If you are looking for a place to study, a yummy treat, or a nice bonding experience, boba is the answer. With the rise in popularity of Asian foods and drinks, a chronic boba addiction has swept the younger generation. Here at Enloe, this phenomenon is no different. Diving into the boba world may be daunting at first, but after a few exemplary drinks, you’ll soon understand the craze. Therefore, we—two expert boba connoisseurs—are here to help guide you through your first sips. Disclaimer: Our overall ratings and sugar levels are subjective, so if you consistently find our recommendations to be too sweet or too bland, adjust accordingly. All star ratings are out of five, and all photos are taken from Yelp reviews.

Before diving into our reviews, it’s important to understand our boba lingo. Boba can mean both the drink itself and the topping. Boba—the drink—is sometimes called bubble tea or tapioca milk tea, which are all completely interchangeable terms. Bubble tea typically consists of tea paired with chewy tapioca balls, sometimes referred to as tapioca pearls, but more commonly known as boba—the topping. Boba teas then fall under either milk tea or non-milk tea, which include fruit teas, sparkling teas, and slushes.

MÖGE TEE

RALEIGH

A 10 minute drive from Enloe High School that is easily accessible with speedy service and delicious, flavorful, bubble tea drinks.

Address: 2304 Hillsborough St #100

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Möge Tee is a well-known boba sanctuary nestled in the streets of NC State’s campus.  A well-rounded sipping spot, this tea house has good both fruit and milk teas to cater to all boba drinkers. Be wary, however, of getting 100% sweetness if you don’t like things on the sweeter side. For context, we both prefer our teas to be less sweet and have a more pronounced tea flavor. Möge Tee was established in mainland China and has now expanded to North America, Australia, and Southeast Asia, growing its presence in the United States since 2018. 

Price: $$

Accessibility: 8/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Boba Quality: 8/10

Boba Options: 7/10

Our Orders:

Red Bean Milk Tea with Coffee Jelly, 50% Sweetness

Super Fruit Black Tea

Black Ivory Cafe

RALEIGH

A lovely and inviting café (and art gallery!) that is an unknown oasis with a great atmosphere, good boba, and easy service that doesn’t require social interaction. 

Address: 3080 Wake Forest Rd

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Located on Wake Forest Road in a highly frequented shopping center, Black Ivory Café is a great place for Enloe students to visit. Not only do you get to experience calm music and good tea, but the owner is a talented charcoal artist who displays his work in the café. Although the boba itself may not be anything special, the food is insanely delicious and the atmosphere makes it worthwhile. Mr. Charles Tirada opened this beautiful café and now runs it with only three employees, who are passionate coffee and tea lovers with inspiring stories. This is a good place to stop if you’re going somewhere to study, before grocery shopping, or after hitting up Jerry’s Artarama. You can learn more about Black Ivory Café’s backstory and its owner from this WRAL interview.

Price: $$

Accessibility: 8/10

Atmosphere: 9/10

Boba Quality: 7/10

Boba Options: 6/10

Food: 8/10

Our Orders:

(Hot) Mocha Latte

(Hot) Matcha Latte

Chicken Katsu Croissant

Brown Sugar Milk Tea with Brown Sugar Boba, 75% Sweetness

Passion Fruit & Lychee Fruit Green Tea with Brown Sugar Boba or Passion Fruit Popping Boba

Boba Baba

CARY

A popular tea house with authentic teas steeped with love, but an atmosphere similar to an Apple store?

Address: 12102 Bradford Green Square

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Starting up in 2019, Boba Baba has seen a meteoric rise in popularity and has consistently stayed relevant despite challenges like the pandemic. There are many parts that make Boba Baba stand out; however, by far the best is the flavor of its drinks, both tea-based and not, resulting from the use of high-quality ingredients. Boba Baba’s drinks have noticeable tea flavors that balance well with the sweetness and/or milk, and neither overpower each other. A drawback of Boba Baba that prevents it from being five stars is its atmosphere. While it is by no means horrible, the white walls and similarly colorless decorations give a somewhat unsettling vibe that reminds you of the Apple Store.

Price: $$

Accessibility: 7/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Boba Quality: 10/10

Boba Options: 3/10

Food: 5/10

Our Orders: 

Hojicha Milk Tea, 75% Sweetness with Grass Jelly (Not to be confused with the latte)

Cherry Blossom Sencha

BrecoTea

CARY

Good enough boba, paired well with a wide assortment of exemplary pastries. While the drinks aren’t outstanding, they get the job done, especially as a compliment to the yummy selection of baked goods.

Address: 1144 Kildaire Farm Rd

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

A tea house that proudly advertises being a delightful fusion of traditional Asian and contemporary Western baked goods, BrecoTea offers pastries, breads, and cakes with both savory and sweet flavors. BrecoTea’s drink selection includes milk teas, fruit teas, yogurt teas, paradise teas, milkshakes, milk cap teas, coffee, and sparkling tea (the cardinal sin of boba). According to BrecoTea itself, their specialty teas include brulee milk tea and boba taro matcha latte. Lastly, if you have any big events coming up like graduation parties, reunions, or birthday parties, BrecoTea allows you to book events in their sunroom.

Price: $$$

Accessibility: 7/10

Atmosphere: 8/10

Boba Quality: 5/10

Food: 10/10

Boba Options: 6/10

Our Orders:

Pineapple Bun

Orchard Milk Tea, 75% Sugar

Budacai

RALEIGH 

Boba shop in downtown Raleigh that serves food and tea, providing board games, large seating options, and a foosball table.

Address: 120 E Martin St

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Budacai is a small tea house where you will almost always run into your Enloe friends and enemies (and an abundance of annoying middle schoolers). Budacai provides high-quality food to pair with your mid-tasting boba. We highly recommend the delicious Bánh Mi Vietnamese sandwiches, Togarashi fries, or Popcorn Chicken, always with an extra order of White Sauce (the magical part of every Budacai meal). A downside of this nearby tea house is the price. Budacai has one of the most expensive menus in Raleigh, with each “medium” drink costing $4.50 – $5.00 and another $0.75 for any topping. This so-called “medium” is, in our opinion, a very small medium.

Price: $$$$

Accessibility: 8/10

Atmosphere: 5/10

Boba Quality: 5/10

Boba Options: 7/10

Food: 8/10

Our Orders:

Thai Milk Tea with Tapioca Boba 

Pulled Chicken Bánh Mi

Strawberry Green Tea with Strawberry Popping Boba

Popcorn Chicken

Tagoshi Fries and White Sauce

BapuTeaHouse

RALEIGH

Very tiny tea house in the center of Crabtree Valley Mall that is uninviting and awkwardly cramped, and frankly, the boba pearls and tea quality is a disgrace to boba. This boba experience is memorable, but sadly, for all the wrong reasons.

Address: Crabtree Valley Mall (Across From Apple Store), 4325 Glenwood Ave

Rating: ⭐

There are two chairs available to sit in, boba and milk tea that leave your stomach hurting, and hygiene that is appalling. Ex-employee Lia Nyguen attests to “going home every day wanting to throw up” due to the poor hygiene and unsettling quality of the tea. Not only is the tea bad, but it is too sweet and lacks the option of lowering the sugar level. There is also always a long line and a very small number of employees for the large number of customers. Luckily, if you are looking for a tea house that sells smoothies, this is the place for you! 

Price: $$

Accessibility: 8/10

Atmosphere: 0/10

Boba Quality: 0/10

Boba Options: 3/10

Our Orders:

Brown Sugar Milk Tea with Brown Sugar Boba

Last Thoughts

We hope you found this article helpful in your search for good boba. It’s important to expand your palate and try new things, and you might just find your new favorite tea house. We believe some of these shops are truly deserving of popularity and success, so please give them a visit!