Black Sugar

I would dock a star for no parking, but that isn't Black Sugar's fault. This has been my absolute favourite boba stop in sf since high school, but insanely difficult to find parking nearby. My pro tip is to bring along someone else with you and make them run in while you look out vigilantly for a cop! Service is very quick and just a single counter inside--much easier to grab and go than attempt to sit at one of 3-4 bar seats. The tea itself is fragrant and fresh, the real strawberry and lychee make the whole difference, and the boba is always fresh and chewy. I'd be here literally every day if it was just a fraction easier to get there.

I don't know if the owners changed or what but I'm pretty sure I paid extra for dairy-free milk last week. I got a taro slush with boba and I would not recommend it. It was grainy and not that flavorful compared to the regular taro with milk or non-dairy milk, ice, and boba.Stick with the regular taro drink. The black sugar milk with boba in my opinion is still their best drink. The black sesame drink is good too. I don't drink caffeine often, but I heard their milk tea is good. Not sure this place is my absolute fav in the city anymore as the boba texture has changed. They used to have the nicest, bounciest boba that was still cooked all the way through. Now it's just super soft like everywhere else. I always get iced or blended drinks, so if you wait a good 5-10 minutes then the boba will firm up. Back in the day, the boba was awesome immediately upon serving. There used to be more of a wait as they must have made boba in smaller batches. Our drinks were quickly served last week, but the dark dark "black" sugar flavor in the black sugar milk is not as apparent, and the boba is still good but not as great as it once was.

this is my favorite boba place of all time and i live in socal lol. i first tried this place when i went to school in the bay and for the longest time, they've been CLOSED for remodeling or something. so once i planned a trip back to the bay, i knew this was THE SPOT i had to go to for my boba fix.it's a pretty small boba place on a busy-ish street next to a parking garage but that's okay because i didn't come to sit around haha. so definitely not a study spot. they have an ordering kiosk that you can scroll through and make any adjustments you want, it's very self explanatory and they have a wide variety of drinks to choose from, including milk teas, matcha lattes, fruit teas, coffees, and slushies. they even had this watermelon green tea that i wanted to try but they unfortunately didn't have any (i guess it's a seasonal item)i decided on getting their strawberry lychee fruit tea with aloe vera at 50% ice and 0% sugar, while my bf got a roasted oolong milk tea with fresh milk, reg sweetness/ice, and boba. both drinks were so good! the strawberry lychee tea was a bit sweet for my liking, despite requesting 0% sugar, but you can definitely tell they use fresh fruit puree, which i like. their aloe vera was also really good here, with some of them being a bit crunchy/firm! my bf also thoroughly enjoyed his milk tea, saying how the roasted oolong flavor was very pronounced and it was neither too milky nor too tea-y. their boba is also perfect every time. would highly recommend both of these popular drinks!!anyways. i liked this place so much i came back again the next day lol. this time we got a pear fruit tea with aloe vera at 50% ice 0% sugar and thai tea with boba, reg sweetness/ice. this time my drink was PERFEFT. the tea flavor really shined more in this drink and the pear added a nice refreshing sweetness that balanced the tea well. i wish more places made pear tea! my bf's thai tea was already really good here, although it was a bit too sweet so i would recommend adjusting the sugar on this one. but it's very good thai tea and the boba was perfect again, so they make it really consistent here.overall 10/10 would come back when im in the area. i will continue to dream of this place until i can return.

This is a small boba shop, or as they call themselves "boba bar" that's located next to the Mason O'Farrell Garage and across from the Hilton Union Square. It's definitely more of a to-go spot because there are only 2 stools inside. Limited human interaction since you order on the kiosk.I was debating between a couple fruit teas, but I ended up choosing the Pear Green Tea ($5.25 + 6% Healthy SF Mandate) at 0% Sweet and No Ice. I added boba for an extra $0.75.+Strong green tea flavor+Boba was perfectly chewy and tasted caramelized+Cup & straw were durable-Pear flavor was hard to detect, and it gave the drink a sandy texture.*Verdict: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.I enjoyed the boba and tea, and wouldn't mind returning to try another drink if I was in the area.

Tried the strawberry lychee tea with boba at 50% sweet and I was surprised how good it was! I usually don't go for a fruit tea as it can be too sweet but this was perfect. The strawberry tasted really fresh and the boba was really good! Perfectly chewy and bouncy with a subtle sweetness, the boba really made it special. Next time I'll probably opt for the milk tea to pair with the boba but this definitely makes me want to come back.

I stopped by again while I was in the area and decided to try the house fruit tea- passion fruit oolong tea with pineapple compote- 50% sweetness and less ice, and the mango matcha latte, 50% sweetness and less ice.The house fruit tea was very sweet and contained watermelon. Unfortunately, the environmentally friendly paper straw was too weak and broke on the fruit so we had to figure out how to eat the rest of it without utensils.As for the mango matcha latte, it was pretty good too but I wish it had been a large quantity.Both drinks came in paper cups. Unlike most boba places I've been to, they have opaque cups so you can only see the color of the drink if you take off the lid.

I love boba and this is one of my favorite spots in SF! So much so that I will willingly walk through the Tenderloin to get over there. My favorite drink here (and the only one I've tried) is the Black Sugar Boba Milk Tea. It may seem obvious given the name of the store, but this drink is amazing! It's sweet, sugary deliciousness. I also thought the price was reasonable - this was one of my cheaper boba runs in SF (at $6.30) and it included the boba pearls. One thing to note is that this is more of a pick-up spot rather than a place to sit down and hang out. Though they have a small seating area (2 chairs and a counter), I got the vibe that most people order to-go. I hope to try more drinks off the menu soon - although realistically I will probably get the Black Sugar Milk Tea again because it's so yummy!

Who knew matcha and mango would go well together? Black Sugar sure did! We had them cater a work conference for a lil snackie treat and it was the energy boost we all needed in the middle of our day. They had a lot of different flavors to choose from but of course I had to get a matcha. Deriving away from my usual, I got the mango matcha and was pleasantly surprised. I've heard of strawberry matcha before but mango matcha might be the combo I never knew I needed. The right amount of sweetness and had a great flavor profile. I'd love to visit their actual location the next time I'm in SF!

As a non-city girl who HATES parallel parking, I would do it any day for this drink! Right behind Union square is this cute little boba store (across from the Hilton). There's not much seating inside so a grab and go is usually recommended but I think it's definitely worth it.Serves delicious authentic black sesame milk with black sesame paste with the chewiest boba. It's definitely a drink I always go to! Service is fast and there's an iPad at the front to order from! My drink is always consistently delicious.

Stopped by Black Sugar on the way back from lunch. It was delicious looking and highly rated on their Yelp page. It's a small shop where you order from a kiosk. My order of Black Sugar Milk Tea with Boba (classic) came out quick and was the perfect level of sweetness and ice. No notes. Not a great place to sit and hang out, so come here to grab your MT and go!