It's amazing that they added delivery during this time of the coronavirus, but the way that they package their food is pathetic. I understand that buying plastic containers is pricy and has an additional cost to it, but places like a Why Thirsty and other locations of TapEx are much more willing to please their customers. I ordered off DoorDash and could not believe my eyes when I saw that the hot food that I ordered came in paper boxes. The food was hot and when it comes on a paper box, the box gets soggy and will drip out. That's exactly what happened. I would not recommend coming to this place for their food or getting it delivered. read more

After trying out so many boba places for so many years with a large sample size, we have come to favor this place. The milk tea's balance is perfect for our taste. The boba consistency is also well balanced just in between chewy and firm, and it lasts and doesn't get mushy. After all these years, I tried their popcorn chicken too, and it's exactly as expected - crunchy, spicy, and served hot. Altogether, their consistency even reminds me of what I had a long time ago in college. More reasons why this is our favorite compared to the others: price is very good if not even lower, wait time is minimal, no noisy crowds in my experience, and good quality stuff. read more

Tapioca Express - Boba milk tea, hazelnut milk tea, spicy popcorn chicken mmmm - good price, good quality, minimal wait-time - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Alhambra, California

Good popcorn chicken. Good drinks. Good price. Closed for covid but jow open. Always pretty nice and quick service. read more

Tapioca Express - There r open ! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Alhambra, California

Staff is still friendly. Tables are usually clean. Bathroom is usually clean. Seems like the Ownership/management is trying to penny pinch on tea quality. They changed their Green Tea recipe and it tastes like sugar water now. It barely has any tea flavor. Lately, Their internet connection feels like 56k, barely being able to web browse. It's literally unusable when there's more than 4 people browsing. I hope management rectifie these issues. read more

Quality of everything [Tea, food, and CUPS!] are extremely low. 1. I ordered half sugar on my foam tea drink, but it's so sweet that I decided to add my own unsweetened tea onto it. 2. However, when I was putting the lid back on, the very cheap and flimsy cup give way and everything spilled onto my work desk area. Just spent 25 mins wiping my carpet, computer, desk, notes, etc. The spilt tea even got into the food that I bought there and had to throw rest away. Total waste of time and money. read more

This is one of the first boba places that opened at Alhambra. They have the best tea around the area in my opinion. The biggest issue here is management. Their biggest obstacle is hiring good people and paying them well. You can see they always have a high turnover. With that being said, they even have to close the store so employees can take breaks or close the store when no employees are working. They can't even resume their regular business hours before pandemic. Their operations still seem to be in the pandemic mode. Good thing here, there's a Lollicup next door I can go to. I suggest to franchise this store to someone who will work and care for the store like their neighbor. Otherwise, the brand of tapioca will bring it down. read more

Tapioca Express is a franchise, and they have many locations. I'm always drawn to this location due to their consistency with their drinks/food, as well as the great customer service. Food/Drinks- 5/5 The Jasmine Green Tea here is superb. I can't pinpoint why its exactly better, but it tastes a lot more floral than other boba shops. I don't necessarily get the tapioca balls here as I'm very picky about them(they have to be soft/hot), so I always pass. The food here is good as well. Really good price too. Customer Service- 5/5 The customer service here is great. I always study here during the same days/time so I see the same workers. One worker who stands out is Shalynn. She's helpful, always has a smile and helpful attitude. Price- 5/5 It's really cheap here as well. Price is really good. Cleanliness- 3/5 It may not be the cleanest store but I see that the workers do put an effort. Can be better though especially with a small space. Overall- 4.5/5, closer to a 5 Great place, good prices, good food. No complaints here! read more

Foods good. Drink is not as good as other high end boba place. The 2 stars is for them having a $5 minimum for credit card. I order a combo that is $4.99. I thought, cool, tax will get me over that. Nope. They wouldn't let me use credit card. They said it has to be over $5. I asked "no tax?" She said "it's our promo so there's no tax" Change credit card system to square or something so it wouldn't take as much fee from you guys. Horrible! read more

This place is also full of college memories (like the Lollicup next door). Just like the place next door, I have used countless hours of wifi from these guys. They actually make pretty good boba here too. My usual go to drink was a milk tea with mango jelly. Writing this review brings back the good old days... Look no further if you want to find a generic boba place without all the bells and whistles. I highly recommend them! read more

I love drinking boba here at Tapioca because their staff are so nice and sweet. My family and friends would sometimes come here almost every Friday night just to taste their delicious drinks. I would recommend this place if you're a boba person. If you're not a person who likes boba you can order other drinks that doesn't include boba. Come in & try it out. read more

I have been coming to Tapioca Express for the longest time ever. Why do I like this place? It's because it is local, fast, and tasty! My go-to/basically the only drink I get is the Strawberry Yogurt Frost. Oh my.. best thing ever! It never disappoints! As for food, the popcorn chickens and sausages are good! It's just always seasoned with too much pepper, so I usually ask for less read more

Tapioca Express - Strawberry Yogurt Frost - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Alhambra, California

This location is definitely not as good as the others. They don't give as much food and its also dry. I usually go to the Arcadia Tapioca Express and their quality and quantity is much better. read more

Tapioca's fries are the best and only $2.99! I love how they fry it but the fries are still the perfect crisp. At 6pm to 8pm, tapioca has free upgrade! This is a great deal because it is worth your money to get a large fit a price of a small! I love tapioca's thai tea snow bubble. read more

Tapioca Express - Manager's special! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Alhambra, California

I used to come to this location often for their popcorn chicken. Whoever was cooking them did a great job. It was perfectly crispy. I always got extra basil with it, which costs $.50 more. I have not gone there in a long time due to living elsewhere now, and I was in the area. I went and ordered their popcorn chicken and it was not the same. It was not piping hot nor crispy. They did not give me as much basil too. As for their drinks it seems the same. I usually get their avacado milkshake along with my snack. Customer service is still the same. For years they are always hiring for help and still til this day. Parking is inside a parking structure. It depends on the day and hour you go. If it is busy, your choices are parking on the street or at the second level of the structure. I hope they will improve back with their popcorn chicken. I do want to support them. After all, Tapioca Express was one of the first boba chains that paved the way for these new ones. read more

While not the nicest location I really love their drinks. Service was friendly, drinks came out quickly, I love their slushies the most. Passion fruit and green apple were on point, refreshing and really hit the spot. Prices are ok, though I wish they had larger size drinks available as well. Perfect stop while on the go, not a place where I would sit and hang out forever, but great while passing through the area! read more

After spending over $550 eating at Crustacean in Beverly Hills: http://www.yelp.com/biz/crustacean-restaurant-beverly-hills Our group of 7 decided to get some boba drinks and ended up here (That's how disappointing Crustacean was). As usual parking is limited and it took 2 rounds to find parking. The drinks tasted the usual (good) and service was mediocre (what do you expect!??!) we order 4 plates of food, the total bill for all the drinks and food was just under $50 (FYI: This place is CASH ONLY), it was delicious and much more satisfying than the food we had at Crap-stacean! read more

Guys. I'm going to bring this back to 2007. I love this place and I will always have a soft heart for cheap, good boba. When you want a boba or a milk tea fix, there is nobody else that does it like Tapioca Express. Drinks have always been great and because of the flux of boba shops around 626, I appreciate this place even more! I love that they have a variety of options between icy, snow bubbles, milk teas, yogurt drinks, etc. They can literally try to make anything and everything you ask for and if they can't, at least they will have tried. Workers have always been very nice here and I miss the simplicity of just hanging out here and relaxing with friends. OR you can even just study here! WiFi works fine and usually it's not even that loud. Try their almond and Thai tea snow bubbles here! It's interesting and it's healthier than ice cream (I think) haha. I would go wild an even try the honeydew milk tea, half sweetened as well. Don't let the fancy schmancy boba shops get you guys -- don't forget your roots. ;) read more

3/5/16 -- I asked a friend of mine to deliver a snack and drink to me earlier today around 3 PM and I have got to say, it wasn't what I expected.. He got me an order of the crispy/popcorn chicken and a boba milk tea. First of all, the chicken was way too oily and salty.. it wasn't even crispy. It looked overcooked and soaked in frying oil, gross. I couldn't even finish it because of how much oil it was soaked in. LOL. Secondly... the boba in my milk tea was beyond disappointing.. I would expect your boba to be at least fresh or soft and chewy but instead, I got nasty, old, hard boba that was probably left out in the open for a long period of time. Sure the price paid was decent for two items but I guess what you pay is what you get. I'd rather go next door to lollicup and pay a little more for higher quality food and drinks. In other words, this place needs some improvement. Won't be coming back here... *P.S: portions are also SMALL. read more

Tapioca Express - 10mins into eating&this was the outcome of my "crispy"chicken. U can see how oily it is by the darkness of the chicken&on the paperbag - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Alhambra, California

Never coming back to this location again. I can't believed I paid about $8 for two drinks that made mine and my boyfriend's stomach hurt. I ordered a large taro slush with boba or should I say taro flavored milk? It was so milky and was no where near a slush. Not to mention how gross the taro flavor is. I'm not sure if they were having a bad day or not, but I came in expecting some decent boba. Not outstanding but just decent and their boba isn't even shaped as boba. It was over cooked and too soft. I threw my drink away after two sips. Thanks for the disgustingly taro flavored milk with marshmallow-textured boba and stomachache. It was very much appreciated. (I hope you caught that sarcasm) read more

As you see , there's only 4 drinks took me half hour to wait and the female employee there looks like she's super stressful, no greeting no smile nothing and finally got my order she's super disrespectful attitude read more

Tapioca Express - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Alhambra, California

Good lord. This and Salju are the two places that refuse to serve me honey green milk tea. What the hell, man. Honey green tea is on the menu... How much of a hardass do you have to be to refuse to add milk? That's disgusting. I don't like hardasses. Personally, their milk tea here is absolute garbage, easily the most garbageous I've had in all of Socal. However, my friend thinks it's the best, but honestly, I feel like it's a form of self-torture. Their flavored drinks are oddly good, though, but for some reason their plain milk tea and green milk tea drinks are terrible, artificial tasting and watered down. Gross. It's inexcusable to be serving trash tea like this. Despite their fried tofu and fried chicken being massive turnoffs, and their refusal to make honey green milk tea (my classical control drink), their potstickers here is quite a bargain, and delicious at that, albeit served sans sauce. Their other drinks here are pretty good and easy on the wall. You can grab a quick bite to eat and large drink with boba for just over 5 bucks, which is the amount necessary if you're carding your order. I like their boba here. The boba competition in Alhambra is intense, and they've really upped the quality on the boba. Fresh, unlike that firm crap I got from Tea Station. It's a shame their plain milk tea and green milk tea is such garbage. Their pudding here is generic, nothing spectacular or freshly homemade like Tenju or Tea Barrel, granted Tenju stopped serving pudding. I still like ordering my drink with pudding, since it makes up for some of their crappy flavored drinks. They don't batter the tofu here for some reason, and despite it being an improvement from the older 1,400,000 calorie fried tofu (yes, that's how many calories were in it), this is still fattening and poorly handled. About a fifth of them have been manhandled and ripped open. Their popcorn chicken is overcooked, but they've been battered so much it managed to keep the moisture in there, so you end up with tough overcooked chicken that's moist, which is quite obscure. But because it's overcooked, the batter on the outside gets tougher than the chicken itself, and loses the crispiness it should have. However, it was seasoned and fried with basil, so it at least tasted well enough. But am I gonna order it again? F* no. Gonna go to Lollicup popcorn chicken. Their drink menu is simpler and not pretentious, unlike Lollicup, and their yogurt frosts are delicious. I haven't tried this new tealush crap they got going, but it's still a mile away from the pretentiousness Lollicup's got going on, with their "milk & latte" crap (do they not know that latte means milk?). I think they should've been doing tea slushes a long time ago, instead of their crap flavored slush drinks made from syrup and artificial flavoring. So despite all these negatives, why does Tapex still get 4 stars? Yes, they're hardasses, and yes their signature drinks are garbage, and I'd probably give it only 3.5 stars, but it's easy on the wallet, and overall, Tapex is a cozy, cramped, somewhat comfy place. During off hours (afternoon weekdays), this place can be a nice working environment. The staff here is nice, and they push out your order quickly. Ordering a drink to pickup can take just 1 minute, and adding potstickers to that will be a 4-6 minute wait (under ideal conditions). During peak hours, their service still runs relatively smoothly, and I can trust them to get my order right. And that kind of service is priceless if you're in a pinch. Things to keep in mind *They don't give you a straw or napkin; you pick those up yourself. Make sure you get the large straw when you order a drink with something in it *This place is tiny, so don't expect to be dining in, but it's a speedy take out spot *They always overcook the chicken... *Very spicy always comes out medium, medium = mild, and mild = floral. If you want very spicy, order very-very-very spicy, otherwise they simply don't get it (I did that before, and it said very very very spicy on the receipt. Cute) *Their menu is extensive, so a short line can still take you half an hour to get to the counter. They really need to cut down on that crap *Fortunately, usually only regulars come during peak hours, and know what they're getting before ordering read more

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This was the very 1st place I tried boba like 6 years ago, this place would get packed, I remember actually having to wait in line, now everywhere you go they sell boba. The spicy chicken although its pretty salty is pretty damn spicy and tasty, their boba drinks are very equal to what everyone else has, I honestly can't tell the difference anymore. p.s. I remember some pretty epic Boba shooting battles here, good times. read more

There are so many boba/tea places around town! Why go to one that's not graded A and doesn't have good tea? Other than the fact that they have wi-fi and their drinks are a little bit cheaper... They don't have much going for them. read more

Tapioca Express - Yogurt icy! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Alhambra, California

#29 In general, I prefer TapEx to the other boba chains. As with any boba shop out in 626, their menu board contains all the usual suspects - tea, icy, snow bubble, food, etc. I always order one of the following (with green apple jelly): Almond snow bubble Kiwi snow bubble (I forget if this location will make it though. Only some TapEx do.) Green apple snow bubble The inside is pretty small. Mostly tables for two (about five) and one table for four. Parking is not bad. There is a structure behind the storefronts and parking on Valley. My favorite feature of this TapEx is that they accept credit cards! Visa and MC, no AMEX. They do enforce a $5 minimum however. I'm a fan - 3.5 stars. read more

Tapioca Express - 04.25.09 - large green apple snow bubble w/ green apple jelly - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Alhambra, California

I love the popcorn chicken. I always get medium spice cause mild doesn't taste like anything and hot is tooooo seasoned. Gives me heart burn lol the only thing I don't like is that they'll close the kitchen an hour or so before they close. Also the boba is good but not the best. Pretty affordable tho so I'll keep coming read more

Tapioca Express - Popcorn chicken - medium spice - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Alhambra, California

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Tapioca Express has better quality drinks than the Quickly next door. This is a very small shop and has about five very small tables. I like to come here for a late night chat over drinks and a snack. I haven't had a problem with long lines since I go late and service is fast. If you are sensitive to spice order a notch or two lower than what you usually order. The order of squid balls Mara C ordered with medium spiciness was almost too spicy for her to eat. It was amusing how she was dabbing at her squid balls with a paper napkin as an attempt to wipe off flavorings to make it more palatable. =) If you need some caffeine in you stat I recommend their Vietnamese Coffee. Yes, it come in a small cup and doesn't even fill the cup all the way but after taking a few sips you can feel the immediate stimulation of your central nervous system, whoooo get those adenosine receptors! read more

First off, they didn't have the waffle we wanted. The waffles that did come out were all jacked up. Second, they forgot our popcorn chicken. So we basically sat there for a long time waiting for the popcorn chicken when they didn't remember to make it. FAIL. read more

It was good, as always. We tried the honeydew milk tea for the first time and my girlfriend loved it. Although we were a little disappointed with the onion rings, it was mostly batter & crumbs. One more thing, I hate how one of the ladies kept on saying "oh my god blah blah blah, oh my god blah blah" very loud while talking to one more person. It was just very unprofessional. All in all it was a good snack and i advice to keep talking to a mimimum. :) read more

Tapioca Express - Caramel Milk Tea and Honeydew Milk Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Alhambra, California

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I have been coming here since I was in the 6th grade. The quality of food and drinks seem to have declined over the years, but it is still not too bad. The food and drinks are relatively cheap compared to other tea houses within the area. Although, I have heard many complaints in regards to their popcorn chicken, it is still one of my favorites. Service is decent. My go to item is their popcorn chicken rice combo extra spicy. They do accept credit card with a minimum of $5 read more

Tapioca Express - New design for their Togo box - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Alhambra, California

Another boba joint that specialize in powdered drinks. (that's basically what your paying for.) I could never understand why people would pay for powdered drinks here. It's just awful. There prices are just the same as Tea Station or Cha. But tons of people go there. I've ordered food here, and practically threw the whole plate away. It only cost $5-6. I guess I get what I pay for. BOO. read more

***They remodeled*** It looks weird. They ruined the layout of the store probably to make the kitchen bigger. It feels really cramped in there now. Any the seats outside are no longer there! I can see why everyone goes next door to Lollicup (it was packed). I spent the whole day here and at Lollicup using free Wifi. For one TapX has their internet blocked (so I used Lollicup's). I went to Lollicup first and the girl at the counter was kind of bitchy so I left and went next door. Food: Decent nothing out of the ordinary. Not bad. Not Good. Your typical Boba shop foods (salt n pepper chicken and etc) Service: Better than Lollicup! Environment: Definitely not as comfortable to sit in compare to Lollicup. I felt so cramped in there that I didn't feel comfortable staying for more than an hour. Parking can be a pain. Price: I bought the fried popcorn chicken with rice and with a green tea totaling less than $6!! That's a freakin deal! Though I feel a stomach ache coming... Food: 3 Service: 3 Environment: 2 Price: 5 read more

Honestly, I couldn't even order food because I was so upset at how I was treated. I walked in and nobody bothered to greet me or even acknowledge my presence. Fine it's been a long night I get it. Then it just got worse and as I looked at the menu the cashier came up and stood there looking at me while I was looking through and still not one word was said to me. He looked annoyed and bothered the whole time. I was so upset at how I was treated that I walked away. Only then was I acknowledged with a "have a great night" ! It's safe to say I'm never gonna go back to any establishment that treats their customers like they're a problem. Honestly, Do not waste your time or money go to the other Million boba places that exist in the SGV. Tapioca express is a thing of the past. read more

Love the service here! Love it when the first impression is a bright jolly smile from the employees rather than a resting bi*ch face or a dumbfounded employee... Fast and efficient, the girls here are super sweet! read more

I ordered a Thai tea milk tea, which is one of the easiest drink in most boba locations. This drink didn't taste right. It tasted as though they premixed it and then added more tea to it. Also at the front entrance it is very crowded but there's a few back tables to sit. As for customer service, the register employee did not seem excited that he's working. Very boring attitude. Didn't greet or anything. I wouldn't be back. There are other boba or restaurants nearby. read more

Tapioca Express - nice back area. clean tables. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Alhambra, California

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Tapioca Express, and this specific location, used to be my favorite boba place out of the options in SGV, like since a decade ago. However, service is so important to me and I was burned once and haven't been ever since. I have literally been boycotting all Tapioca Express locations because of this one guy. I went in to order my usual boba milk tea with half boba, half red beans. The guy behind the counter seemed confused. When I repeated the order, he said he cannot make my drink. I asked him why? Did they run out of something? He said, BECAUSE IT'S DISGUSTING. He couldn't possibly put red bean and boba in milk tea. No one could drink it, he claimed. I assured him this is the drink I've been ordering for quite some time now, even at this store, and no one has ever refused to make it before. He still said no. So I wanted to speak with a manager. He said she's right next to him and she doesn't care. And that was the end of my relationship with Tapioca Express. Went to Lollicup instead and got my half boba, half red bean milk tea--no questions asked! read more

This place is hands down one of my favorite boba place of all time. I believe this place deserves way more ratings because at one point, I was addicted to it. I always get their strawberry soda and the crispy chicken thing. Their combo meal is also really good!! Bathroom is clean and the table is clean. Staff is friendly as well :) read more

Fast service great boba ...love there added fresh avocado smoothie..always playing great music while you waite!!! There fries are crispy and delicious..friendly service..Been going here over 20 years read more

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My mom and I come here weekly for milk teas w/ agar agar (sometimes boba). I personally think the drinks are decent, but my mom loves it here because they make the drinks with just the right amount of sweetness. My mom always asks for quarter sugar. We usually come in around noon time. We're very fond of the short Asian guy w/ glasses and braces because he knows how to make the drinks with 25% of sweetness. HE. GETS. IT. CORRECT. If you're reading this, know that you're our fav. The other workers are okay, but sometimes they make it too sweet. I recommend getting their fries. read more

The popcorn chicken combo is excellent and filling. The slushes are so good too. Highly recommend when you're wanting that popcorn chicken fix. read more

I regretted taking my family here today. We ordered 2 simple drinks and the wait was nearly half an hr. I understand of there were a crowd but we were the only people I the shop. Stay away from this place. Bad service bad attitudes bad experience read more