John Dinh, Scott Nguyen and Ted Vu opened their superior tea parlor in a Little Saigon strip mall in 2000. A lot of boba establishments rely on powders to flavor the teas, a pitiable artificial shortcut. Tastea is committed to serving superior products, using fresh fruit and fresh fruit juices, making it a worthy finish to any Little Saigon outing.

The wall menu is loaded with painfully punny drink names, including Tootea Fruitea (kiwi and pineapple tea with diced jackfruit, lychee and longan), Bootea Shaker (mango, peach and pineapple tea with black jelly) and Krypteanite (green tea smoothie).

The Peach Me Sweetea ($3.10) was a Specialtea that was shaken like a martini. The iced black tea was delicious, featuring plenty of fresh peaches and strawberries. The Slushy Lychee Freeze ($3.35) offered a terrific blend of fresh lychee juice and lychee jelly, which added texture.

Every drink is available with boba, the tapioca balls that you vacuum through a colorful, oversized straw. Tastea’s boba balls are supposedly fresher than at other tea parlors. If they sit around, they apparently solidify like paintballs. Still, I don’t like the chewy texture, and according to a Tastea disclaimer, “Boba may cause choking if swallowed without chewing,” so I avoided them altogether.

Strawberry Sensation ($3.60) was a smoothie blended with non-fat frozen yogurt, ice, fresh strawberry juice and fresh strawberries. Unsurprisingly, the smoothie was totally satisfying.

The menu also features Classics (teas and milk teas), Hotteas, and Shaved Ice Delights (topped with coconut milk, condensed milk and toppings like red bean, peach, and Mandarin orange). All are available with Yummy Add-Ons: boba, black jelly, coconut jelly, lychee jelly, mango bits and fruits.

No matter what you order, everything comes with the Tastea Smile Guarantee: “At Tastea, we feel that our greatest accomplishment is your smile. If for any reason you are not smiling with your drink, we’ll simply replace it or refund your money. It’s that simple.” In my many visits, I’ve never thought about returning my drink.

Hours:
Sunday-Thursday: 10 AM – 11 PM
Friday-Saturday: 10 AM – Midnight