On Wednesday August 23, I visited a boba cafe called Gong Cha boba. Gong Cha was founded in 2006 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Its name means “tribute tea for the emperor”. This boba cafe prides themselves on having freshly-brewed tea and newly-prepared boba. Their tea is sourced from the finest tea estates in Taiwan, with strict quality controls on all ingredients. They also make sure to always treat their customers kindly.
When I walked in I instantly felt welcomed as I was kindly greeted by the staff. The moment I stepped in the cafe I was pleasantly surprised by the sweet smell. I experienced this kindness when I visited the boba shop. The worker was very accommodating and helped me figure out what drink I should get by asking what flavors I like then suggesting the most popular drinks. They explained to me the plethora of flavors, bobas, the percentage of sweetness I could add, etc. This was very helpful because then I was able to choose the option that I most wanted instead of just getting drinks that others liked. I ended up getting a large QQ passionfruit green tea with
50% of the regular sweetness level and 50% the regular amount of ice. This drink cost me $6.75, which is neither more nor less expensive than other boba or specialty drink shops I have researched and visited in the past. The drink itself was very flavorful and delicious. There were light notes of passion fruit flavor, but the most prominent flavor was the green tea flavor. It came with boba pearls and coconut jelly, both of which were very enjoyable, as the texture, which was the perfect amount of chewy, and flavors paired well with the tea. The coconut jelly was my favorite of these toppings, as it was very sweet and combined well with the other flavors of the drink. The green tea was slightly sweet but not enough to overpower the flavors of the boba and jelly. I personally wish I had gotten a higher level of sweetness, as I would have liked a sweeter drink. Overall I give this drink a 9/10. I would also give the shop itself a 10/10 as the workers were very kind and helpful. I would definitely recommend Gong Cha to anyone who loves boba or tea as the experience was incredible.
