea, since I wanted something refreshing to drink while walking around campus. To my surprise, it was very honeyed and tasted like syrup - even though I ordered 50% sweet. It wasn't fresh grapefruit unfortunately. The green tea taste was a bit watered down too. read more

Rare Tea - Menu (September 2022) - Bubble Tea Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Ample seating inside to hang out or chat, several kiosks near the front to place your order. I ordered ahead through Snackpass, and order completion was very efficient! I got the limited time Dragon Fruit Tea with normal ice, 30% sugar, lychee jelly, and crystal boba. Through Snackpass, I got a $2 off deal so my total came out to $5.50, which is a good price considering I added on lychee jelly and crystal boba. The drink itself does not come with other add ins. I don't like my boba drinks too sweet which is why I got 30% sugar, but I'd say it was still a little too sweet for my taste. I could taste the syrupy sweetness, but it wasn't too bad because I enjoyed the lemon spring tea base that came through. Overall, good deal and would come again - for me, I'd just prefer 0% sugar for their fruit teas. read more

This Rare Tea location is across from UC Berkeley. Parking is garage or street parking. There are usually only 2 people working, so drinks usually take awhile to come out, so ordering ahead would be ideal. Also, make sure to ask them for your drinks because they did not call out my name or number, so my drinks were sitting behind the counter. On my last visits, I ordered the jasmine and Thai milk teas. On this particular visit, I decided to try one of their fruity drinks - I opted for their Mango Green Snow Cream with boba and Strawberry Berry 2.0 Snow Cream with boba. The mango one was good, but a bit sugary/syrupy - it could used a bit more cream. The strawberry one was the better of the two, it was actually sweet and refreshing. read more

After eating around the area, my friend and I decided to get drinks to satisfy our boba cravings. Atmosphere: Very welcoming. Clean. Bright and spacious! Service: The staff was very friendly, patient and helpful! I wasn't too sure which drink to get since they had so many delicious options so the staff helped me narrow down the choices and gave suggestions on which drinks suit my taste. I received my drink within 5 mins after ordering! Very fast and efficient service! They also have a kiosk for self ordering if you do not want to order on the counter. This is a great option for social distancing! Drink: I got the Strawberry Berry 2.0 with aloe vera, 80% sweetness and light ice. It's made with fresh strawberries and four season spring tea (green tea). This drink is so refreshing! It had the perfect sweetness and you can taste the great quality of the tea! I also enjoyed chewing on the aloe vera. I will have to order this drink again whenever I feel like having a refreshing drink! Price: Affordable. Average price of boba places. I highly recommend this boba spot to anyone who is looking for a boba drink in the Bay Area! They have so many great options. The staff is really kind. You can even ask them to take photos with the cute holiday decorations from behind the counter for your Instagram! Lol I will be returning to this spot the next time I visit Berkeley again! read more

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Their rose tea with jelly is FANTASTIC! I come here just for that. I haven't found the same flavor at any other tea spot in the area. For whatever reason, I'm obsessed with their rose flavoring! This is one of my regular spots, I recommend! read more

I loveeee this place, their boba was delicious! I tried their strawberry milk tea with lychee jelly and their tiger milk tea which was a combination of Thai tea and milk tea. Would definitely recommend their brown sugar boba. Soo yummy and can't wait to go back! The service was good and I really appreciate that they have the little ordering situations so you don't have to worry about inconveniencing anyone to order. The environment was also nice, I appreciate the seating and tons of natural lighting. read more

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My favorite boba place near campus! Great drinks, great prices and great staff! Snackpass charged me twice and the staff informed me and provided a full refund for the second transaction. read more

If you are a walk-in, orders are placed on the self serve kiosk. This is a grab and go establishment at the moment with completed mobile orders placed on a table. Pros: -great drinks that are customizable -hand sanitizer is available Cons: -the self kiosk that I was using was a little finicky, but luckily my order was placed even though I had an error message on the kiosk screen -beverages are now served in plastic rather than a glass bottle -their pudding had a weird texture that was chewy Due to covid, there seems to be a lot of metered street parking. read more

Rare Tea - $5.56 - Bubble Tea Near Me - Berkeley, California

These Bobas are brain-penetrating desserts. You could drink a single one for an entire week. Not kidding. That sweet. Some reviews seem to agree. I say, if you're a hyped-up student who wants a sugar-fix, go for it! If you normally order 100% or 150% sweet this is your (franchise, not local) spot. Ordered 3 drinks. Ordered 0% sweetness x2 and it tasted like 150% sweetness. Ordered 30% sweetness and it tasted like 200% sweetness. Taro is real taro, here. Still, we tried so hard to finish them, and physically couldn't. The Passionfruit Yakult drink tasted like 95% Passionfruit syrup. I was searching for a Yakult Boba that would make my Yakult-loving heart sing, thus, the purpose of this order. I love Passionfruit, but Yakult-tasting it was not. This place does cute yet pricey DIY kits. Just wish the sugar-levels for prepared-Bobas were also adjustable. The search for a legit Yakult Boba continues... read more

Rare Tea - As much as we could do. :( - Bubble Tea Near Me - Berkeley, California

Cutest study spot in Berkeley! Tasty drinks and perfect seating area to work on things! Workers are nice and get your drink out quick'

It was thanks to RareTea's delivery kits for boba-at-home that I was sane while I was visiting the family in rural Alabama. If you are looking to do try setting up your own home cafe, support local business like RareTea and purchase partial or full DIY kit for everything one may need to make boba drinks at home! They also impressively linked a rewards program with this side of the business. A tip: try not to be overly excited and order too much at once as the expiration date on the items (yes, including boba) isn't too long, as items with less/ no preservatives should be! Aside from their DIY kits, their brick and mortar cafes in Berkeley also produce consistently quality drinks. I definitely had multiple kinds of all tea variation categories on the menu by now and I can almost always rely on their boba and tea to be of reliable taste. I also believe a good chunk of their fruit drinks are made from fresh fruit purees & jams! read more

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Located on the Main Street of Berkeley (Telegraph) raretea is a chain boba shop I believe. They are almost always busy when I stop by. I tried it a few times and the drinks were good. This time around, they had a promo for bogo boba tea, so we tried it out using Snackpass. If you don't have the app, use my code Loann9541op for 50% any tea and other local discounts. I wish I got it a little less sweet but overall the drink was good and a bonus that we got one for free (: saved it for later. Great location, friendly and QUICK service. I barely put in my drink order and it was already ready. Did I even pay yet?.... Grabbed sliver pizza down the street to complete the meal.. read more

Rare Tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - Berkeley, California

Ok I know a lot of people don't really like this spot, but I genuinely think it's one of the better boba spots around here. Every time I've come, I have not been disappointed by what I got. Sure the drinks aren't stand out exceptional, but they're good and get the job done! My go-to's are always the roasted oolong or jasmine milk tea with red bean, but I remember also really liking some of their fruit teas (I believe the one with kiwi was really good). They're also fast and I appreciate the happy hour discounts! read more

Solid tea shop located right next to campus. Our teas were made quickly and to our specifications. Their teas are giant sized! My jasmine green tea was strong and I enjoyed the slightly sweet herbal jelly. read more

Rare Tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I've been coming here for boba since my college days (back when it was still called ShareTea), and it's good to see that the quality hasn't dropped since then. Years ago, you'd see a line out the door for ShareTea, partly because it was the new kid on the block, but largely because it set a new benchmark for what boba should be on Southside. They've got solid options all around. You can't go wrong with a classic Milk Tea w/ Boba, but my go to is the Ice Cream Milk Tea w/ Boba. Order it with less ice & less sugar, but once in a while, it's a nice mix up from a standard Milk Tea. Since my time in Undergrad, Berkeley has seen so many Boba shops come and go that it's easy to get lost in the deluge. More internationally renowned chains have set up shop in Berkeley, and options abound...that said, if you want quality Boba without making a fuss and waiting in line for 30 min, absolutely stop by Rare Tea. read more

Rare Tea - Ice Cream Black Tea with Boba - Bubble Tea Near Me - Berkeley, California

This is my favorite boba shop ever the service is so good! The taro milk tea is super good plus if you order on Snackpass anytime before 1 it's 20% off! The place is Clean read more

Rare Tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Sharetea? Raretea? When we walked in, we were so confused. We knew this was where Sharetea was located but all the signage said Raretea?! The drinks we had preordered were already up at the counter so we knew we were in the right place. Apparently because they've adopted the creama teas, they've become Raretea... Anyhow...I ordered the Okinawa Tea with 50% sugar and little ice. It comes with the pearls but I also added pudding. The drink was made well; not too sweet that it displaced the actual taste of tea, pearls were chewy and the pudding stayed in a piece instead of disintegrating. All in all a good drink and was much appreciated during my hour and a half long training at the Career Center! read more

Rare Tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - Berkeley, California

I was in the Berkeley campus area and decided to pop by this place to try some of their Boba. This is also one of those small businesses that have transition onto Snackpass, the app. Upon arriving here there were two people working but they didn't greet me, or say anything to me at all. I wasn't a huge fan of their customer service. And while they have people working there they still make your order on an automated machine, probably due to Covid. I have nothing against ordering on machines but I think it's just common courtesy as an employee to greet me and let me know that I should be ordering on a machine. I ordered about 4 to 5 different drinks and it took about eight minutes to make all of my drinks. They don't label their drinks so when they gave me the drink and they didn't tell me what was what and I was a little bit confused. When I asked the man what was the drink that I ordered just to confirm and make sure I knew what I was getting he was also very confused. Overall I was not a fan of the customer service, didn't find them at friendly or helpful at all. Drinks are pretty mediocre I would say three out of five. There's not a lot of parking around this location you would have to pay for meter parking or there's a parking garage that now does free first hour. read more

Taro milk tea poorly made with powder still at the top. Terrible!!!! Did not fill the milk tea all the way to the top either. Would not recommend. read more

Rare Tea - Taro milk tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - Berkeley, California

Easy to order drinks with tablet. There are many flavors so difficult to choose. All of them looks like very nice. Staff is very friendly. It is very clean and bright inside the place. read more

Is this Share Tea or Rate Tea? Ordered the Oreo milk tea and it tasted just like you would imagine, regular milk tea with blended Oreo in it. I'm not sure how I feel about sandy Oreo pieces gliding down my throat it didn't feel smooth! Kind of a weird sensation but the drink itself had a good flavor just not the best mouth feel. read more

This is NOT the spot for quality boba tea. Even boba from Sheng Kee is better... I ordered the Okinawa Pearl MT 80% sweet. Although the milk tea itself was alright, the boba was a huge disappointment! The texture was completely off as the inside was a bit hard and the outside was so overcooked. It may have been an off day, but I ended up drinking only the tea part and tossing all the boba balls :'( Some pros: quick service, close to campus but overall, you should skip this place and head someplace else to satisfy your boba cravings read more

Rare Tea - Menu 08/2019 - Bubble Tea Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Competition for good bubble tea is high in an area like south side. Unfortunately, Rare Tea falls in the average range, because of nearby equivalents like Yi Fang, Fengcha, and Plentea. Raretea's signature drinks are not bad, but I recently ordered the wintermelon tea and received something that tasted like water, with four small ice cubes (even though I'd requested regular ice). That being said, their ordering system and service is pretty speedy - their self order kiosks make for a great user experience, and they are conveniently right across from the major bus stops. My opinion may evolve as I try more of their drinks! read more

(Review for their DIY Boba Kit at home): Was excited to purchase their boba, milk tea powders, fruit jams, etc. to make my own boba and their signature milk & fruit teas at home last year during the peak of the Pandemic. Their fruit jams have been great and the Mango Passionfruit Green Tea tasted exactly like the drink I would order in person. However, the 2 stars are for the (poor) quality of their crystal boba. I've emailed them twice in regards to the issue, but havent received any response (despite giving customers the option to reply back to their emails if they had any questions). I had purchased two bottles of Crystal Boba ($7 each) that were good until the end of this year (Dec. 31st, 2021). However, the second bottle was already mushy upon opening. Worse yet, the boba later reeked of a pungent chemical smell and there were weird black spots in the bottle (mold?). There were no clear instructions on the bottle (unlike the fruit jams that needed to be refrigerated after opening), so it is unlikely an issue related to storage. Only used it once and had nearly a full bottle when I had to throw it out. Overall, as much I had wanted to give a good rating, I am disappointed in the quality of the product and the poor (or lack of) customer service I had received. read more

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Very disappointed. Wasted money, calories, time. It is no secret, I love boba and I try my best to sample new places so I can yelp about them too!!We wanted to try a new place in Berkley and saw high stars and lots of reviews for this place so thought of giving it a go. The location has limited parking options and is best to walk to it ( from the Main Street ) or park far and walk. It is a small place which looked very make shift for some reason. The menu is limited and has been categorised well actually for ease of ordering. We got the Taro boba tea (cold) and the Coffee milk tea with boba ( hot). Both orders costs $9.00 making this not a cheap place and very comparable to other boba places. The hot drink was not hot !! Yes , it was maybe luke warm. I brought that to the attention of the staff and they microwaved it in front me. Still not hot. The flavour was so weak and the tea tasted more like water less like milk. The only good thing was the boba which by itself was actually good. The drink overall was not good 3/10. The Taro drink was better than the hot one but also lacked good flavour and was very watered down. 4/10. The boba itself had great texture but the drink diminished the boba completely. We left very unhappy and I unfortunately would not recommend this to anyone. read more

I like milk tea that actually tastes like tea and not just sugar water. The milk tea here has a nice subtle tea flavor and the sweetness is nice and doesn't overpower the tea. However, I prefer my milk tea with a little bit more flavor and richness. The boba is nice and chewy and perfectly sweetened. The boba to tea ratio is pretty good and you can get a few pearls with every sip of tea. The toppings are also pretty cheap at only $.50, though the milk tea is a little bit more expensive than other places. read more

Perfectly cooked boba, texture consistently soft with a smooth chew. Just enough sweetness in boba as well. Oolong milk tea, zero sugar, I can actually taste tea, wow, even though it looks pretty milky. Good value and matte finished on cups looks slick. One size is the way to go. Probably one of the best boba drinks I've had. read more

Rare Tea - Mango milk tea 80% sweet, nice...oolong at 0%, good tea punch. - Bubble Tea Near Me - Berkeley, California

TL;DR Rare Tea is a solid boba place. This place used to be named ShareTea- now it's Rare Tea. They have a lot going on in their menu, but on the apps, they list their most popular drinks. Drinks: My go-to at ShareTea (Rare Tea now) is always Okinawa milk tea, a roasted brown milk tea. 50% sugar, no ice...it was very sweet tbh. I wish I could've made it 20% but the only options were 50, 70/80, or 100. Definitely do the 50% sweetness. The drink was decent, nothing mindblowing. Others: There weren't that many people there, so making my drink took about 5 minutes. They send you a text when it's ready. There were only 1-2 people working there...don't expect "great" customer service meaning they won't really greet you when you initially come in. When I picked up my drink, then that was when the staff thanked me on my way out. Don't expect much in terms of service- it's COVID & ordering from apps, people are just trying to earn a living & get on with their lives. read more

The mango green tea with red bean and/or aloe vera is my go to drink. It's already sweetened through the toppings and mango so I would recommend getting no sugar/sweetening. Consistently good, highly recommend for boba drinks! read more

Rare Tea - Mango Green Tea with Red Bean - Bubble Tea Near Me - Berkeley, California

Ordered grilled chicken plate. It was delicious, chicken was cooked perfectly, they didn't over do the teriyaki sauce, and they give a great size portion. Would come back again read more

Haven't been to this place in forever since I've converted to a Ucha fiend. However, their Okinawa pearl milk tea at 80% is my go to. To my surprise they've also added more taro/chewy taro to their menu which I'll definitely try next time since they were all sold out when I came to visit. Just remember that for specialty drinks like the Okinawa/hokkaido you can only get those as low as 80% for sugar sugar level. Great place to get boba that's also quick - I got my 2 drinks in under 3 minutes! read more

Their boba is really not great. Much of the boba in Berkeley around campus is sub-par and below mediocre, and Rare Tea falls under that category. Not to mention how overpriced it is. The one plus about this place is its convenient location across from campus and numerous locations around campus. But not worth the money imo. read more

This spot was basically a Sharetea and in my opinion, a bit disappointed. I was nearby and found parking around the corner and had trouble looking for this spot because I had mistaken it for a Sharetea. I was already here so I ordered a drink anyways. I got the jasmine milk tea with boba and it was fine. This spot had 500+ reviews and wished I knew it was a Sharetea prior to coming. I've had Sharetea before. There's plenty.. I mean plenty of other boba spots out there. I will not be coming back. I wasn't even sure what their recommended drinks were. I found out later that it was on a stand (which is usually outside) by the door and this was after I ordered. read more