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3 New Bubble Tea Shops; SF's Bobasplosion Still Going Strong

By Hoodline

Interested in trying some new places for bubble tea in San Francisco? With plenty of new tea shops to choose from, you won't have to look too hard. Here are the newest spots to keep in mind the next time you're in the mood for boba.

CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice
652 Market St., Financial District

CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice on Market Street is the second San Francisco location of the Taiwanese chain. We also recently reported on the first Northern California outpost of this rapidly expanding boba business, located in Fisherman's Wharf.

On its extensive menu, you'll find everything from a grapefruit tea with Yakult (a popular Korean yogurt drink) to a sago and taro milk tea. (View the full list of options here.)

The new café is still finding its footing, with 3.5 stars out of 20 reviews on Yelp.

"[I] tried the standard green tea without sugar with boba, which is what I always try at any boba tea store for the first time to taste the actual tea flavor," wrote Yelper Fred H. "The quality was unexpectedly awesome. Pearl boba were cooked and served to perfection. Same quality compared with Taiwan's original Coco store!"

Dawn L., who was one of the first Yelpers to review the shop on March 27, noted, "Longer wait was due to the promo deal since it just opened so I'll give that a pass ... Especially because the line might've been long but the drinks were quick to come out after ordering. Pricing is lower than both Asha and Sharetea nearby."

CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice is open from 11 a.m.–8 p.m. daily.

Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea
3251 20th Ave., Stonestown

Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea, a new arrival to the center of the Stonestown Galleria, is a spot to score bubble tea, juice and smoothies. The Taiwan-based chain's second Bay Area location, it offers a signature fruit tea combining pieces of fresh fruit with tea and tapioca pearls — no milk.

On the menu, you'll also find other unique offerings, like the Multi-Floral Honey Juice and the Aiyu Jelly Lemon Pearl green tea, as well as a popular brown sugar pearl black tea latte.

Customers can adjust sweetness and toppings to taste, adding tapioca, fig seed-based aiyu jelly, or grass jelly. (You can view the full menu of the drinks-only spot here.)

Yelp users are still warming up to Yifang, which currently holds 3.5 stars out of 141 reviews on the site.

Yelper Mae W., who reviewed the new tea shop on March 31, wrote of the brown sugar tea latte, "The highlight of the drink for me was the boba pearls. It's smaller than the usual pearls, but it has the right texture and sweetness!"

And Lawrence L. recommended, "Order their signature fruit tea ... and ask for less ice. Go on weekdays to avoid the super long lines."

Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea is open from 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.–6 p.m. on Sunday.

Platform 248
248 Ninth St., SoMa

3 new bubble tea shops show SF's bobasplosion still going strong
Platform 248. | Photo: Dino H./Yelp
Mon. April 8, 2019, 12:23pm
by Hoodline
@Hoodline
Neighborhoods
Citywide
Interested in trying some new places for bubble tea in San Francisco? With plenty of new tea shops to choose from, you won't have to look too hard. Here are the newest spots to keep in mind the next time you're in the mood for boba.

CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice
652 Market St., Financial District

PHOTO: DANIEL S./YELP
CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice on Market Street is the second San Francisco location of the Taiwanese chain. We also recently reported on the first Northern California outpost of this rapidly expanding boba business, located in Fisherman's Wharf.

On its extensive menu, you'll find everything from a grapefruit tea with Yakult (a popular Korean yogurt drink) to a sago and taro milk tea. (View the full list of options here.)

The new café is still finding its footing, with 3.5 stars out of 20 reviews on Yelp.

"[I] tried the standard green tea without sugar with boba, which is what I always try at any boba tea store for the first time to taste the actual tea flavor," wrote Yelper Fred H. "The quality was unexpectedly awesome. Pearl boba were cooked and served to perfection. Same quality compared with Taiwan's original Coco store!"

Dawn L., who was one of the first Yelpers to review the shop on March 27, noted, "Longer wait was due to the promo deal since it just opened so I'll give that a pass ... Especially because the line might've been long but the drinks were quick to come out after ordering. Pricing is lower than both Asha and Sharetea nearby."

CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice is open from 11 a.m.–8 p.m. daily.

Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea
3251 20th Ave., Stonestown

PHOTO: AMINA L./YELP
Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea, a new arrival to the center of the Stonestown Galleria, is a spot to score bubble tea, juice and smoothies. The Taiwan-based chain's second Bay Area location, it offers a signature fruit tea combining pieces of fresh fruit with tea and tapioca pearls — no milk.

On the menu, you'll also find other unique offerings, like the Multi-Floral Honey Juice and the Aiyu Jelly Lemon Pearl green tea, as well as a popular brown sugar pearl black tea latte.

Customers can adjust sweetness and toppings to taste, adding tapioca, fig seed-based aiyu jelly, or grass jelly. (You can view the full menu of the drinks-only spot here.)

Yelp users are still warming up to Yifang, which currently holds 3.5 stars out of 141 reviews on the site.

Yelper Mae W., who reviewed the new tea shop on March 31, wrote of the brown sugar tea latte, "The highlight of the drink for me was the boba pearls. It's smaller than the usual pearls, but it has the right texture and sweetness!"

And Lawrence L. recommended, "Order their signature fruit tea ... and ask for less ice. Go on weekdays to avoid the super long lines."

Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea is open from 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.–6 p.m. on Sunday.

Platform 248
248 Ninth St., SoMa

PHOTO: DINO H./YELP
Platform 248 is a gaming café specializing in bubble tea drinks and hearty Asian snacks. The café has sweetened the deal since our last report: with the purchase of a drink, customers can now check out its modern board games or video games for free. There's also free WiFi.

The signature "dirty" boba drinks add a layer of flavoring like matcha, brown sugar or fresh mango puree to tea, milk and toppings. For a snack, check out the popcorn chicken or a fruit-topped waffle with whipped cream.

Board games for checkout include easy-to-learn favorites like Dixit, as well as in-depth experiences like Terraforming Mars and Twilight Imperium. Video game consoles like the PS4, a Nintendo Switch and a set of VR goggles are also on offer. And groups can rent private karaoke rooms as well.

Yelp users are generally positive about SoMa's newest gaming café, which currently holds four stars out of 95 reviews on the site.

Yelper Sara O. enthused, "This is a great hangout spot to go to for snacks and games! No cover charge. ... There are plenty of seats and tables."

And Nalena S. noted, "The boba is high quality, and they have fun flavors. For food I recommend the popcorn chicken, though late at night the waffles are also super popular."

Platform 248 is open from 3 p.m.–11:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 3 p.m.–12:30 a.m. on Friday, 2 p.m.–12:30 a.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m.–11:30 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Tuesday.)

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