Finally got to hit up the popular boba place in SF that everyone seems to go to. On Tuesday, you get to upgrade your drink to a bigger size with no additional charge. The concept of Tpumps is 1. choose your size 2. choose your tea (green/black) / milk is optional 3. choose your flavor(s) 4. choose your add-ons The reason for four stars is because the girl that took our order was very... whatever about being there. There was basically no seating except for a very long stool, which made it pretty inconvenient. The drinks came out relatively fast. Also, no restrooms here! This place isn't anything new so I wasn't as impressed as others. read more

Came here on a crowded Sunday night. The wait wasn't too bad, but I fail to see what all the fuss is about. My friend got the almond milk tea with regular sugar. His verdict: WAY too sweet, like others have said. I, on the other hand, read reviews while I was in line and knew to ask for light, very light sugar. I also knew they use powdered coffee creamer to make the milk teas (I could clearly see the huge tubs of creamer in the back while standing in line), so I opted to order one of their "premium" teas and got the oolong with boba. It was, honestly, like drinking water with boba in it. As a avid oolong drinker, I can confidently tell you there was no hint of oolong in it. And I paid like an extra dollar because it's "premium." How is this in any way premium??? On another note, their boba is decent. It's slightly sweet and has a nice chew to it, but it's not hard at all. My advice: get a boba milk tea with some kind of fruit flavor, and make sure to ask for less sugar. And if you're from the SGV, don't let the line fool you; this place isn't all that so lower your expectations. read more

The only thing that sucks about Tpumps is that they don't have delivery. I'd order from it everyday, honestly. Maybe it's a good thing that you guys are far from me.... good for my waistline. But if you get delivery, not ordering would be stupidity on my end. Please get delivery. read more

The end of the line was on the far side of Noori when I came on the Saturday after opening around 10:30pm. It took us an hour to get to the cash register, and about 5-10 minutes for the drinks. I liked the TPumps in San Mateo because their tea flavour was strong and used decent quality tea. This time we got a blackberry green tea, red bean black milk tea, and hot honey black milk tea. Nothing special to note about the flavours because the syrup flavours are pretty standard. Though my pick of blackberry and green tea didn't work well. I do much appreciate asking for sweetness level as a standard, as well as a general ok to any combinations of tea/temperature/flavour and comparatively competitive price for the tea flavour. One thing we noticed, especially with the black teas, is the lack of a strong tea taste this time. I'd wait another month and let the new employees settle in before trying this place again and see if they improve on the ordering speed and tea flavour fronts, because an hour is pretty much not worth it for any sort of regularity other than to try, even if it's to my taste much more than other places. I'm fairly puzzled about their choice of floor layout being exactly the same as the San Mateo location though, since this place is twice as wide and could probably support another system of ordering such as someone on the side taking orders, a menu closer to the door, or invest in some laminated placards to order from so the cash register doesn't great so much of a bottleneck, physically and in terms of waiting time. read more

All I have to say is best boba in the bay. And I love how they have really crazy samples like if it wasn't for those samples I would never try these crazy flavors. If you're feelin it get salted caramel, almond, roca black tea with milk and don't forget the honey boba ;) Also, I really like that you can pick your sweetness bc let's be honest, boba places are way too sweet sometimes read more

Enjoyed a Rose Vanilla Milk Tea (cold) here--I'd highly recommend that if you like sweet drinks. I got mine with black tea, no boba. My friend got creative and got a hot tea with green tea, lychee, peach, and almond flavors which sounds odd but actually tasted great! I like how all the flavors are muted enough so they don't over power the drink but you can definitely taste each one distinctly. I like the concept here of being able to customize your drink with different flavors/tea base. Great place to stop for a milk tea as we get through the summer. The employees at this location were so nice and friendly too! read more

Everyone has heard or had TPumps ! To be honest, I rather go down the street to Tea Way and get myself their $1.07 taro milk tea with pearls than here. This place is nice and offers a variety of flavors to their milk teas... but it doesn't necessary mean it tastes good. I ordered my drink and it tasted like I ordered half and half milk with a bunch of syrup. I'm still going to give this place another try just because i still have hopes for this place since it's new. I'm thinking maybe they're adjusting and learning the menu a little better? I hope so..**Crossing fingers for a better experience next time*** read more

I saw a girl wearing pumps in Tpumps, and I was amazed by how literally she took the name of this store. A poppin' boba shop, Tpumps has kind staff, a wall of benches for sitting, occasional free samples (watermelon apple green tea, woah), and long lines no matter when you go. But the line goes quickly, and the wait is worth it. I was referred here by a classmate of mine who used to work for Teaway in SoCal, and he had recommended their fruit teas. I opted for their Tpumps size (aka small) LYCHEE BLACK TEA for $2.15 flat. I asked for lightly sweetened, though you can ask for unsweetened and sweetened as well. Lightly sweetened was just perfect. The warm black tea is soothing, and the delicate lychee overtones are surprisingly delicious. I'm not sure where they get the lychee flavor (powder? puree? though I didn't have any lychee chunks in my tea). So, you pay a pretty penny for simple drink. Yet, the moment with friends is well worth it :) Sign up for the Five Stars program at POS. You can pick up a small card for your keyring that you link to your phone number. Register your phone number online and start racking up loyalty points: 10 points earns you 1 free Tpumps sized beverage, 20 earns you the beverage and a 1oz. bag of tea, 30 points earns you the beverage and a free Eco cup cold drink (I'm guessing it's an Eco cup you're getting, not an Eco cold drink). A fairly simple way to turn your tea splurging into more tea, dontcha think? :) read more

I was impressed at how efficient they were. There's always a line of young people. I ordered a mango passion fruit litchi green tea with boba for only $4. It was very refreshing and tasty! read more

No, Tpumps is not amazing. Yes, they're overhyped. Why are they so popular then? CUSTOMIZATION. That's it. 1) Size: Tpumps or Pumpbo 2) Iced/Hot 3) Flavors (choose up to 3) 4) Tea: Green or black 5) Sweetness level: none, light, normal, very 6) Honey boba, popping boba, red bean, or taro. Tpumps enables you to exhibit control over your drink, which is an appealing concept to a lot of people. It feels personal and empowering and special...and then you get your drink and realize that the whole process you just endured really didn't lead to anything that great. The honey boba isn't plump and chewy and they're skimpy with how much they give you. The flavored syrup they pump into the tea drinks overwhelms the tea flavor and makes it taste artificial. The long line you waited in that added to your high expectations leads to increased disappointment. Tpumps isn't bad. They have their place on Irving, but I still prefer Wonderful Foods and TeaWay down the street. read more

Came here on a Saturday afternoon to see what the hype was all about. We expected a long wait so weren't all pissy about it. Apparently we were lucky we only waited an hour total. Overall, not terribly impressed and would come only if friends wanted to go or if line was much shorter. We ordered: coconut-strawberry milk tea with popping mango, medium sweet and green tea-lychee milk tea with popping strawberry, medium sweet. The coconut-strawberry was kinda tasteless while the green tea-lychee was mostly lychee. I really didn't taste much tea in either of them. Judging by the samples we tried, the flavored teas might be better than milk tea. Never tried popping boba before, so we thought it would be like a cross between traditional boba and gushers candy, but it was more like a giant salmon roe filled with syrup. After it pops, you're left with this weird jelly sack in your mouth. The flavors aren't listed, but you can choose from strawberry, passion fruit, and mango. If you go with the popping boba, I'd recommend going with a lightly sweetened drink. read more

If I could give zero stars I would! Took 3 sips of my Taro Milk Boba and then threw it away. What a waste of $2.95 + tax = $3 something on my bank account. When I walked in, the store just smelled artificial, but I noticed the line was always long here and thought I might check what this place was all about. First everything is made of powder or syrup (for flavoring). Even the milk is not real, it is powdered milk (gross). I barely had any boba in my drink as well. Pretty disappointed. Next time I will just go to Tea Leaf. read more

I always see my nor cal friends posting pictures of drinks from this place so I decided to come here on my mini vacation. I came with some friends so that made the long line a bit more bearable. I ordered the watermelon green tea with little sugar. I was disappointed. No tea flavor whatsoever. I'm the kind that likes to taste the tea, the bitterness of strong tea after the flavoring has subsided. Their tea is not that strong and is easily masked by the sugary pumps of flavoring. Compared to tea places like ten ren, teas here lack the depth that I seek. read more

The drinks here are just meh. I got the black milk tea with chocolate and coconut (hot) and it was too sweet even though I asked for less sweet. I think it's because their boba was soaked in sugar or honey beforehand so it adds more sweetness into the drink. So, less sweet becomes regular sweet and their regular sweet becomes REALLY REALLY sweet. I almost got a toothache when I tried my friend's regular sweet lychee black milk tea. So tip: beware of sweetness level and get one step below what you usually get at other places! read more

Can't believe I haven't reviewed this place counting the numerous times I've been here. I only get their teas here because it is delish and sweet! I have tried the ones that had milk in it, but it was my least favorite. Every single time I come here, I would always like to mix it up with the different teas and only lightly sweetened (can also be adjusted to extra sweet). The boba is sweet, but my ultimate favorite is the lychee jelie. The consistency of the boba and lychee jelie is perfectly soft and not soggy. This place is a go-to place for me. read more

Boba Wars! Are you not entertained?! Negative reviewers keep fishing for things to complain about. We all have our loyal spots, Wonderful will continue to have my business. But when I want something different and it's as good as TPumps, I'll go here. Irving St., SF = Good Boba read more

Decided to checkout the hype, I was really disappointed. My tea was really watered down, there was no taste to it. The boba tasted like gelatin. read more

Got the Blackberry Peach Black Tea with honey boba and it was one of the worst boba drinks I've had. So watered down, doesn't taste like fruit, and the boba was chewy but not memorable. I probably ordered the wrong drink, but it still shouldn't taste this bad. read more

Tpumps - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Francisco, California

Finally. They have a location in SF! Drinks are delicious and reasonably priced. If you're not into tea and/or boba...this is NOT the place for you, as tea is all that they offer. I had the coconut and honey, and it was to die for. And no, I'm not waiting an hour for them. I go when it's not rush hour... you know, lunch time or right after school gets out. This place gets slammed, along with all of the other places along Irving. read more

Eh...I don't like to waste my time lining up for things that will disappoint but thank god on the day that I visited the line was short. The boba is average--nothing worth waiting in line for. However, I think it's better than Teaway down the street. A lot of high school kids and teeny boppers frequent this place because it's "in". There are like five boba shops on Irving now. Y'all better step yo game up with those balls or someone's gonna pop you out of the hood soon, Tpumps. read more

Just wanted a quick milk tea after eating nearby, stopped by here to see what's the hype about. First time coming here, and I didn't even know where the line started, with bunch of people standing around on the left side, thought that was the line tbh, but it was on the right. Their menus were nice though, I guess. Took like 10 minutes for 2 regular milk tea on a Wednesday at 2PM, one with boba, one without. Was kinda surprised that they only had didn't have a small size, only regular. AND they don't do "no ice" but only "light on ice." I know you're just trying to give me less milk tea and more ice :x but I still don't like the watered down milk tea taste. The milk tea tasted exactly that, watered down and tasteless, even Quickly has more of a milk tea taste than this. I wouldn't recommend it :/. Maybe everything else is better? This part is kinda sad too lol: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tpumps-san-francisco?select=KWeKG0x9ikhMZ8xZj5dr6g#lMLtd4jhlq0w88gcpYC3zg read more

If you told me that I would have to wait 45 minutes for my honeydew milk tea here at Tpumps, I would laugh I could get it at another place and wait 30 seconds. Funny thing is I went to Tpumps on a Saturday at 6PM and waited in line for that amount of time and did not regret my decision. Yeah, this place has lines out the door and tons of loud annoying teenagers but it is well worth the wait. It also helps that while you wait there are employees giving out samples. The servers here are pretty nice and efficient. The prices are reasonable and the sizes are great for people that are indecisive, you can either get a regular or a big ass cup of boba (one that will not fit in your car's standard cup holder). There are tons of flavors to choose from and you can mix flavors too. The past couple times I have been there I got honeydew milk tea (as stated earlier) and lychee tea. They were both the best boba drinks I have ever had. You can tell that each cup were made once you ordered and not just chilling in the fridge. Thanks to the samples I will be coming back for the passion tea. My recommendation get there at a random time during the week and enjoy some good ass boba. read more

I was there a week ago with a friend. Had some expectation for them to be good or somewhat close to the quality as the one in San Mateo but was REALLY disappointed. First of all the line to make an order and picking up order was really confusing. People were scattered around waiting for their order that you can't even tell where the line to order starts. Secondly, which is the most important one the quality of the drink REALLY sucks! I ordered a peach green tea it was so watered down that I can barely even taste the tea nor the peach taste. They were very nice to remake/darken the taste for my drink but came back to be just a little bit sweeter than the first time, nothing else changed. They also water downed my friend's almond milktea that they had to remake it THREE times and it still tastes watered down so we pretty much just gave up and left. The one star i am giving is not for their drink taste but for their excellent customer skills. They're really nice about remaking the drink for you if it doesnt taste right but then if it's a good tea/boba place it only takes once to make it right instead of needing to remaking it. Overall, was really disappointed. read more

Chewiest boba in SF! Place is stuffy and no place to sit around. The drink you customize is either a hit or miss. I've had a couple misses, but once you find the one, you'll keep coming back. I recommend the Lychee,Peach,Passion, no milk,black tea,regular sweet, for a more tea taste. For a sweet tooth,try pineapple,coconut,passion,milk,black tea,light sweet. read more

Tpumps - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Francisco, California

I noticed this place because every time I was on this side of town there was a line outside the door. I made a note to myself that the first time it had no line, to try it out. This is one of those times I realized "Don't believe the hype," is applicable. I happened to be close by Tpumps when it opened for the business day and no one was in line. I figured this was the perfect time to head in and prepared my tastebuds to be blown away! I do have to say the employees are very friendly and helpful, so bonus there. Once, I got my Mango milk tea with boba...I was so excited! Then, like when you lose at Pac-Man...whomp whomp whomp :-( I was not blown away and I definitely wouldn't stand in the long lines for this drink...Perhaps, because of the flavor options, but it wasn't anything different than any other Milk tea place to me... If I was on this side of town again, and there was no line...I would get a drink from here, but I def wouldn't wait in line or go out of my way for a drink from here. read more

Only good if you mixed your flavors right. I wished they had a recommended flavor favorites drinks, for someone to come by for their first time, it wasn't that friendly and welcoming. You just kind of expect to know what you order by the time you get to the front. The place could do a lot of renovation. I don't know how much you're paying for rent, but if you get that many people waiting in line out the door, then you should have enough money to add more tables or chairs or some decor in the place. I must have came at the wrong time as well, but I was caught in the middle of an after school rush of rowdy kids. read more

For the price and size, there are few places who have boba this cheap. For the cheapness, the quality is really good. They don't use quality ingredients for their tea, which is usually what I use to judge for bubble tea places. But again, the price and quality ratio really can't be beat. There's tons of other places with similar pricing that has really, really mediocre tea. The boba itself are some of the best in the city! Lines get crazy, but I've never had to wait more than 20 minutes. read more

If you are up for patiently waiting for your boba tea among herds of high schoolers, then this place is pretty good. What keeps me coming back: 1) I can personalize the drink with type of tea and get really specific about sweetness, etc. 2) They are really nice at the counter and seem very interested in making sure that you like your tea combo. When you're in the neighborhood and you've got about 20+ min, it's a great place to snag a tea. read more

Worst cup of boba I've ever had, and that's really saying something because I'm generally not picky with boba. I wanted just a standard milk tea with pearls and I'm not sure if the guy just didn't understand me or if this place just doesn't really do the milky teas, but what I ended up with basically tasted like really disgusting tea water with a dabble of milk. If you must come here, stick to the fruity teas. read more

I absolutely LOVE tpumps!! But the wait here is so much longer than san mateo! I've waited 2 hours in line and to get my drink! San Mateo is way faster even if there was a line. While i was waiting for my drink i find that they seem to be slower to make the drinks compare to san mateo but it's still new and the workers are probably still trying to get use to it and pick up the speed. Also, the store is also bigger here, the workers seem to have to project their voice a lot louder to call out peoples drink. it may be easier if they had a mic so people can hear them. Overall i still love tpumps, but if i were to come again i'll go on weekday morning so i dont have to stand in line of so long again hopefully read more

The line is ridiculous for such a mediocre tasting drink.. Went to Tpumps a while back and tried their Jasmine milk tea. Good size and good price, but the milk tea was just really meh.. Very light jasmine tea flavor and a strong taste of non-dairy creamer.. The ventilation is horrible and it can get extremely warm inside. The staff was friendly, I liked how they ask the level of sweetness that you want for your drink. read more

I am such a big fan of bubble tea and of Tpumps. Let me first preface by saying that this is a goooood price for bubble tea. I usually frequent The Old Teahouse in Ithaca, NY that charges $3.50-$4.00 for a small size and they are only cash only. I've also seen similar places with comparable prices. Tpumps sells this size for $2.95 and offers and larger size for $4.05. Naturally when I saw the size of the $4 cup, I had to have it. I got the peach flavored tea with boba. The boba was GREAT. Not too small and not too big that it didn't fit up the straw. Also a good consistency. Also, this place takes cards, so I was completely happy. I will definitely be back. read more

In the past few months, I feel like service has improved greatly since last year. The lines are getting faster, and the drinks are being made better/with more effort. It still makes me feel weird that they're using coffeemate for milk teas and just artificial sweeteners/syrups for fruit flavor, but the drinks are pretty good. PRICING: A Good price for a good and decent sized cup of boba. SERVICE: B Long lines can form, but they do give free samples. Friendly workers. DRINKS: B Their drinks taste amazing, but the thought of them using all artificial flavors and fake milk make me downgrade this score. BOBA: A Very good honey boba, although they do tend to give you too little. read more

Wait time to deliciousness ratio is totally off. Perhaps endurable if you are 16 and all your friends are waiting in line too and you want to hang out/show off your ganja leaf socks (TRUE STORY!!) but not for old cows like me who just want to chew on some nice boba without developing deep vein thrombosis from standing in line for an eternity. read more

The drinks here are very good. The boba is alright. I love how they awkwardly walk around and offer everyone samples. I was there long enough to get two different samples! They were both fruit teas. I love fruit teas, but I always end up getting the Peach green milk tea here. I became obsessed with it when I got it a year or two ago at the other location. I have been searching for really good peach green milk teas at other places too. Honey Boba in socal makes one really good. Anyways, the workers are nice and helpful. I also like the openness of the store and how there is lots of room to stand, and a good amount of area to sit. The only problem is they don't give you enough boba, even when I pay for more boba, it is not a perfect drink to boba ratio. But since the drinks come out decently fast, and are really good, and the customer service is good, I still really like this place. The drinks are really fresh too. You can see them putting the tea leaves into the tea pot things. They don't hide what they're doing with a stupid wall like purple kow. I do wish they had pudding to add, that would be even more perfect!! The boba balls itself are okay, they're pretty good, but not amazing. I actually feel like the fruit green teas might be better than my drink, but I can't help but get the Peach Green Milk Tea every time!!! Yum. read more

The store is pretty spacious since there isn't much seating. They provide samples which is is nice since they have some pretty interesting combinations which are not typical in a boba shop. However, the tea itself was not impressive to me. I feel like you can find much better and higher quality boba in SF and since i'm not from here, I wouldn't go out of my way to come back again. read more

The Worst milk tea ever! This is my second time been there, me and my boy friend ordered one large milk tea with boba and one honey milk tea with light ice. it taste very watery for both, and hello? is basically milk powder+ half of water inside. Do you understand what is light ice means? How did you train your employers? Mr. owner! my first time was at San Mateo store, it taste too sweet and this time it taste like water! You should control your quality and quantity at the same time, is not because you want to earn a lot of money! I won't be back again..the worst milk tea ever and ever... read more

I ordered regular sweetness black milk tea with boba. The drink is not sweet, no tea favor, no milk favor. The barista that made my drink touched the ice with his hands and he chewed gum while making my drink. I cant understand why there are so many good reviews. One star given to the honey boba, which is the only good thing about the drink. read more

I had first heard about Tpumps years back during the beginning of the rise of boba as the huge cultural force that it is today. I found that while its not quite as memorable as the titans in the 626, it's still quite good. There are tons of options here and while there definitely are boba shops out there that have few good choices, I think you can definitely find one here. My personal favorite is the rose vanilla green milk tea, with boba and boba bran. You get one topping included and one extra for 50 cents. One thing I do think is distinctive of Tpumps as a boba shop is that they use honey boba as their standard boba. It's sweeter and a little more exciting to have in your drink and I give them kudos for making the distinction. They also include a sample area with hot and cold teas. There's also a drink fridge with basic teas, pre-made, for only $2. The shop itself is pretty bare bones. There's a bench to sit at but that's about it. This is less the place you come to hang out and more the place you go to pick something up and keep moving on from. All in all, I think it's definitely one worth going to, especially if you're already in the Richmond/Sunset. read more

You know you go to tpumps too much when they start recognizing you. I have to admit when i first had tpumps in San Mateo i didn't like it too much, but i went back and back and i started to get addicted to it. So when their SF location opened i was doing cartwheels. I love how you can specialize your drinks, not too sweet, less ice, and etc. The best part about this place is that they have premiums teas here, like, oolong, tin kwan yin and pu-er. If you like your tea strong, you should ask them to make it with one of those teas. and sure it might be a 10 or 15 min wait but it's so worth the wait. Unlike the San mateo location, they have a bench for you to sit as you wait for your drink and it's so much more roomier here compared to their other location. I have to say that they serve really good tea here, you can really smell the tea as they are brewing it, so you know the quality is good here. read more

Tpumps - My fav tian kwan yim tea. . Just as good as the one in san mateo - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Francisco, California