My new thing

Alhambra - I really like mango. And I really like boba. So you'd think that I would drink mango tea w/ boba all the time, right? Fail. I have this thing where I'll only drink tea or milk tea w/ boba, because how would I be able to compare boba places if I don't have a consant by which to compare them?

But that has all changed. Call it renegade, but my last two boba experiences have been with mango tea so delicious that as a result, I've revised my boba-reviewing methods. So watch out world, I'm tackling flavors now!

FYI, the aforemented killer mango bobas were at TenRen in downtown LA (on Broadway), and Tea Station in Alhambra (on Main). If you like obscenely sweet mango-flavored tea, you'll love it! Promise. We did:


Braving the drizzly weather for boba goodness

Boba at work

Los Angeles - For the record, I would never bobablog at work. Off the record, I'm doing it right now, and it's awesome.

I'd like to take this opportunity to revise my previous assertion that Little Tokyo is a boba-less hole. In fact, Senka Cafe in Weller Court serves some quality milk tea with boba. They don't have a lot of flavors though, which is fine by me since I stick to standard milk tea so as to have a fair point of comparison from place to place.

It was so good, in fact, that a co-worker summed up its goodness by saying, simply: "Mmmm. I. Want. More."

Me too, Giggles. Me too.

What: Senka Cafe

Where: 123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St. #103, downtown Los Angeles 90012 (Little Tokyo)
Price: $2.90 for milk tea w/ boba

Memorable bo-ment: The guy behind the counter had a tattoo of Chinese characters on his arm, and when I asked him what it meant, he muttered something about prison. I ended the conversation right about then.

Update: It should be noted that the ratio of tea:tapioca leaves much to be desired. We all ran out of balls when there was still a lot of tea left.

Meh-ba

Los Angeles - I'm drinking what's got to be the most subpar green tea w/ boba ever, from a place in Little Tokyo that dares to charge $3.75 for crappy green tea that isn't even real green tea. I can't figure out WHAT this crap is - it's really green, so I'm guessing matcha green tea? Whatever it is, it's noticeably thicker than normal tea, and has a distinct powdery residue. Is it so much to ask to get normal green tea? Is it?!?!?! And I specifically asked for JUST TEA, because last time they gave me some blended icy crap that tasted like powder and ice. (And you know I'm not fond of blended boba drinks anyway. I'm not convinced they even deserve to be called boba drinks, as boba should be consumed in its purest tea or milk tea form. Just my opinion, feel free to disagree. And be wrong.) You try to be a nice person and give a meh boba place a second shot, and this is what happens. I hate people.

What's worse is that I had actual (legit) green tea w/ boba over the weekend, from TenRen, which is still the most legit boba chain I've encountered during my brief time in LA - far better than Tapioca Express and Lollicup. Except for the TenRen in Chinatown, which inexplicably closes at 6 p.m. What the fuck kind of respectable boba place in Chinatown closes at 6?

In conclusion: TenRen good, Little Tokyo bad. The place had some nondescript name like "Ice Cream and Yogurt" or "Yogurt and Ice Cream" or "Don't Ever Come Here For Boba." I blocked it out.