In Seattle, the bubble tea franchise has teenagers wrapped around its finger. Garfield students recommended three of their favorite boba places near the school and The Messenger tried their best-selling drinks. 

Drip Tea
Located a little over a mile away from Garfield in Capitol Hill, Drip Tea is a bubble tea and apparel store all in one. After ordering off a menu full of bubble tea, smoothies, and soft serve, you can browse the small clothing collection, complete with $800 t-shirts and sneakers. The “Monogram” drink was comprised of brown sugar syrup, milk and boba. It had the perfect sweetness level and boba texture, but the drink must be mixed up as the sugar syrup is overpowering when not combined with the milk. Also, shout-out to their compostable paper straws that don’t disintegrate into your drink! Overall, the bubble tea was a 9/10, really delicious! 

Oasis 

Oasis is the most popular bubble tea place in Seattle, and for good reason. The shop is located in the International District (ID), about a mile away from Garfield. The ID is full of bubble tea places, so what makes Oasis the most popular? For starters, the shop is open until 1 am, making it one of the only boba places you can visit at any time. Similar to Drip Tea, Oasis is not just a bubble tea place; there’s also a collection of retro arcade games to play while waiting for your order. Their menu includes teas, slushes, and smoothies, as well as popcorn chicken and waffle fries. The Thai milk tea with boba had great boba texture, and no complaints were had about the drink, although it wasn’t anything special. In terms of Oasis, the bubble tea was an 8/10, simple, but still really good!

Seattle Best Tea 

Also located in the International District, Seattle Best Tea is a Taiwanese family run tea room, specializing in teaching the “Way of Tea” (a set of steps to achieve perfect tea). The atmosphere in Seattle Best Tea is much different than other bubble tea places. as the primary focus is on quality steeped tea rather than boba. The interior has beautiful glass work and art pieces, as well as canisters filled with tea leaves. While the tea room mostly specializes in steeped tea, they also serve bubble tea, smoothies and ice cream. The Oolong milk tea was strongly flavored and had a great balance of sweetness to the bitterness of the tea. The boba could have been sweeter, but the tea itself was perfect. The bubble tea was a 9/10 and the Oolong tea was a 10/10!

So, if you’re craving late night boba, Oasis is the perfect place to go. But if you want a trendy drink and apparel, go to Drip Tea. Or, if quality tea is a desire, go to Seattle Best Tea. All three of these places are great, and definitely worth trying out!