I wanted to love Soul Sweets but unfortunately do not. Let me set the scene... It was another 80+ degree afternoon, but no one was inside when I walked in with my kids. There were 2 people working there and behind the counter. No one greeted us. We looked at the menu and though we could have ordered at the counter, the staff didn't seem friendly like they wanted to be approached so we chose to order at the computerized kiosk! Other Yelpers said prices were average, but I thought the drinks were expensive! They start around $7 but that most do not include toppings, and each topping was $0.75. That adds up! (My go-to boba place in Santa Cruz has boba for $5.50, which includes 2 toppings, so....this seems like highway robbery.) Due to the high prices, out of three of us, we only ordered two drinks and only one of the drinks had an added topping. When they were done making the drinks, one drink had the plastic top sealed on and the other was placed on the counter. The staffer walked away. I was unsure if I should just take the drinks. They were clearly our drinks (I could see they were ours, plus we were the only customers), but it was odd the man put the drink there and walked away without saying anything! No communication, no eye contact. Nothing. After several minutes, he returned to complete the plastic cup cover sealing, and then he placed the cup in front of me. No "thank you", no "here you go", no "enjoy", nothing. It was odd. Other than the prices, the flavor of the boba was okay in flavor and chewiness, but the strawberry matcha drink had effects that, let's just say, caused someone hours of bathroom trips! We don't know if it was the milk or some other ingredient, but something was not right. Needless to say, we will not be returning to Soul Sweet. The store looked so cute in the photos, I think it had potential, but the freshness is important and price is an important factor. read more

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Popular Scotts Valley dessert spot, first time customer. Ordered fruit soft serve which photos showed was in a plastic cup. Got a 2 inch paper cup with approximately 1 cup of soft serve with 2 tablespoons fruit for almost $7. Will not return obviously. read more

Soul Sweets - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

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Love coming here when I'm in Scott's Valley! Always impressed by the texture and flavor of their boba. My go to is the Thai tea and their dalgona coffee (such a fun special drink you don't see often!). Also had their custard taiyaki and they were incredible! They make them to order, so it takes a bit but are soooo worth it! Easily my go to place to get a drink and sweet treat when I'm in town. read more

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Drinks are prepared well and in a timely manner. They seem to put everything together with care. They do not fill the whole cup up with ice i really appreciated that . It seems like a nice place if you want to get a boba or specialty drink. They didn't pay any mind to our service dog . I will always mention this being as it's nice to be treated the same when you have a disability. read more

Soul Sweets - Teas - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

3 stars because I'll take what I can get in this town. Green tea is just okay, and the boba is consistent but lacking in flavor like it's boiled without honey or much brown sugar. They also serve taiyaki here but it's inconsistent. read more

Soul Sweets - Jasmine green tea with boba - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

Ambiance: spacious inside and few tables setup outside, you can either place the order online or just walk in Service: fast and friendly, accommodating to request Drink: variety choices on the menu Unicornade w/strawberry popping - **** lemonade taste, interesting popping boba, recommend Price: moderate portions and reasonable prices, it costs about $7 per drink read more

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Really good milk tea. Sometimes slow service depending on how busy they are. Yummy ice cream read more

Soul Sweets - Coconut milk and taro milk tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

Fun spot for desert in Scotts Valley! We find ourselves coming here more and more these days for a sweet treat! They have tea drinks, ice cream, waffles, and they are bird friendly! (See Simon below) I like the "snow" it's a blended drink with ice and milk or non dairy creamer depending on what flavor you choose. I like the "Thai tea snow" with brown sugar crystal boba. They have one of those lid sealing machines so the drinks travel well and don't spill after you poke a straw through! This has become our favorite dessert spot, you should check'em out! read more

Soul Sweets - Simon - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

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This is by far a must go-to boba shop when you're in the Santa Cruz Mountains... because though they may not be as good as you ought them to be, this one hits the spot with the different teas they brew and the different adjustments they put in terms of sugar and ice. I usually get the passion fruit green tea with boba and less ice and sweetness and it never fails to meet my expectations! 8.3/10 because it could have done better in terms of using more natural ingredients but 5 stars on here because they're doing a phenomenal job at what resources they have around them already xD read more

Soul Sweets - Passion Fruit Tea, Mango Fruit Tea, and more -- - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

I love this place! I tried their strawberry lemonade with boba, although it was very good, It was a little too sweet for my liking. Their coconut snow with boba was absolutely delicious! Perfect for a warm day too. We got our drinks relatively fast even with a big line. Will definitely be going back when in the area. read more

Soul Sweets - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

Came here after the Scotts Valley Festival. Good service and menu has tons of options. Waited a bit because the Taiyaki was made fresh, so not a problem. I had to listen to the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack on repeat while waiting, but the 10 year olds stopping by to get soft serve and play the claw machine seemed to love it. Would stop here again when on Scotts Valley, the boba was good and there seems like there is a lot to try. read more

Went here on my lunch hour. Stood there at the counter for a couple minutes... Was not greeted by staff... Two of them behind the counter... Too busy doing their cleaning shit or whatever the fuck they were doing... No greeting... No hello... No, how may I help you... No nothing. Nada. Zilch. So I just walked right out the door without ordering anything. Just lost a customer and probably more people than myself because I will spread the word. read more

This was my go to boba place in the Santa Cruz area for 4 years (I consider Scotts Valley a part of Santa Cruz area) but was disappointed by the amount of boba given as it was around a centimeter (much less compared to all other places I've been to). Not every sip had boba in it considering the ratio of liquid to around less than two layers of boba. The boba itself seemed like an old batch was used as the boba in my drink was more on the harder side. Even after looking at other people's pictures of their drink I got half of that--or around 1/3 of what they got. The strawberry fruit drink I got seemed like artificial syrup was used and the depth in the strawberry was lacking. The many other previous times I went here I very much enjoyed my go to Strawberry Green Tea with Boba but that was less than a year ago so it seemed like something may have changed. Breaks my heart as it would be be very unlikely that I would go again. read more

Super tasty!! Clean and pretty inside! It's a fabulous place We got a coconut snow beverage with boba and fruit at the bottom. Yum! read more

Great little dessert shop in Scotts Valley! The Pink dragon drink with boba and grass jelly is amazing! Just the right amount of sweetness and not watery. Very delicious! Service was excellent too! read more

Soul sweets used to be in another location nearby that was sort of hard to find. They recently relocated to the Nob Hill shopping center and I find that it's much easier to stop into to get a quick treat. It is however still somewhat tucked away and is to the right of Erik's deli. They have two Yelp pages right now for some reason so I imagine that may cause some confusion. I've tried a couple of their milk teas but the sassy matcha latte is my favorite so far. It comes with caramel, mochi, boba, and sea salt cream. I've been eyeing their unicornade that comes with strawberry popping pearls and I think that's what I'll be trying next. They also have soft serve ice cream, egg waffles, and taiyaki. The store is always really clean and the service is fast even when they are super busy. read more

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My go to spot for anything boba! Really nice little shop. I always get the Thai tea here. Some of the best boba in the Santa Cruz! Cashiers always seem friendly whenever I visit. Located just behind the Knobb Hill in the Kings Village shopping center. read more

After running into issues with other boba tea spots in Santa Cruz, it was refreshing to find this shop that has a wide selection of consistently-prepared drinks. I like to order the Assam Black and Jasmine milk teas, and my partner likes to jump around the menu and order just about everything. We arrived one night right as they were closing up, and we met the owner. She recognized us as regulars and thanked us personally for coming in so often! It makes me want to continue supporting this local business. read more

Soul Sweets - Business hours - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

Okay, so milk tea is always a yes and if they have snacks (especially taiyaki) then how can you say no? My boyfriend and I were in the area for the weekend and I obviously had to get boba. First off, there's 2 Yelp pages and the first one took me to what I assume is their old location in the same plaza. Their current location is around the corner from Nob Hill and tucked away to the side so it took a while driving around the plaza to find it. I opted for their house milk tea with the Crystal boba soaked in brown sugar (such a nice alternative to regular boba) and my boyfriend got their coffee milk tea. Topped that order with a 3-pack taiyaki with custard filling and it should be a good night. Both milk teas have great flavor. Seriously, if a place nails their house milk tea then everything should be good, but the taiyaki was a pass for me. Don't ask me how, but their taiyaki tasted like cardboard to us. I thought maybe the top one tasted like cardboard because it was touching the box while it was hot.... But the middle one tasted the same way. Not sure what it was, but it's a pass. Overall, milk tea is a yes if you're in the area. Taiyaki... I'm okay without it. read more

Soul Sweets - Taiyaki - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

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They have the best boba tea in the county! Great flavors. My husband and I recently just shared their custard filled waffle with taro soft serve and it was amazing!!! read more

Soul Sweets - Custard filled waffle with taro soft serve - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

I love this place! I have tried different things and have always been amazed. I have tried both the boba and the food and it has always been good. read more

Soul Sweets - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

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Came here after a doc visit nearby since I was feeling a bit sweety and wanted something to brighten my day. They've just opened up this new location and I believe their other tea house is closing or has closed now. Similar to the former, they offer boba and various desserts including taiyaki and ice cream. There aren't a lot of boba shops in the Santa Cruz area so they have a bit of a monopoly on this market. Boba here felt quite expensive given that it's one of their big sellers. My Oolong Milk Tea with Soy Milk ended up being around $7 and to be honest, didn't really wow me as far as milk tea drinks. I also forgot to ask for less sugar/ice but the amount they gave wasn't overly sweet which was a win. I'm also not a huge fan of places that charge more for non-dairy alternatives when I think it should be the standard at most boba shops, considering most people do not process lactose very well. I hope that this can be offered one day as a general alternative to provide more options for folks like me that are plant-based but still want to enjoy their milk teas. Overall, a good spot to check out if you're craving boba but don't want to make the drive over to San Jose. They're still a better option than a generic boba chain elsewhere. read more

Soul Sweets - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

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Love this place. Great tastes of teas, yummy snacks, cute accessories, and friendly and quick service. My to go order is classic milk tea. Earl grey, strawberry snow, ice cream and taiyaki are gooooood too. read more

Soul Sweets - Classic is classic! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

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first time here. place is ok and staffs are fine. for me, since i live in bay area and many boba stores here, a bit disappointed when finding that not using fresh ingredients. order lychee fruit tea and taste just like plain water with boba. i know that our request is light sweetness but seriously, cannot even taste the tea, nor the lychee flavor. my peach and pineapple fruit tea ~ this one comes with extremely very very sweet. the topping itself is sweet and according to them, if order two flavors, we cannot adjust the sweetness level. ouch!!! we also ordered taiyaki and for me, a bit overburnt. asking for chocolate flavor: normally the filling is inside or in the middle at other stores, but this one, it is mixed with the batter. not sure if that is their style. overall, two stars... read more

Soul Sweets - lychee fruit tea and peach pineapple fruit tea... - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

[IN A NUTSHELL] great boba, delicious milk tea [VERDICT] - APPROVED [RUN-DOWN] This is one of the best/very few boba places that are near Santa Cruz. I really enjoy getting boba here. It is a small little shop and I can always count on this place for getting a boba drink. I have yet to try their other drinks but form my past experience, it is a really good boba place. [SCORE & ORDER] OVERALL: 4/5 * Oolong Milk Tea with Boba [$0.75 extra] $5.50 (4/5) -This is the classic drink that I get here. Sometimes I get it with sea salt cream which is also a good option. The oolong tea is fresh, or the past times I have been, they've made it fresh probably because not a lot of people order that tea. I get 50% sweetness because it's not that sweet. I think overall a classic black tea drink that I really enjoy. The boba is also not too chewy and it is also sweet. * Passionade (with Passion Fruit Popping Boba) $5.25 (4/5) -This is a unique drink here at Soul Sweets. This is good drink if you want a twist on lemonade with a different fruit flavor. I also really enjoy the passion fruit popping boba and this is just a drink that I would enjoy if I don't want caffeine. The drink is also not that too sweet which I was surprised since lemonade is usually sweeter. [SERVICE & ATMOSPHERE] (not reflected upon review score): Overall a small place, but they are closed for their indoor seating for right now. But there is a decent amount of seating pre-COVID. There is a lot of parking. The cashier is super nice and if you come regularly, they have a stamp card. read more

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Was in the mood for something sweet, so stopped by since we were in the area. Cute spot. Workers were super nice and welcoming. 5 star for the Nutella egg waffle + kahua krunch ice cream! Delicious. The Thai milk tea was also delicious. read more

Inflation affects all of us. To slander a small business for raising their prices is just asinine. We don't hesitate to support big businesses like Costco, Target, Whole Foods, Safeway, Arco, Shell, Verizon, etc when they raise their prices. Yet, there's no empathy or regard for small, family-owned businesses that are just trying to survive like the rest of us. I had a five star experience yesterday both in terms of customer service & quality. I had a tiger milk tea with coffee jelly and sea salt cream. Literally superb. This drink tasted like the American dream to me *chef's kiss*. I also ordered the chocolate fish pastry. It was a little burned but I don't mind crispy. The shop itself is super cute. I'll definitely be back soon! Despite some of the negative reviews, I took the chance and made the 22 minute drive to SV to try this place out and I'm so glad I did. I've been to about every spot in the county now and this place is the best. P.S. if your biggest complaint about this establishment entails logos or branding, you need to go touch grass asap. read more

Soul Sweets - Tiger Milk Tea w/ Coffee Jelly & Sea Salt Cream - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

This is another weird scotts valley anomalous Yelp review. I feel like we are all craving awesome places that we are willing to give five star reviews to mediocre places. Let's start with their location. This used to be Rita's which was pretty solid. When soul sweets took over they did the minimum to rebrand and still use Rita's cuis and have Rita's logo over their freezer. Ok... when you're selling tea for $9 you should have the cash to swap out the old leasee's signage. Ok so where do they shine? Service. They almost always have lovely people working hard to churn out some soft serve, tea, or egg waffles. Where do they fail? Their posted hours are kinda weird and they frequently don't stick to them. Several times I've shown up with my kids during normal business hours and they are closed. Also the prices are nuts. Tea, boba, sugar, cream, and a cup cost about $0.75, with overhead maybe $1.50 per. $9 for a boba and $6 for a small soft serve is crazy...especially when it's pretty mediocre. Cliff notes: Nice service, weird hours, ok products, extremely over priced. read more

I could swear I had a review that I posted here a couple of years ago and now I see it is gone. Not sure why it disappeared but I think it should have stayed on. I took my kids with me to order Boba, at the time this was our favorite place in the area but now since that time, I haven't gone back. My kids ordered their comparable salty cheese or puff cream to Happy Lemon over the hill and the one at Soul Sweets was rotten, like beyond yuck. My poor son said it tasted odd and at first, as it rises to the top, I hadn't noticed but then I took a sip and gagged. I opened the lid and it stank. They should have easily been able to tell. They offered us a new drink but at that point we were all grossed out. They made it but really should have offered a refund and the drink or a refund as we paid for a product that we didn't receive or at minimum received and was inedible. This location is behind the Nov Hill in Scotts Valley, next door to the Erik's Deli. The location is small and has limited seating and a view of the parking lot. Go at your own risk. read more

What a quirky and cute little tea house! I stopped by as I was craving boba and in the area. It is a little hard to find, located in the back of a parking lot. I spent a solid 10 minutes trying to find it. The decor is so cute and they have a used clothes section which is so cool. The girls working there were very helpful and sweet. I ordered a rose tea with popping dragonfruit boba and clear boba. The drink had a weird aftertaste, but was refreshing. Definitely not the best boba I've had, but it was still nice on a hot day. I will definitely be back to check out their desserts. There were some cool looking ones! read more

The soft serve itself was yummy and had that classic vanilla taste you can always rely on to be tasty. They aren't stingy with the boba and the syrup compliments the vanilla ice cream rlly well. It almost imitates a coffee ice cream flavor. read more

Soul Sweets - Tiger boba softer serve - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

Paid by card. Soul Sweets is located in a plaza and offers a lot of plaza parking. I went here on a Sunday with 4 people and it was pretty busy. I only had to wait a few minutes before ordering. The staff is nice and they are Covid ready with masks on. I ordered the Jasmine milk tea with boba, zero sweet, and the choco soft serve. The Jasmine milk tea with boba was average, boba was a little too soft, and the choco soft serve was decent with chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and chocolate chips. They have a lot of other items on the menu and I may go back to try them. Overall this is a cool snack place with a lot of treats. I would recommend and may go back. read more

Went to Soul Sweets on a Saturday afternoon for some soft serve. There was one other customer inside who had just ordered. I ordered one soft serve cup with chocolate chip topping, then I waited. And waited. And waited. The three people working behind the counter were slinging all kinds of waffles and teas for DoorDash customers while making the in-person customers wait for a soft serve that takes 30 seconds to assemble. After nearly 15 minutes of waiting, I was handed my soft serve only to be disappointed again. The soft serve tasted like ice-y powdered milk and entirely too much sugar. I know I ordered a sweet treat, but this was inedibly sweet. I ended up throwing it in the nearest trash can and vowing never to return. I am beyond disappointed because the last time I visited Soul Sweets (which was maybe a year ago) their soft serve was fantastic and their service was speedy. Looks like quality and customer service has gone down the drain. read more

Slightly addicted to Soul Sweets!... I first tried the Jasmine Mint Mojito that comes with real mint leaves, jasmine tea, mint syrup, boba, and lychee jelly. It's TOO good, I wish I could have it every day... I haven't even bothered to try anything else because that's how good this drink is! My boyfriend gets the K Coffee with boba and he absolutely loves it and has only gotten that drink as well! It's a cute little space, always clean. We enjoy listening to KPOP while we wait and they have an arcade machine and 3-4 tables inside and a bench outside. They serve all kinds of goodies to try beyond specialty drinks and ice cream, they have red bean desserts, and even boxes of different popular Asian snacks like Pocky. Customer service is usually always friendly! My only criticism is that our drinks haven't always been consistent (we've ordered those same drinks 10+ times now). I suggest they train their employees more closely on the drink recipes so they're consistent no matter who makes them! Also they tend to take much longer than other boba/specialty drink places to make drinks! It's always worth the wait for us, but still takes longer than fast food for only two drinks! Highly recommend giving this place a try either way! Lots of fun, colorful, and creative specialty drinks and goodies to treat yourself with! Don't forget to get a punch card to work your way up to a free drink! read more

Soul Sweets - Jasmine Mint Mojito and K-Coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

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I came in this evening five minutes before closing. I understand the frustration of having a customer right before closing, and therefore I always tip very well when (kind) employees stay open for a couple minutes. I ordered a single honeydew milk tea. The employee, who had a smaller frame and short black hair (not sure of gender) looked at me and rolled their eyes. They took my order in a very unprofessional fashion and once the drink was ready, tossed it on the counter and stormed off. This was honestly some of the worst service I have gotten ANYWHERE. I left the building at exactly 8:00pm. Like I mentioned, I completely understand that the employees like to get home on time and that's why I ordered one drink and no food. I get it. But the service was absolutely terrible. I really hope this person can improve their service because I would hate for somebody else to be treated like that. Being a barista is a SKILL. If you can't make the experience pleasant at any given time, this might not be the right job to work in. The milk tea itself was bad too. It was warm and the ice cubes melted immediately. I should have saved myself this trip for sure. read more

Pleasantly surprised with this charming boba place. My kids wanted boba after dinner I had my doubts in Scotts Valley but this place delivered. We had the taro with boba and lychee gels, this is the little boys favorite, wherever he goes. He claimed it tasted just like his favorite boba store in Daly City. The girl on the other hand had coconut milk tea not to her liking so we ordered the oolong milk tea which she approved. I had the Unicornade it is a Non-Caffeinated Drink, Butterfly Pea Tea, Fresh Lemonade with Strawberry Popping Boba. It was on the sweet side but in order to get those three layers you need difference in density of each layer. The boy wanted the red bean TaiYaki( Japanese waffle shaped like a fish with red bean in the middle). Which he ate so fast I couldn't take a picture. If I'm craving for boba in Santa Cruz I now know where to go. read more

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The soft serve tasted like a stick of butter and the boba cup was 10% empty because I didn't get ice, I asked the to just add more tea bc I wanted it less sweet anyways. There are definitely better options, I won't be back. read more

Soul Sweets - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

Dear owner. Please update your Yelp pages. I went to what I guess is your original location but they no longer sell you ice cream or waffles... but there is no way to know this. Glad to give you another star if you fix it so customers know where to go The waffle with Nutella is a fun treat. Takes 15-20 minutes to make most due to the staff being inefficient. But it was worth waiting for... great to share as the waffle sections rip off easily The boba drinks are exactly what you would expect Mitchell's ice cream is always tasty as well read more

Soul Sweets - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

First and last time coming here. Clearly it was my first time, I was standing in the pick up area waiting to order. 3 people working and not a single one greeted me, though told me to go to the other side, where my order would be taken. I told them it was my first time, still no welcome. Milk teas are typically made with non dairy powder but the person who made my drink (someone training) topped it off with half and half. Why? Not enough Boba, but that's okay because it was super hard and I've had better. I got the coconut milk tea, the coconut was a nice flavor. This was all I could drink before I started feeling gassy, just being honest. read more

Soul Sweets - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California

Soul Sweets is a 10/10 amazing place! This little tea house is honestly such a hidden gem in Scotts Valley. If you're ever in town, this is THE place to get boba and tea. Both girls who were working that day were helpful, upbeat, and friendly. They made the experience all the better! My sister and I ordered the Blue Coconut at half sweetness and the Sassy Matcha and loved the drinks. The Sassy Matcha has both mochi and boba in it, which is a unique combination I've never tried before. The drink is smooth and creamy, and a perfect cool refreshment for anyone who loves matcha. Although I couldn't finish the drink since it was too sweet for me, I would definitely recommend it to people who love their matcha sweet. The Blue Coconut at half sweetness was also very good! I'd order this drink for myself to enjoy next time. read more

Soul Sweets - Blue Coconut & Sassy Matcha - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Scotts Valley, California