This weekend, I went to the new Tea Time Taiwan in Pearl City with my team around 7 p.m. It was a long day and we were exhausted, as had been working at UH Manoa baseball concessions since 8 a.m. that day to raise money for our competition trip to Ohio. We drove to Tea Time, excited, because they had just reopened after remodeling. As a huge boba fan, and being part of a friend group that also loves boba, we had been Tea Time fans prior to their remodeling and were interested to see how it had changed. In addition, they were having a huge sale to celebrate their fifth anniversary, (buy one, get one free) which was another exciting factor for our boba trip!

When we got there, we were instantly greeted by a neon green Tea Time sign and… a very long line. It seemed as though many other boba enthusiasts were just as excited as we were for the reopening and had lined up all the way out the door just to get a sip of the tea. Nonetheless, we were not daunted by the long line and waited. Contrary to what we initially believed, the line actually went by pretty quickly and we were able to order in less than 30 minutes. The service was good and the workers were all very friendly despite the crazy amount of customers that were packed into the small shop.

Another thing to note was the relaxing atmosphere of the tea shop. The color theme was white and many shades of relaxing greens. There were plants placed around the shop and many simple tables and chairs to sit on. The store itself is pretty old so the exterior is kind of shabby, but the inside was alright. Although the store was quite crowded, the open layout allowed for the place to not feel overly clustered, which was very nice. Also, there were enough seats for my friends (there were about 16 of us) to sit down comfortably.

We got our drinks about 10 minutes after ordering, which is impressive considering the number of drinks we ordered. I love buying boba because it is such a personal experience. Rather than having a drink from the menu with a generic recipe, they ask for what you want in specifics; from sugar level, amount of ice, to toppings. It makes the customer feel special because their drink is unique and catered to their preferences. I ordered a strawberry milk tea with 75% sugar, regular ice, and boba. Unfortunately, because we went so late, they only had mini boba rather than the regular size that we like, but upon trying it, I was not too disappointed. The tea itself was very sweet and had a nice strawberry taste. It was also really cute because it was a light link and the size I ordered (regular) was very good and actually rather filling for me. The cup had a cute design on the lid and the store offered a variety of straw colors, which added to the experience. I tried some of my friend’s drinks as well and I was especially impressed by the oreo milk tea. It wasn’t too sweet and really tasted like oreos. The boba itself was also pretty good, even if it was mini boba. Next time, I would love to go early enough to get the regular size boba with a different milk tea.

Overall, my experience at Tea Time was very nice. The wait wasn’t too bad considering the amount of people and the service was good. The atmosphere and the aesthetics of the tea shop were very relaxing and really added to the experience. Lastly, the tea itself was really good and I thoroughly enjoyed it; I recommend the strawberry milk tea and the oreo milk tea, they’re great 🙂 Thanks for reading my review of Tea Time Taiwan, stay tuned for another restaurant review!

I give Tea Time a solid 4 stars for aesthetics, 4 stars for service, and 4.5 stars for taste. Overall, I give Tea Time a rating of 4 stars.