CHICHA San Chen - Rowland Heights

Artificially slow down drink making to look busier. An hour to get through 10 orders with half of your staff doing absolutely nothing.
Then suddenly 20 minutes before close they can finish 6 orders in a few minutes with the entire staff moving top speed. Willing to waste everyone else’s time but not theirs

I came here with my cousins through recommendation and I honestly really liked it. The drinks were flavorful and had a strong tea taste to it. Each was very unique, many of the options being ones that I had never seen before. I tried something new and it was pretty good. It tasted different from any other boba I’ve had and I’d love to go again and try something else. One thing to note is the long wait times for ordering and receiving drinks, as well as the congestion when it gets busy because this place is pretty small. They do have some seating inside though. The inside is relatively clean and it’s nice to see the workers actively making the drinks.

I first went to CHICHA San Chen inside Changi Airport back in 2022. Back then, there were only locations in Asia. Now, multiple of them have opened up in California, and I finally managed to go after craving it for so many years. As expected, the line was extremely long. It took around an hour in total to order and then receive my drink. They brew each cup of tea fresh in front of you, so it’s bound to take some time. The pricing is expensive but that is due to the quality of the ingredients and the labor spent on each drink. I ordered the same thing I got back in Singapore, a Passion Fruit Green Tea with Bubble(boba) with the total coming out to $7.74. The flavor tastes identical to what I remember it to be like back in Singapore, so I can confirm the consistency. The menu is quite small compared to other places, and I recommend deciding what you want to order in advance to keep the line going. My only complaint is that the drinks come in one size only! I’m the kind of person who will spend lots of money(and time) for good boba, so it’s very disappointing when there is only one small size. TLDR: Expensive but very delicious drinks that require lots of patience to receive

Love their drinks! Worth the wait.

Just amazing. Freshly brewed tea

Love their drinks so much! Their tea is freshly brewed to order, not pre-made like other tea shops. I ordered Cassia Black tea with mousse, it’s not cheese foam but it’s salty sweet, so yummy! You can taste the quality in every sip, with rich flavors and aroma. Plus, the staff is friendly & attentive and the online ordering makes pickup super convenient. Definitely my new go-to tea spot!

Like the fact I can see my order is made from real tea brewing instead of artificial flavor .

Was recommended to this place by a close friend who said this place is very good due to its many awards won but after trying their drink and waiting close to an hour, I can say they must’ve bribed for their awards cause the overall experience and drink their reputation has, is very inflated. First I ordered my drink full sweetness as shown in the label “perfect” but what I got was FAR from perfect. The sweetness level did not match and I compared it to the drink my friend got which was less sweet and hers was MORE sweet than mine like how is that POSSIBLE. My drink tasted like I was drinking straight up milk rather than a milk tea. I don’t really get why this over priced, over hyped place is that popular and for the size of their drinks you would think you can get no ice but noooo they only let you do “light ice.” The only good thing about my drink was the boba and that was it. 1/5 would NOT recommend, take your business elsewhere people

Not sure why there’s always a line at every store of this franchise tea brand. It’s extremely overrated. The drinks I got didn’t have strong tea flavor nor tasted strong at all. And it was expensive too. All I could say about the drinks here is watered down, overpriced and overhyped. I think the major misunderstanding that draws people here is that this brand is Michelin-rated. It is NOT. It was rated by International Taste Institute, which is a gimmick to Michelin and isn’t remotely comparable.

It smells of tea once you walk in. Best tea /bubble / boba place in So cal! Wish I had one of them teaspresso machines. :D

Awful in-store experience. Management needs to redesign their ordering operations. The store had little to anybody inside and so I placed my order thinking it would be a short wait, there was a long queue of online orders that took 5 minutes each to make. Even worse, all these orders they fulfilled were just sitting on the table for minutes on end while people in-store and ready to pick up were waiting

One liner- slight pricey a la minute (made on the spot) award winning tea that you can clearly taste that keeps me coming back

Drinks: favorite is anything green tea since that is their highest award winning tea. I particularly like the passion fruit green tea with less ice and less sugar so I can really taste the tea

A close second are the creamy tart lemon and mango teas

Some drinks can modify while others they won’t let you.

Price of drinks can be 1-2 dollars more at a fraction of the size compared to other places; only one size for all drinks. Hence one less star

Parking: limited on weekend otherwise easy during weekdays

Atmosphere: simple and clean lines and colors. Best during weekdays, a pure line and mass of people waiting on weekends

Service: it’s a boba shop, but in general tired appearing because can be crazy at times

Amazing boba. Mine was out the door and took 45+ min but top tier boba

Pretty pricey but however tea was nice and flavorful.

I got two for one Ding Door Dong Tea Special. Tea and a hit on my door by an employee.
The carelessness is real 😑.

Amazing tea but the lines and waits here are unreal. Minimum 45 minutes per visit, every.single.time.