Not the best but certainly not the worst I've ever had. There was only street parking when I came here, but it was relatively easy to find an open spot. I ordered the Jasmine Milk Tea + Boba w/ 50% ice and sweetness and it wasn't bad. What really stood out was the stronger tea flavors, which I personally liked. However, after taking a couple of sips, I noticed the drink left a chalky taste/texture in my mouth. This is more notable on the cup itself - it leaves behind a chalky residue on the interior. But whatever, it won't kill you... immediately. Not sure how crowded this place normally gets but there is a very small waiting area in front of the counter. This place is also cash only! If you are in the mood for some cheap boba and there are no other options, come check this place out! Tip: check-in offer has free upgrade to a large! read more

Tea Era is definitely yummier than Verde or Tapioca Express. And just a couple blocks away from them. I think the biggest difference is in the pearls. Tea Era's pearls just have the perfect taste and texture. Barley milk tea is their specialty. It's good, but after a friend commented that she felt like she was drinking a loaf of bread, it tasted more bread-y to me. Some people LOVE their barley milk tea though. My new favorite drink that I discovered here is the yogurt (the Yakult Asian yogurt drinks that come in the tiny containers and that people like to freeze) smoothie with pearls. It's also good with lychee jelly (which I got once when they were out of pearls). Reasons it doesn't get 5 stars: - They've been out of pearls several times when I went late at night (but not even right before closing time, which is a little earlier than is convenient for college students with late night boba cravings). - Cash only can be annoying. - Not much room to sit and hang out. - Service is not terrific, but then again I don't have high expectations for service at Asian places. read more

my friend knows i love pearl tea (aka boba), and wanted me to try this place as she claims its the best pearl tea in the south bay. perfectly located on castro street, tucked away with all the restaurants, its very small but long. theres a handful of chairs and about 3 small round tables. noticed all the frequent buyer cards hanging on the wall with a name on it. id rather hold onto my own card myself in case someone takes mine! the teas are about $2.50 and an additional .25 for pearls. my friends thought it was cheap, but i thought it was relatively the same as fantasia and tap ex. although i was tempted to see what the rave reviews about the barley milk tea were about, i was too full for milk, so got my usual passion green tea with pearls. also got 2 drinks for my friends, and the barley tea and mine came out quickly. my friend's strawberry took forever, and it was sitting there for awhile before they put it out on the counter. however, im sold. their tea is really good, pearls have the right consistency. it is a bit sweet, but thats expected. id come back! read more

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Probably one of the best boba places I've been to besides Tastea in Westminster and Purple Kow in Outer Richmond. I definitely recommend either the almond milk tea or the roasted barley milk tea; I've tried both, and the roasted barley does live up to its reputation. However, I'm more of an almond milk tea kind of gal. This place has a vast, interesting selection of milk teas, and they use similar shakers to mix up your milk tea as does Starbucks. The almond milk tea was not too sweet - just the way I like it - with bits of almonds! No signs of powdery formula here. When I also asked for no ice, the drink was also ice cold and stayed cold for a good time period after I left the shop. This place is easy to miss, though, so just try to look out for an Italian gelato place, and its a few doors down. Definitely a notable favorite whenever I want quality boba! read more

One of my favorite tea places in the Bay Area. Quick service and great tapioca. I also appreciate their menu -- it is almost infinite. I prefer it so much more compared to Verde. However, there is not much seating as it is a small place. But you definitely do not have to wait long for your order. The tapioca's consistency is so much better than most places I have been to in the Bay Area. Also, the service is really fast. Just remember: CASH ONLY. I recommend the rose tea -- so good!! Also, get a reward card, so when you order ten drinks, you can redeem one free. read more

Thanks to the tip of fellow Yelpers, my friend and I tried their roasted barley milk tea. I had it hot (since I was fighting a cold) and my friend had it cold. I'm not sure how the boba tasted in the cold version, but in the hot, they were perfect! Very chewy and a hint of sweetness. I couldn't taste the roasted barley at all but it tasted fine as a milk tea. Maybe I need to try it again sometime cold and see if it's any different. They have a lot of other drinks here that I'd also like to try, such as violet tea, wintermelon milk tea, and red guava tea/smoothie! read more

Out of all the places I have tried so far: this is the best bubble tea in the neighborhood. That's saying a lot since there are numerous bubble tea spots around there. Their tapioca consistency was good and fun to chew. Other places were slightly too chewy or not chewy enough. They also have fresh juice drinks but I didn't find that particularly outstanding. I'd stick to the non-juice drinks. Unique flavors like peanut were interesting to try once in a while. read more

I am not really sure why this place is so popular. There is a long line when we arrived, with the order for 6. I got Roasted Oolong with Boba, guess there isn't other places that offer this on the menu. The unsweetened version really highlighted how sweetened the boba were. The tea was fresh, but on the weak side. The Roselle tea was such a disappointment. It tasted not even close to Roselle and we have no idea what was it. read more

The wait is incredibly long, the line didn't even look that long but it took about 20 minutes. I listened to the reviews and got the roasted barley milk tea w/ pearls. The pearls were not as amazing as other reviewers said, and the milk tea was decent. What I really like about this place is the price. They have an interesting use of stamp cards, leaving them on the wall for repeating customers to point out which ones they used last time. It's quite inefficient.. probably wasted 2 minutes for the employee to find someone's card, that might be why the line moves so slowly. But nonetheless it's something unique and interactive I feel. read more

I've come here several times and really want to like this place. Unfortunately almost every drink I order seems to have some problem... Grape tea w/ aloe: Flavor was really strong and artificial tasting...the drink was dark purple though, which I thought was pretty cool. Peach green tea w /aloe: Too sweet even though I specifically asked them to reduce the sugar/syrup Honey green tea w/ aloe: Too much honey!! Even my bf was able to point it out, and he's usually not very picky about his drinks. We had to wait until the ice melted for it to taste better. Overall it's an okay boba place. They only take cash, which is another con for me. I prefer Ocha a lot more. read more

Hole in the wall place in downtown Mountain View. Wouldn't have known this existed if it were not for Yelp. Drinks are just a few dollars each, total bang for your buck! They have taro boba which I found to be totally flavorless. I would save your money on that upgrade. Got the alvocado drink and loved it! Will be back. Note: Cash Only! read more

Tea Era is alright when you're in the area, but it's nothing spectacular. I usually get the sesame milk tea with pearls, which is good, but you have to keep shaking the drink or all the sesame will settle at the bottom. If you wait too long to drink it, the pearls have this odd sweet taste coating them that isn't typical with pearls. Tea Era is the best place to get milk tea, but it also isn't the worst. read more

Really yelp? 4 stars? It's a smaller boba place although they have two small tables and a barish area there's not really a place to hang out. The bar area has chairs but that's also where people are waiting to get there drinks. The distance between the door and where you order is short and they squeezed in a few miniature chairs and tables there. Cash only. But that's typical of many boba places... I know the establishment can't be blamed for this but people were taking forever in the bathroom.. And I hate unisex bathrooms.. The guy that went before me didn't even bother flushing the toilet... Really dude? What the heck were you doing in there for 8 minutes?! I was in and out of the bathroom in 3 minutes and I flushed and washed my hands. I got a large almond milk tea.. $2.75 50 cents more for the large.. My first straw cracked when I tried to puncture the cup. Oh the anticipation.... The lady seemed irritated that I asked for another straw. My first sip... Wait.. Is it chunky and I didn't get any boba or anything? Another sip.. Yep chewing my drink.. I pass it around to my friends and they have their suggestions... Texture is like curdled milk, it's chalky.... We decided it's probably cuz they used a powder and because they don't hand shake it but use a shaking machine similar to what shakes paint.... Probably why my drink came out the way it did. The workers also messed up on my friends drink twice. Adding the wrong additives or the wrong tea flavor. The people weren't very happy to correct there mistake either like it was our fault. Maybe I was deterred by the bathroom wait and mess that was in there and my sub par drink.. But I don't think I will be returning. read more

I haven't been here in a while but they have a lot of chairs (in a small space)! The tea doesn't taste the same as before. It's a bit diluted now. Ocha nearby is better and if Cafe Lattea were not so far from Mountain View, I would have gone there instead. read more

I came here for dessert slightly after 6PM on a Saturday and there were only 2 people ahead of me. There were many selections to choose from and I ended up getting a large taro milk tea with boba and taro pudding. My total came out to $4.62. I received my drink in less than 10 minutes. But, being spoiled by the many boba spots in SF, I thought this place was just ok. My drink was watered down and I could barely taste the taro flavor, but the taro pudding did help. FYI: CASH ONLY! read more

Tea Era - Large taro milk tea w/ boba and taro pudding. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Mountain View, California

Yummy! I love tea era and now that I've moved back to the area I will definitely be coming here more often. If you love more tea-y milk tea you should definitely come here. I love it when places offer the option of having your drink less sweet because it makes me feel a little bit better about myself that I just ate a huge dinner and now I'm getting boba after T.T ohwhale. Butyea! they have great tea and I always get aloe in my teas now instead of the boba balls but my friends all say they are the perfect level of chewiness. read more

Tea Era - large peach milk tea with aloe - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Mountain View, California

I went here for the first time and took my brother with me because we were hanging out for his birthday, so we decided to try here (of course after we yelped it first). #1 you walk in and it's tiny. #2 CASH ONLY! (Luckily we had cash on us) #3 I order the same thing I would order at any boba drink place, green tea with grass jelly. #4 cashier asked if I wanted sugar in my tea... That was a first, I was surprised because no one ever ask you that when you go to a boba place... I asked for no sugar #5 brother ordered the mocha milk tea... (I think) #6 move out of the way when you are done because it's cramped, so others can order... #7 tried our drinks... It was really good! Both were good. Mine was bitter because of the tea but I like bitter (remember no sugar). I would definitely come back when I'm in the area and have cash. Good job. read more

Tea Era - Green tea with grass jelly (no sugar) - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Mountain View, California

Prices here are fairly affordable and low compared to other boba places. I like how they offer seasonal flavours like DURIAN! Most of the staff here do speak Mandarin. The store is pretty tiny though and the line can be long. Some seats but not sure if you like to sit in the store as it's pretty warm and crowded. read more

Tea Era - Duriannn - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Mountain View, California

Definitely one of the best bubble tea shop in the bay area. As long as we walked inside the store, we can smell the flavorful sweetness of the boba teas. The quality of the drinks is super good and the price is amazing ($3 for a small milk tea). I usually ordered Tangerine Passion Fruit Green tea and I highly recommend other Tangerine flavors. I and my wife now come to this place at least 3 times a week. Highly recommend. read more

This used to be one of the few Boba places near Stanford? I definitely remember coming here years and years ago. It was cheap and quick. Found myself in downtown Mountain View for my BF's friend's bday dinner. I swear, they haven't changed the directions. CASH ONLY. Luckily my BF carries cash because ya girl here..don't (I'm such a bad Asian, sigh). They were also open pretty late yay! But the taste of boba is kind of bland. I was kind of disappointed because the prices have increased years since (inflation). But since this was the only boba place within the vicinity, if I ever find myself in this same area late at night, I'll most likely stop in again. read more

I ordered 6 drinks all smoothies they where so watery they also delivered them with no straws read more

Tea Era - Lychee smoothie with pearl - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Mountain View, California

Still cash only in 2017. I used to go elsewhere for that silky smooth grass jelly, but they have it here too! Toppings are a little pricier here compared to your usual boba shops, and I have a major concern with hot drink lids spilling EVERYWHERE lately, but my hot jasmine milk tea with grass jelly last night was DELICIOUS! Bonus: open til midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. read more

I've tried Half and Half from SoCal, Purple Kow from SF, Fantasia, Tapioca, Qcup, Quickly, Lollicup, TasteTea, Verde Tea, etc. I like Half & Half, Purple Kow and Fantasia. I just recently found Tea Era, and yay!! it is my new favorite now. I think Tea Era is the best milk tea in the bay. If you like your milk tea all sweet and milky and creamy, then maybe you would prefer Verde Tea better (maybe). I like my milk tea taste "tea" in it. and Tea Era does a great job. The boba here is very good, chewy but not hard. It is soft, chewy, sweet, but no overly sweet. It is not uncooked or overcooked. They use the machine to shake and mix your drink. pretty cool! I've tried Roasted Barley Milk Tea (what it is famous for), Roasted Oolong Milk Tea, Jasmine Green Tea. For milk tea, I like roasted barley more than Olong; however, both of them were very good. My fiance' tried Apple tea with green tea jelly and he loved it. My other friends loved roasted barley milk tea and apple tea with green tea jelly, too. They have a lot of drinks on the menu. I'd try other things next time. If you want to get high quality tea milk tea, you gotta come here!!! read more

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Their milk teas are NOT made with real milk, which I found out the other day! They made it with non-dairy creamer--Coffee Mate. Not a huge issue unless you're trying to avoid trans fats or looking for real milk. Quite a disappointment when looking for real milk tea. I'd drive further north or south for milk tea: purple kow (SF) or half and half (LA). Now what is great about Tea Era is their huge selection! Their flavours include barely and roasted barely, lavender and a few others which most milk tea places seem to lack. Also they've got a wide variety on add-ons such as almond jelly, lemon jelly. If you're looking for a milk tea place with some variety, good price and some interesting additions, it's a great stop. If you're looking for a robust tea taste or real milk, don't waste your time. They've got neither in either category. read more

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I'm new to the Mountain View Boba community. One of my friends recommended Tea Era to me. At first, I was skeptical about it, especially after my experience after another boba place in the area, but I decided to give it a fair chance. I ordered the Crema with oolong tea, tbh, it was not bad at all. I would recommend adjusting the sweetness on it though. read more

My first review on Yelp and Tea Era is completely deserving of it! One of us got the taro smoothie with the clear lychee and the remaining three of us got the roasted barley milk tea, one without boba, and it was DELICIOUS. Coming from me, that's saying something because whenever I go to a bubble tea store, I will get a fruity smoothie and stay away from the ones that taste like tea, but this drink was GOOD. I'm not from this area, so I really hope they expand into San Francisco. Or I hope I can find the drink again somewhere in the city. Anyways, the four of us also shared popcorn chicken, fried green beans, sweet potato fries, and I think the calamari (or was it fried octopus?). I didn't try the last one, but the other three were good. It was a good amount for the four of us to share. Service-wise, the drinks came out relatively quick, but it took a little while longer for our food items. We had to put our drinks in the middle of the table just to make sure we still had a drink when our food cane out. By the time our food came, two of us had already drank half our roasted barley milk teas. On a different note, although our food took a while, their customer service was great! When we got our food, we were given a bag of calamari rolls or something, which we didn't order, so we promptly returned it and a couple minutes later, a lady came to our table to confirm what we ordered and then gave us our money back because we were charged for that extra bag of food. It was nice if her to check up on us and our order, especially when we had no idea! Overall, AWESOME BUBBLE TEA PLACE! A little crowded and tough to find a seat, but given how good everything was, I understand. I really hope they continue expanding into the Bay Area! Yay Tea Era! read more

Tea Era - Roasted barley milk tea, taro smoothie, popcorn chicken, fried green beans, sweet potato fries, calamari - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Mountain View, California

For the last year ive been on a hunt for my favorite milk tea. Tea Era takes the cake! it might not be the "nicest" out of all of ten but it sure tastes the most authentic! yum! I feel like a lifetime here I won't get to try all the flavors! The tapioca pearls are on point! I'm happy the have a frequent buyer card bc it will def be used! read more

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I've been going to Tea Era in Mountain View for quite a while now, and have had only one inconsistent experience. However, everything else has been fantastic. Tea Era has become my favorite milk tea place in the Bay Area and definitely meets each of my standards. They have a fantastic array of flavors - my favorite being the Roasted Barley Milk Tea. Honestly, not much else needs to be said, the milk tea speaks for itself. read more

Okay, so I rarely "update" my reviews--only when I feel the place deserve more stars OR have stars taken away. Anyhow, after work one day, I dropped by this place to "give it a second chance" because of such high reviews. This time, I talked to the cashier and asked him what drink was the most ordered here. ANSWER: ROASTED BARLEY MILK TEA! I like pearls, so i added the pearls! CHANG CHING! It hit the spot. I was in BOBA heaven :) If you're there, go try it!! Downtown Mountain View is a very cute spot to hang out with outstanding restaurants within walking distance from each other! read more

Here's one you might not have heard before - The first time I ever had Tea Era was at a wedding. Definitely something unique and made that wedding that much more memorable. If it's good enough for a wedding, it's gotta be some good shtuff. It's easily the best PMT location I've been to in the bay. I live in San Mateo, but if I'm ever in the area, I always try to drop by. So many places just don't get the boba right - either too mushy or too hard, too sweet or too bland, or just plain inconsistent. With Tea Era, it's always "just right". My favorite is the roasted barley milk tea with pearls. Other reviews here mention the service, the tight space, etc. Honestly, it's like getting coffee. I'm here to order, grab & go and I couldn't care less about all that stuff. read more

My favorite boba place ever! Nom nom nom. I've had the Lavender Milk Tea, Jasmin Milk Tea and Barely Milk Tea -- all with lot's of pearls and in the larger size (I can't help myself kids!). It's just hella good stuff and I am super happy when I leave. They have frequent buyer cards that you can leave posted on the wall. Just make sure you go often enough so you don't forget where your card is because it can be hard to find with SO many there. It's pretty cool seeing all those cards on the wall though, I've never been to another place that puts loyalty cards on the wall like that. YUM YUM YUM! :) read more

Lemon Jelly with Green Mango. Holy. o. m. g....AI YU QING REN GUO..for the win! I loveeee this place because it has the AIYU (Lemon Jelly). I honestly don't know why more places don't have it. It is yummy and adds soooo much greatness to the drink. BIG SIGHHH...but this is what keeps me driving the extra 15min to get here.. Fantasia has a similar drink..which I actually like more, but the one in milpitas crushes up the aiyu and the one in cupertine is ALWAYS OUT OF GREEN MANGO. I wish this place had the drink with a little less sour tasting tea.. (even tho its supposed to be lemon)..meh. Must try their other teas, but I'm hooked on to this one faveeee. WIll update again if I ever try a different tea!! read more

I went here and got their famous roasted barley milk tea and it wasn't that good. I couldn't really taste the roasted barley. My friend on the other hand had the taro milk tea which was much better. It was flavorful and creamy. The tapioca balls were super chewy. Maybe I should give them another try another time. Don't forget to get their stamp card- 1 free drink after you buy 10 drinks. read more

My favorite PMT place. The tea is always fragrant and not overly sweet (I prefer to get 50% sugar), and the pearls are chewy and not too hard or soft. My favorite flavors are regular, jasmine green, oolong, rose, taro, and matcha. Their cups are vacuum-sealed, making it very convenient for one person to get PMT for the whole group if people don't want to go the distance. If you want pearl milk tea, always remember to say "milk" and "with pearls" - the default is no milk and no pearls unless you specify otherwise. 92/100 read more

We found a big difference between this tea era and the one in cupertino. Unfortunately, this one paled in comparison in all respects. We ordered the exact same drink at both places. The flavor at this one was weak, the served hot was lukewarm, the boba lacked that chewy texture and substance, and the service was a lot less friendly. Could have just been an off day, as this one is immensely popular. read more

My flatmate (Tai-Wei) and I have a huge tea problem. We drink tea, a lot. We enjoy tea. Heck, a good chunk of my reviews are tea places! My flatmate and I usually go to the tea era in homestead in cupertino, but we were in Mountain View and needed to get our tea fix. Enter Tea Era. First off, the place is very small, so don't expect to get comfortable inside to be honest. It gets cramped inside with just the line it has. The service is pretty good. The girl behind the counter was very friendly and quick to help us out. Oh HUGE DISCLAIMER!!!! THIS PLACE IS CASH ONLY!!!! So if you do need a fix, bring da moolah!! Anywho, the tea is good! I got a Jasmine Milk Tea (stuck with something safe) and enjoyed it. They do have a big selection of different teas to choose from. Overall; the tea is good, service is fair, but the place is very small. Not a good place to really hang out at. I will come back for the tea though! read more

Tea era is ok, nothing screams i must come back again, the barley tea did taste pretty good but a bit too sweet imo. According to my friend Luke L, this place is really authentically taiwanese. With other places around the area, tea era needs to step up their game in order to compete with the rest read more

Tea Era - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Mountain View, California

If I lived in South Bay, I'd come here all the time. The prices were unbeatable (~$3), tea was great quality, and the boba was sweet and flavorful! There's a TON of different flavors to choose from, so much so that it's a little overwhelming. Remember to bring cash, as it's a cash only shop. Parking is tricky, since it's in the downtown area, but I was able to find street parking nearby after circling around for a few minutes. read more

I was in Mountain View one weekend and decided to swing by here for milk tea. I decided to opt for a passion fruit smoothie with boba. The person taking my order was very friendly and informative. She actually recommended me the drink. It took about 5 minutes and seeing as it was a Saturday, I felt that it was pretty quick. Some places take 10 minutes. The slushy itself was really refreshing and slightly tart. The boba, however, was sweet and chewy, which complimented the drink. The cons are that the place itself is really small so you can't hang out in there. Also, it is a bit unkempt and cramped, but other than that, come here for the milk tea/boba/drinks. read more

I stopped by yesterday for some Boba. I got a Hazelnut Milk Tea with Boba. Thought it was an interesting flavor so I decided to go for it. It was actually pretty good. I would recommend it at 50% sweetness though. Overall tea and boba quality was great. Staff was friendly as well, and social distancing was enforced. Also, fyi it is cash only. Another thing is, parking can be a bit tough, since it is located in Downtown Mountain View but that is expected. read more