Where to Get the Best Boba in Los Angeles

Named for the chewy tapioca ‘boba’ balls included in the drink, boba tea is an iconic Taiwanese beverage that has gained global popularity thanks to its spread through the East Asian diaspora population. It is typically served cold and comes with milk, creamer, and an assortment of various unique flavors. Since it’s usually served cold, boba tea quickly became a hit in sunny L.A. There are plenty of trendy Boba establishments to choose from. These quality boba tea shops are some of the best-hidden gems of Los Angeles. Let’s take a gander at the L.A. bubble tea scene and find the best Boba in Los Angeles.   

MILK+T

310 E 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90012

Boba places in Los Angeles come in many flavors and sizes, but Milk+T stands apart because it takes Los Angeles boba to a premium art form. Nestled away in up-and-coming Little Tokyo, Milk+T has made it their mission to offer the best customizable boba tea the city of angels offers. Drinks start at $5 and include the highest quality top-shelf ingredients and delectable add-ons like coffee ice cream, brown sugar black milk tea, and “The Boyfriend,” a cookies and cream-infused green milk tea.  Milk+T is one of the pricier options on this list, but as they say, you get what you pay for, and Milk+T’s experienced baristas craft some of the best boba teas you’ll ever have in the City of Angels. 

Percolate 

11419 Santa Monica Boulevard #111, Los Angeles, CA 90025

Arguably the most instagrammable boba place in Los Angeles, Percolate stands apart for its very photogenic boba tea offerings. Coming here for boba and Insta is one of the top fun things to do in the city of Angels. The drinks are as tasty as they look to as Percolate thanks to their great range of high-quality ingredients, including pure vanilla, creamy oat milk, the purest raw cane sugar, and exotic spices such as cardamom. We recommend trying their Blue Mango drink, a gorgeous drink infused with mango fruit puree and lemongrass. It will look great on your Insta reel and is a divine treat for a hot Los Angeles day. 

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge 

3851 Main Street, Culver City, CA 90232

Located in an upscale part of downtown Culver City just off Venice Boulevard, Latea Bubble Tea Lounge has fast become a Los Angeles boba mainstay. It’s not unusual for the lines at this joint to scratch out the door and down the street, so we recommend coming early to Latea Bubble Tea Lounge for your boba tea fix. What makes this one of the best boba shops in Los Angeles is that the boba is made fresh in-house. This means those chewy bubbles are always fresh and just right, making for the perfect boba tea experience. Latea is also quite generous with its quality sweet tea flavors, so a beverage from this establishment counts as a tasty treat and a dessert all in one.  

Jin Tea Shop  

18 W Green Street #2008, Pasadena, CA 91105 

For a truly authentic boba place in Los Angeles, look no further than this small trendy spot in Pasadena just north of downtown LA. Jin Tea Shop’s specialty is organic oolong milk tea. Jin Tea is committed to using only the most organic specialty teas and also uses organic milk, including non-dairy. If you want to treat yourself to something sinfully sweet, Jin Tea has got you covered with delectable brown sugar pearls, tofu pudding, and other gloriously sweet additions to your favorite Taiwanese tea beverage. Boba in Los Angeles just got even better with this iconic venue. 

One Zo 

500 N Atlantic Boulevard #168, Monterey Park, CA 91754

One Zo is a Taiwanese chain that has set up shop on the American West Coast. It is notable for its excellent bubble tea products and also because it is the first franchise to make its boba tea in-house. Boba tea is made fresh multiple times daily at One Zo’s various locations throughout SoCal, including their flagship branch in Monterey Park. One Zo is a great place to go if you’re into boba tea, but you want to try something new. One Zo branches out by trying new blends of taro root, purple yam, honey, and brown sugar to create some of the best boba in Los Angeles.  

Cha Redefine 

20 East Union Street #110, Pasadena, CA, 91103

True to their name, Cha Redefine creates boba tea combinations you won’t find at any Los Angeles establishment. Using the finest local ingredients, Cha Redefine has created several ground-breaking new flavors combining Sri Lankan black tea, fresh milk, honey-roasted pecans, and the freshest brown sugar boba for a refreshing drink won’t soon forget. 

Cha Redefine also likes experimenting with other drinks and has interesting takes on cafe classics, such as a cappuccino made with tea instead of coffee. If you’d prefer a dairy-free beverage, worry not, as Cha Redefine’s got you covered with a range of eclectic avocado foam drinks. Everyone gets to try something new at Cha Redefine, and they’ll get to enjoy tea imported straight from Asia blissfully wed to the organic milk and fruit from the Golden State’s rich farmlands.  

Chai Bei Bei 

730 S Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia, CA 91016

Founded by boba entrepreneur Tonie Huang, Chai Bei Bei’s specialty is bringing out their tea's multi-faceted natural flavors so that the drink tastes fresh no matter what. Their secret to doing this is by keeping things simple and not going overboard with many different sweeteners and flavors. 

By just sticking to a few essential components, Chai Bei Bei has mastered the perfect balance for bubble tea that’s just the right amount of sweetness so that all the flavors come out. Their bestseller is their Housemilk Tea, a Chai Bei Bei classic that combines organic tea leaves, a touch of cream, a dash of maple syrup, some organic milk, and a frozen milk tea cube for a simple yet amazing bubble tea experience. 

Half and Half Good Old Time 

704 W Las Tunas Drive, San Gabriel, CA 91776

Half and Half is a chain of boba places famous for offering some of the best boba in Los Angeles. They have many different boba places in Los Angeles County, but our top pick for the Half and Half chain is their ‘Good Old Time’ location in San Gabriel. This casual cafe recreates a typical old-school cafe you might see on the streets of Taipei. 

Truthfully, this boba place in Los Angeles is all about old-school, and you won’t find super colorful instagrammable drinks here. Instead, Good Old Time is all about what bubble tea used to be. Enjoy boba tea classics such as honey boba with crushed ice and wax nostalgic about simpler times. Almost every item on the menu here is under $5, so even the prices harken back to the good old days. 

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