Chicha San Chen

ANOTHER Berkeley boba place? I hear you, but hear me out. Chicha is serving quali-tea and a whole experience at their new Berkeley location. Milk teas, fruit teas, and a bunch of seasonal flavors that focus on the tea aspect. They have 3 kiosks and a cashier taking order after order, but look ahead at the wait time if you're in a rush. The staff has always been super friendly and help answer any questions to find the right option for you. They also do complimentary tea tastings that you can reserve online or grab a physical ticket for in-person. Tried their Li Shan Oolong twice (prefer the lighter levels), Eileen & Georgia facilitated the experience perfectly.A lot of boba shops lean into the stark modern white atmosphere, but this place is nice and welcoming with warm lighting, wood furniture, and a solid amount of seating. Taste is individual so it's honestly personal preference, but I was recommended their osmanthus oolong mango tea and loved it. Their drinks cost a pretty penny, but I think it's worth treating yourself to every so often.

I have always wanted to check out a boba place with a michelin star. I came on a Saturday and it was decently busy. Once ordered it took around 20 minutes for it to come out, which is understandable seeing how packed it was. There was a free sample of the black tea, which was pretty good. I ordered the black tea with oatmilk and the dong ding oolong milk tea with cream.After tasting them, I can't say I quite understand the hype? The black tea especially was watered down and not sweet at all. The oolong was more enjoyable, it was decently sweet, and I can taste the roasted oolong. I cant really justify the price nor the wait for this especially with so many other boba places in the area.

At first, I was a little doubtful and put off my visit to Chicha San Chen. I'd never heard of the iTi awards prior to this point, and even less of their legitimacy and the claim that it was "equivalent to 3 Michelin stars." Not only that, but the prices were beyond my budget -- $7.25 is the lower end for their drinks. I thought, "the drinks better be stellar to warrant those prices."So I went, coming in with high expectations... and left as a mind-blown customer. One sip from their Black Tea with Cream sample convinced me to place my order for the drink. I also ordered a second beverage -- the Mango Osmanthus Oolong Tea -- because the Berkeley location was doing a post-opening promotion, which required two drinks for swag. The total came to be around $17, which broke me a little... but maybe it'll be worth it?And oh boy, it was. Regardless of whether their star ranking is legitimate or not, the quality of Chicha San Chen is REAL. As someone who's never loved the oolong tea made by other milk tea shops, I found myself obsessed with the mango beverage. Maybe it's the tea leaves. Maybe it's the added osmanthus. Maybe it's because it's a fruit tea drink. Heck, maybe it's Chicha San Chen! It's aromatic and unique with impressive mango and osmanthus flavors, and wasn't overly sweet even with perfect sweetness and less ice. The black tea with cream was silky smooth and as sweet as you want it to be, and leaves a distinct aftertaste, characteristic of well, black tea. (Note: This is also the base milk tea that the store uses for their bubble milk tea. This is just the version without the pearls!)All in all, Chicha San Chen's mastery in teas and blends is undeniable. To me, the price is worth the quality and experience you get. The team of baristas are accommodating, lovely, and humble, and the modern style interior is incredible with many tables for customers from all walks of life. Not only do they offer free samples of their beverages, but they even offer tea tastings for hardcore tea fans, and boxes of their special Lishan Oolong Tea Leaves to be bought separately. Color me impressed, 'cause nobody's doing it like Chicha San Chen!

Visit Details:Date and Time: 02/16/25 Mid AfternoonWait Time in Line: 5 MinsWait Time after Order: 20 MinsCapacity: Standing Room OnlyCrowd: Mainly College StudentsI'm so glad that the newest branch of Chicha San Chen has now opened up in Berkeley! Although not necessarily closer to me than the Cupertino location, the fact that there is another shop to spread out the crowds will hopefully make the wait more manageable for would be patrons.I never took the opportunity to visit the Cupertino store because I'm not too patient when it comes to queueing in line. However, when I saw the post about this Berkeley shop setting up, to quote the great Beavis and Butthead... "We're THERE, dude!"Soft opening weekend, lines were not bad at all! However, you and I both know that being right at the UC campus, this place will soon be PACKED once the word gets out!Great ambiance, friendly service, and oh, before I forget to mention... amazing drinks to boot! Every drink is made fresh to order, and you can see them prepare it in front of your very eyes. Their level of meticulousness and pride in their work takes me back to the streets of Taiwan.I highly recommend adding taro balls as a topping to any drink. This isn't offered at many places, and I definitely prefer it over the "smash" or "tornado" style taro elsewhere.Due to the high amount of foot traffic, Chicha San Chen isn't necessarily the best spot for laptop camping, but it's certainly doable if you don't mind prying eyes hovering over you. Just be careful what type of content you are consuming! Fortunately, this might also prevent customers from sitting for hours on end, hogging up precious tablespace.For now, since it is still "soft opening," take advantage of it while you can before the line stretches around the campus!

The store was packed during the soft opening. College students everywhere inside doing work. I don't this there was a place to stand. While we waited less than a minute to order at the iPads, the drink took almost 15 minutes to arrive. We were told it's because the drink making is automated by a machine to ensure the same quality drink each time but that's still quite long to wait for boba. Luckily, while waiting in line we were offered the chance to do the tea tasting. The tea tasting took about 25 minutes and we got to taste one tea at one roast level. The tea had five roast levels ranging from light (most caffeine) to dark (least caffeine). The barista was knowledge and a good guide. The tea was good but not out of this world. The boba was good but I would say on par with some of the other boba shops in the area.

Came on the third day of soft opening and it seems like the staff has got the system down! The place is well-organized and well-staffed. The staff are hustling while brewing fresh teas and cleaning the place. I avoided the line (not that there was a long one when I went around 2pm) and ordered on snackpass. There is a tv display that shows the live snackpass orders and which orders are ready. This was quite nice since they were running a couple minutes behind and customers don't have to keep bothering the staff on whether their order is ready. Overall, it was a well-organized system.This drink was quite expensive. It might be the most expensive boba I've ordered. The size of the drink isn't as large as some of the nearby popular boba shops either. I got the classic bubble milk tea (black tea) with light sweetness. This was the perfect amount of sweetness for me. I'm usually a 30-50% sugar person. The boba was warm, chewy, and sweetened which added sugar to the drink. The quality of both tea and boba is top-tier and worth the occasional splurge in my opinion. I usually don't like boba itself, but would get boba here!

After church, we made a trip to this 3 star Michelin Boba shop! The initial challenge was parking!!! It was on the corner of Dana and Channing! That was our former stomping grounds when we use to attend First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley. Getting to Dana and Bancroft, we circled around for about about 20 minutes until we found parking and then walked down to the shop. Chicha San Chen was pretty spacious and busy!! The shop clerks were friendly and we ordered our drinks on one of three computerized ordering stations! As we waited in line, a woman gave us samples of a drink called Black Milk Tea with Cream and the options was limited to one addition. I chose coconut jelly with no sugar or ice and my partner had his Black Milk Tea with Cream with boba. His option was called The Perfect ( supposedly just the right amount of sugar and ice). As we waited we noticed the shop had a tea tasting area which required reservations if you wanted to try some of their tea blends made with their speciality tea leaves . It appeared to be pretty popular. The tea leaves were hand picked and people trying the teas looked pretty happy. So once you order the shop had a sign with the order numbers. and a text was sent to your phone to let you know when your drink was ready. Each drink took about 15 minutes. So would we go back? Probably not, but if we happened to be in the area and found a parking space close by, we would. It was worth the trip from Contra Costa County to Alameda County at least once . I hope the owners of Chicha San Chen would consider opening a shop in Central Contra Costa County. Their drinks are different enough to make people switch their allegiance to Chicha. If I was a Cal student , not dependent on cars and having to find parking , I'd be there every week. As long as Chicha San Chen keeps up the quality of their drinks, they will hold a place in the hearts of boba connoisseurs!

I came on grand opening day! The line was long! I waited 1 hour in line to order and 1 hour for the drinks! Sadly, they ran out of the pin I wanted but both pins are super cute!I got the Mango Osmanthus Oolong Tea with coconut jelly and mango, and also the Dong Ding Oolong Milk Tea with boba. Both were delicious but I love the Mango Osmanthus Oolong Tea more because it tasted refreshing!I love the little cup holder they give with the drink! It makes it easy to carry! The drinks are a little pricey but they're definitely worth a try!

Soft opening review (2/15-2/21@ 12-6pm)! So excited Chicha San Chen finally opened in North Bay and no longer just in Cupertino. I got here at 3pm and was surprised to see the line so short. It took about 10 minutes to order at the kiosk and 30 minutes for my drinks (iykyk the Cupertino one was a few hours wait when it opened). This location is just across from campus so I anticipate it to be very popular. This is hands down my favorite boba spot. I love the quality of tea and the boba here is just unmatched, it is the perfect QQ-ness. My go to order here is the Dong Ding Oolong Milk Tea (with cream). It is perfectly sweetened, creamy, with smooth roasted oolong. However, prices here are a bit on the pricer side at around $7-8 a drink (+$1 for toppings). The tea here earned several iTi Crystal Taste Awards, which are comparable to Michelin stars. They also offer the tea tastings here, but you'll need to grab a time slot in advance. Overall, I love this place. The service is great, and you're getting freshly brewed made-to-order tea. Since each drink is made fresh to order, be prepared for a bit of a wait!

I visited Chicha San Chen during their soft opening. The place is very well organized and workers are super helpful and nice! Some of the employees were giving out free samples and doing tea tasting. One employee, Chelsea, was especially helpful! She was super kind and answered all of my questions. After placing our order, we waited about 25 minutes to get our drinks. I paid close to $20 for 2 drinks + tip. The drinks are fairly overpriced and they were a bit disappointing. The Dong Ding Oolong Tea (2.5/5) had an interesting flavour and it wasn't sweet or milktea-like. The Cassia Black Tea (3.5/5) was okay, but I've definitely had better boba nearby for a fraction of the price.