Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Seattle Best Tea

    4.5 (689 reviews)
    Open 10:30 am - 8:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Order Seattle Best Tea Takeout or Delivery

    Seattle Best Tea Photos

    Business Info

    SEATTLE BEST TEA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Dogs allowed

    You might also consider

    More like Seattle Best Tea

    Recommended Reviews - Seattle Best Tea

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Passion fruit green tea
    Samantha C.

    So fresh!! They know what they're doing. We got the mango green tea and the passion fruit green tea and both were incredible! The tea flavor is intense and you can tell it's freshly brewed. There's also unlimited toppings!! What!! That itself deserves a 5-star. We didn't get any toppings and the tea was great on its own!

    Michelle S.

    I am very confused on all these 5 star reviews. I came here in the afternoon with my boyfriend. I got the lychee green tea, less sweet, less ice with lychee jelly and he got either the mango or passion fruit green tea, regular sweetness and less ice. Both our drinks tasted water down, barely any tea flavor. Service was disappointing, I felt as though the worker was having a rough day and looked like they hated their job. I'm giving it 2 stars because we also ordered the ube ice cream which was decent. Don't think I'd come back to this business.

    Menu Nov 2025
    Kyle T.

    TLDR: My favorite boba in the Seattle area. Great drinks, fair prices, amazing service, cozy/authentic vibe, locally owned Drinks: I've never had a bad drink here from their milk teas to their fruit/standard teas. Drinks are adjustable in ice + sweetness (75, 50, 25, 0) and all toppings are free Price: While having gone up in the past few years, prices are fair for Seattle and all toppings are complimentary with your drink. That means no +1 or +75 on top of your drinks. Also, they have a stamp card system where you can buy 10 and get 1 free across both the ID + UW locations. Service: The staff here is extremely kind and knowledgeable about the menu. No matter how busy the store gets they have always been patient and genuine. Ambiance: The look of the store hasn't changed in the 5+ years I've gone here. There are tea barrels lining the back wall and the overall vibe in decorations screams community and culture. 5/5 stars, only wished the ID location opened later (closes at 8), but sometimes if I really want boba I'll go to their UW store (closes at 10)

    Menu
    Casey I.

    My husband and I were walking around Chinatown. We wanted a sweet treat after lunch and found this boba shop. The ambiance was cute and quaint, small and clean. On the walls, there were articles about the boba shop. The service was good, the man was friendly and advised me which drink to pick. I ordered lychee black tea with boba, 50% sweet. The tea was great, not too sweet or bitter. The boba was soft and chewy, not too firm. I would come back when visiting Seattle!

    Jasmine Milk Tea Ice Cream
    Christine L.

    Was visiting Seattle and craving boba, but when I saw their ice cream flavors I had to switch! Got the jasmine tea ice cream- which had such a strong jasmine flavor it tasted like a flower, in the best way! Also tried the ube, milk tea, and dragonfruit ice creams- all delicious! Price is also super reasonable at under $5 for a small (and you can get two flavors!). It's also a very generous small- they give you a ton of ice cream! Honestly this place needs to come to New York- would give Chinatown ice cream factory a run for their money. Service was also super sweet and helpful. No seating inside.

    Kiwi Fruit Flavored Sweet Tea with Aiyu Jelly
    Makenzie D.

    Super convenient stop for bubble tea in the international district! Located just across the street from the light rail, Seattle Best was a perfect stop for a refreshing fruit tea on the way to a Sounder's game. The kiwi fruit tea was decently sweet, and the aiyu jelly was light, a bit lemony, and super refreshing. All of their teas are super customizable, and their toppings are included, which I haven't seen at many shops! Overall a great place to stop for a bubble tea. I'll definitely be back to try their milk tea.

    Emily Z.

    Solid black milk tea. Got 50% sweet. About $7. Quick and friendly service. Not much seating inside, more of a grab and go place. Will be back!

    Outside
    Felinn A.

    Was looking for a quick caffeine pick me up and this was the spot. It's in the heart of Chinatown right next to the gate. They have a wide array of drinks and ice cream to offer as well. I ordered a heavy oolong milk tea with coffee jelly for about $7. Fast service and good flavor on the drink, a little on the sweeter side. Easy place to walk in, order, and take it to go. Appeared to be a good local staple as they had pictures of all the people and customers they serviced! Felt homey inside like your typical mom and pop's shop.

    Drink
    Albert T.

    We visited Seattle Best Tea as our last stop on the Small Business Food Walk for the 2 for $6 milk teas. This shop has a very homey feel, almost as if it were originally a traditional tea lounge opened decades ago, then converted partially into boba and ice cream shop maybe 15 or 20 years ago. My guess is this is probably the very first boba shop in the CID, very similar to something like a Ten Ren in other Asian American-heavy regions. Black Milk Tea, 50% Sweet ($3) - This drink comes with boba. Everything seems to be mixed by hand at Seattle Best Tea, with no particular regard to drink consistency and repeatability. They scoop the boba and sweetener rather haphazardly - in fact I'm not even sure if they actually made my drink half sweet. After tasting - the drink was far too sweet, cloyingly so, making my mouth almost pucker as if eating something sour. The addition of creamer is quite heavy as well, resulting in a drink that has essentially no taste of tea. Finally the nail in the coffin - the boba is almost inedible - way undercooked, hard with basically no chew, with the pearls all different sizes and shapes, some big and some small, some round, some smooth and some bumpy. Milk Tea Rating: 2/5 Boba Rating: 2/5 Heavy Oolong Milk Tea, 50% Sweet ($3) - On first sip, I couldn't tell that this drink tasted any different from the previous drink. It was only after sipping them side by side, I found that this tea was possibly a bit more earthy. They might as well have mixed creamer, water, and sugar instead of adding tea - there would be minimal difference in taste. Milk Tea Rating: 2/5 Boba Rating: 2/5 That's not to say the drinks are undrinkable - I still finished them after diluting with some fresh brewed tea at home - but they just aren't good. This type of drink might have been acceptable 10 or 15 years ago when the boba scene wasn't as vibrant in the US, but nowadays there are way better options. It's probably best to visit Seattle Best Tea only for tea tastings and fresh tea, rather than getting their boba. Note: It is quite possible that the drinks were bad on my visit due to heavy traffic from the food walk. I did notice they had a fructose dispenser in the store but they didn't use it at all. I am planning to give them another shot in the future.

    jasmine milk tea and heavy oolong milk tea
    R C.

    Jasmine green milk tea was yum. The consistency of the bubble pearls was perfect. Service was prompt. We took our drinks to go space is cozy.

    Mango fresh tea with lychee jelly
    Michael O.

    I got the mango fresh tea with lychee jelly and it was very fruity. They unfortunately did not have mango jelly which I would have loved to try. Sizes for the drinks were one size only and the price was very reasonable. Would definitely come back again. My gf got lychee milk tea and my other friends got wintermelon milk tea, peach slushie with crystal boba and they all generally liked their drink. Service was fast and they were friendly.

    Vinh M.

    This is a long-standing boba place in Chinatown, and for good reason too! Their quality is exceptional even after many years, and I light up every time someone gets something for me or if I get something here myself. Since my friend picked my drink up for me, I don't have anything to say about service, though I remember the interior being quite small and having no seating. From previous visits, you order up at the counter, and there's tons of drinks to choose from. You get a free topping for anything you order, a huge plus here! I requested the peach milk tea with grass jelly, 50% sweet and less ice. I'll admit peach isn't my favorite flavor for milk tea but I still loved how much tea flavor I was able to get from my drink, and the grass jelly made it soooooo much better! There's been a huge spike on the number of boba places Seattle has for a while now, but I feel the consistent quality of Seattle Best Tea keeps it up there. A highly recommended place!

    Jasmine (left). Wintermelon (right)

    See all

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 4
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Been having mixed experiences here! Sometimes it good but other times like when I approach closing time the boba are way too hard.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 56
    Thanks 10
    Love this 47
    Oh no 4

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Vic C.
    149
    3995
    18049

    4 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 0
    Love this 5
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 19
    Thanks 0
    Love this 19
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    Page 2 of 18

    Seattle Best Tea Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Seattle Best Tea

    Do the boba pearls have gluten?

    In general, boba is made from tapioca, which is a gluten-free starch extracted from the root of a cassava plant. Though I am not aware of any other types of boba, I think it's safe to say it should be gluten free wherever you have a boba drink.

    Can you change the sweetness of the boba tea?

    Yes! They allow you to change to your liking.

    View All 4 Questions

    You might also consider

    Heytea - :D

    Heytea

    3.7(105 reviews)
    1.6 miSouth Lake Union
    $$

    I've previously had HeyTea in their Bellevue location, so I expected more or less the same when I…read moregot to this one on a hot, sweaty Tuesday evening around 5:40pm. Because it was hot and sweaty, a big sea of people were waiting both outside and inside this place, and I saw only about 5 or so staff members making all the drinks. There's only two tables and two benches to sit at on the right-hand side of the place; otherwise, the rest of the space is behind the counter where all the drinks are made and the strong aromatic aroma of tea fills the interior. From my visit here, I think you can only place orders either through their lone kiosk to the left-hand side of the entrance near a corner, or by scanning the QR code at the front of the entrance and following prompts on your phone. Staff was too busy making drinks to take orders at the front counter when I was inside. Either way, you have to use the HeyTea app to scan a QR code (on the receipt you get after placing your order) if you want to see an estimate on when your drink(s) will be ready. By the time I signed up for an account and downloaded the app using the slow 5G, my estimated time was 25 minutes; however, the wait for my triple supreme matcha latte (with extra matcha, less sugar and all other things in their recommended settings) ended up being more than 45 minutes as I walked around the perimeter and waited inside and outside this location as well. It was really chaotic trying to get my drink once it was ready; people were cutting in front of me and others to show staff their receipt and pick up their orders even though I was in front of the line. Taste wise though, the matcha is a strong ceremonial blend with grassy tones that actually caught me by surprise. That's because they have a matcha cheese cloud which I thought would have dulled the matcha taste but it didn't! There's also matcha mochi and what tasted like matcha jelly on the bottom which further strengthened the earthy tones. Probably because it was really hot as of this writing, the ice melted much fasted than usual so that's out of this place's control and therefor doesn't detract from my experience itself. Wait here was really long for just one drink but I'm thankful there's something you can use to see when your drinks are ready - in this case, their HeyTea app. I would probably only come back if I was around the area, though wait times for drinks might deter me from doing so altogether.

    I visited twice and tried two different drinks on separate days: the Mango Coconut Tea and the…read morePistachio Tea. Unfortunately, neither one was for me, but I can definitely see why they're popular with younger customers. The staff were incredibly friendly, welcoming, and very fast with preparing the drinks. The shop itself is quite small, so I wouldn't plan on staying to sit for long.

    Photos
    Heytea - :D

    :D

    Heytea - Cloud Coconut Blue Matcha

    Cloud Coconut Blue Matcha

    Heytea - Mango Coconut blue

    See all

    Mango Coconut blue

    Seattle Best Tea - coffee - Updated September 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...