Heytea

One of the most famous boba chains in China, HeyTea has finally come to Berkeley! Though I wouldn't necessarily call myself The Biggest Boba Fan, the drinks at HeyTea are so delicious, I might consider myself a new boba believer :)HeyTea is recognized for its premium fruit teas, and unbeknownst to me until several of my friends who call China home told me, is credited for popularizing cheese foam. In my opinion, what really sets HeyTea apart from their many boba competitors in Berkeley is their (1) excellent quality teas and fruits, and (2) highly customizable drink options, ultimately offering customers an elevated customized boba experience.Drinks:- Reasonably priced compared to competitors in the area. Of course, everything in the Bay Area is expensive, but I think HeyTea is fair, considering they don't charge for certain modifications (e.g. extra match powder, sub sugar-free sweetener, etc.) vs. Teaspoon two blocks away which charges at least ~$0.50-$1+ more for analogous drinks- Love the variety of options! Your choice of Matcha, Fruit Teas, Milk Teas, Leaf Teas. They have unique twists on classics, like Coco Water Matcha, Matcha and Jasmine, and Grape/Mulberry/Bayberry fruit teas- Don't seem to skimp on the fruit. I ordered a Mulberry Strawberry Boom and every sip had pulverized Mulberries.- Love that they even offer sugar-free sweetener subs, which I've never seen another boba place haveOrdering: - They do offer in-app ordering, but because the store gets so busy with in-person orders, it's common for in-app-order-ahead to be paused so they can prioritize in-person orders- Lots of customizability in the appService:- Employees are friendly! I appreciate that the checkout staff repeated my order back to me to make sure they got everything correct- Lines and wait times are definitely getting shorter compared to opening week. I waited approx. 10 minutes for my drink which was reasonable considering there were about 5 people ahead of me in lineInterior:- Very narrow storefront with limited seating- Can get crowded and loud when there is a line of people waiting to order- Beautiful interior; very clean and modernI was initially very skeptical of HeyTea and couldn't believe why anybody would wait in line in the rain for hours, as many people did during its opening week, but now I understand the hype!

The drinks are great, but this low rating is only about the training that the employees that give out the drinks need.I came twice, once on opening day, and on a quiet day when they just opened shop. Opening day service was terrible. The employees were extremely disorganized and couldn't find the drinks. They also didn't manage the pickup queue properly. They shouted some numbers in Mandarin Chinese, but not in English. Even after shouting my number, it took them maybe 15 minutes standing right in front of them with my number to even get to me.Most recently, even though there weren't that many customers, they still were bad at it! I notice that they use a scanning machine to let customers know on the screen when their drinks are ready. My order came up on the screen and when I asked them, they said it wasn't ready yet.... then a half a minute later, finally spotted that it was ready.

They really make premium and delicious milk tea! Excited to go back and try other flavors.If only they had a stamp card or rewards program, I'd go more often.Try their limited Blue Coconut Spurina flavor!

Tried a super solid mango sago drink. Definitely worth a try and tastes better than other places with more of an artificial flavoring. Overall, quick service and great quality.

I went for the grand opening and had to wait in the rain for almost 1 hour. Granted I don't think this will be your experience since there was a BOGO grand opening special. The inside of the store is simple and clean with some seating to enjoy the boba. Once we ordered the boba came quick! We got the cloud grape and coconut mango boom with boba. I will say it seemed they skimped on the boba but that might be a grand opening thing. The boba was an extra dollar which is expensive but on par with the area. The drink itself was super fresh and tasty. It had actual mango/coconut and grape chunks and both drinks were blended. I need to return outside of grand opening to see how service and the drink compares but for now I would say it was very good and probably my favorite in the area.

Finally a Heytea opened in Berkeley!! I'm so excited to finally have one in east bay after trying the other locations in Sunnyvale and Rowland Heights.[Warning] Opening weekend is not for the weak! Be prepared to wait in line with everyone else excited for the bogo deal. If you're patient, it's super worth it considering how pricey these drinks are. We arrived at 10:40am for the 11am grand opening, and were #104 in line. There's a limited number of bogo flyers per day so be sure to get there early. We waited for 3 hours in the rain and were finally in the door to order at 2pm. lmaooooThe staff control the flow of orders super well, and we actually got our drinks within 5-10 minutes of ordering. I definitely prefer this for promo events because the inside feels less crowded and it's a lot more satisfying to receive my order quickly. I got the Supreme Matcha Latte and Cloud Crisp Grape. I would definitely recommend all of the fruit teas (lactose intolerant girlies, this one is for u). And their grape tea is sooo good! Bonus: Snap a pic and tag @heytea.usa on Instagram to get a free limited edition SF Heytea magnet!

Heytea is a small cafe located in Downtown Berkeley. They have minimal seating and the tables are very tiny. The workers were helpful and the drinks came out very quickly despite being busy. I tried the Supreme Matcha Latte, which I assumed was their classic matcha, and it was amazing! It was one of the best matcha lattes I've ever tried. The drinks are a little expensive, my total was almost $9 for one drink + tip, but it was definitely worth it.

Hey tea has an amazing interior. They had lots of seating both for people to sit down and chat, as well as just waiting for their drink orders. I got the brown sugar milk tea and it was pretty sweet, but pretty good if you like a milky tea. I highly recommended lower the percentage of sugar.My other friend got the mango sago, which was pretty refreshing and the chunks were very good.My other friend got a grape drink and it tasted like a grape candy.

Cal students rejoice! From a humble beginning in China to world renowned boba shop, HeyTea is one of the most famous boba brands. It's been in NY and LA and now it's finally here! The first two Bay locations are San Jose and Daly City. Sunnyvale followed and now Berkeley! Cupertino, Milpitas and others are also coming.The focus is on providing an elevated tea experience with signature premium teas and fresh fruits. HeyTea popularized cheese tea which is now a staple at many bubble tea stores.HeyTea is a must visit for any bubble tea enjoyer. Yes, the lines are long. Yes, the prices can be high. But what you get in return is deliciousness in a cup. If you have patience, maybe wait a few weeks for things to settle. Maybe I'm going crazy or perhaps I'm romanticizing a bit, but I do feel as the quality is not the same as it was years ago. Having tried HeyTea on multiple continents (Asia, Australia, etc.) over the years, either the magic has slightly worn off or perhaps it was inevitable that as they grew, some things would slip through the cracks. That being said, the quality is still top notch but it doesn't seem as unmatched as before when they were alone at the top. The Berkeley location is super tiny with very limited seating but it's still lovely, clean, and modern. Parking downtown can be a challenge. At least the staff is efficient and friendly.Pro tip, try to order on the app in advance when they do decide to finally open it after a few days. Sometimes they close it/stop it when the in person line gets crazy but keep checking. It's literally a time saver.Overall, HeyTea remains one of the top bubble tea chains and the long lines are a testament of the hype.

Not to be dramatic but the coconut mango boom with minimal sugar might actually be my new favorite drink. I was unaware it came with several toppings and it was a fantastic surprise. It has sago and some sort of jelly. This sugar adjustment is the perfect amount of sweetness for me. Excited to go back and try their other mango-based and fruit-based drinks although I might be tempted to re-order this one every time.