Boba Guys

Was unable to try these guys out. Stopped in four times (driving down two out of the three time solely to try out the alcoholic boba drinks). The restaurant the pop up was in said to keep trying back next week until one day they were no longer. I will have to try out the one in Union Square but all the missed attempts left me slightly bitter. Not bitter enough to walk passed it, but bitter enough not to make the effort to go out of my way.

Decent alcoholic boba and spiked horchata.

Note: This is supposed to be a pop up shop as I read from other reviews and tips.
With the previous fact understood, the following is my experience.
First visit:
post-​it stating, «Boba Guys will be here 9÷12»
2^nd visit (on ⁹⁄₁₂):
Boba guys pop-​up location seems to be almost set up in the rear of a Chinese restaurant, Happy Valley, however, no one is there. Me and my party decide to eat dinner at Happy Valley thinking the boba guys will come shortly to serve us boba… They never come from 745−830pm. What’s sad is the restaurant workers said to check twitter to see where u guys are but there was no info or update for the pop-​up. Atleast put up a notice if you’re coming back in an hour or not even coming at all. Sooo disappointing!
Rating:1
Lack of communication is my main concern. Tried to call both the sf and Berkeley location and both appear to have the same phone number with the same voice answering message. How are you guys going to gain any more followers and/​or customers if they can’t even get into contact with you? Never coming back!!!

Wow I’m sad to say that my experience here was totally unimpressive.
LOCATION
First of all, I was a little put off by the location. It’s actually inside the Happy Valley chinese restaurant in the back corner. After giving confused looks to the lady from the restaurant who tried to take our food order, we were waved to the back. Oh well, just didn’t realize it was a pop-​up shop.
BOBA/​PEARL TEA
Completely disappointing. I had my usual, the jasmine milk tea. My first sip was pure sugar. Ugh. I couldn’t even taste the jasmine tea at all (which is definitely not what is in the other reviews). I was so disappointed. $ 4 for that. If you want the alcoholic version, it’s $ 7 and you have to drink it there.
PHILANTHROPY
The only pro was that they donated a portion of their sales to some Berkeley associations and you get to pick which one.
Not really sure what happened. Maybe they were having an off day?

Soju and boba???
This did not sound appetizing to me at first, but I was still curious to try it. This was in a confusing location as it’s located inside a Chinese restaurant. It seems a bit awkward and there wasn’t that much seating available which sucks if you get the soju milk tea because you have to drink it inside.
I got the Jasmine milk tea with soju and it was quite enjoyable. It tasted very strongly of jasmine, which I liked. The soju was there but quite faint. I think i was just too full to enjoy the whole thing, but I do appreciate them using fresh organic cream milk. The boba also tasted fresh!
My favorite part was the cute jars they came in, which we could not buy yet unfortunately.
But 7 $ for boba, even if it’s alcoholic, is too steep for me and I will probably not get it again.

THIS PLACE IS EXCELLENT AND NEEDS TO ADVERTISE MORE.
Ok, got the jasmine green tea with shoju. Freaking heaven in a cup. I didn’t taste the shoju.
I simply felt it.
A little tingle.
In my ear.
And the warmth on my nose.
The jasmine tea though. Wow, that’s where it’s at. I love my Asha Tea House but this joint’s jasmine tea was SO nice and jasminey. Like not eau de jasmine jasminey but like WOW I HAVE JASMINE IN MY TEA jasminey. So delicious and so totally worth the effort to get down on a Fri-​Sat from 5 – 10. I hope this opens up as a proper shop and also really happy with the crowd size; not too many people so I could sit and enjoy my tea!
I’m coming back for more! Really will! Novel concept, delicious execution.

Two words. Alcoholic Boba.
Sweet honey boba, alcoholic offerings, and cute Mason jugs. That’s what the Boba Guys have dreamt up for their business and I’m certainly a fan. Guess you can call me a Boba Girl. The Boba Guys (literally only two guys) were friendly and patient. They made a mistake on our order, thinking we wanted the non-​alcholic versions, and gave us the correct drinks without charging us the difference! I was super impressed with this level of customer service.
LOCATION: Strangely tucked inside Happy Valley Chinese Restaurant, Boba Guys is essentially a counter in the back. Somewhat sketch, but completely understandable when you consider that they do not have the proper bar license to operate independently.
DRINKS: I’ve had Alcoholic Boba before (Boba 7 & 8 down in LA), so this was definitely not my first rodeo. Boba Guys has a much more limited menu, but doesn’t make it any less delicious. Boba was perfectly chewy and sweet, and all drinks come in cute anteater mason jar.
Non-​Alcoholic Dranks ($ 4): No comment because I didn’t get to try any… yet.
Spiked Jasmine Milk Tea ($ 7): My god this was good. But probably because you can barely detect the alcohol. Perfectly milky and silky, but not too sweet. And only subtle traces of soju if you’re really looking for it. At the end of the day, I guess I felt a HINT of warmness from that undeniable asian glow. Whether it is worth the extra $ 3 is up to you.
Spiked Horchata ($ 7): Too cinnamon-​y for my taste. I love Horchata, but this was not my favorite. Again, the alcohol can barely be detected, which could either be a pro or a con depending on what kind of night you’re looking for.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Only opens Fri & Sat 5 – 10 pm! So there is only a small window of opportunity to get your boba fix! Also, spiked drinks can only be enjoyed in-​house. They can’t have us galavanting in public with alcohol. We’re not in Vegas, people.

So while we were ordering, we were chatting with who I assume was the owner (or one of the owners?) and he made a pretty lofty claim: They make the best boba period. Immediately, I was both impressed with his confidence in the product, but also skeptical that this coffee-​flavored-​soju-​laden-​boba-​drink-​in a mason jar was going to blow my socks off.
Well it blew my shoes away, but my socks are still on. The boba pearls themselves were soft and chewy, and as fresh as can be. The drink had a nice subtle coffee flavor, and we were told the drink was made from the very best ingredients, like Straus Family milk. My only problem was that all the flavors were too subtle. The bf said it’s a bit too watery even though in the super cute mason jar, it looks pretty thick and frothy. I think our drink could’ve used a few more boba pearls too because towards the end, it was just liquid. Overall though, I enjoyed it.
Throughout our whole dissection of the drink, hoards and hoards of Cal students joined the line, and I am SO impressed with the guy making the drinks. Seriously, it’s ONE guy making the drinks. He deserves a raise. Upon leaving, I had a hard time making my way out because 1. there were so many people (and all their friends) in line and 2. it’s in a freaking restaurant!!! The lady working at the restaurant accidentally spilled some food juices on my foot as she was clearing a table. Boba Guys needs to find a new location for their pop-​up shop.

Boba Guys has a pop-​up fridays and saturdays, 5 – 10 in the right rear corner of happy valley restaurant. (just before the restrooms)
menu: coffee, jasmine, horcata milk teas (4), with soju (7)
drink: horchata (4) already premixed
–taste of cinnamon., chewy boba
–natural taste, nothing artificial, not too sweet
4.5 stars
drips:
–got there early @5 to beat the rush
–soju drinks can’t be taken to go, in house drinking only.

Alcoholic Boba?! What a genius idea.
Drink: I had a Spiked Jasmine Milk Tea which was Jasmine Milk Tea with a full shot of soju. I told them that I didn’t want to taste the alcohol and they complied. You can also ask for two shots too if you wanted. The milk tea was very good as well; you can definitely taste that good quality.
Service: The employees are extremely friendly and passionate! Very chill to talk to.

This lil’ pop-​up shop in the back of Happy Valley restaurant has surpassed all the other boba places in berkeley in terms of both quality and taste! Not just because they serve alcoholic boba, but because the milk tea itself is rich yet not too sweet, and the tapioca consistency is spot on. I had heard about this place from a friend who suggested that we go since they’re only open on Friday and Saturday afternoon. Luckily we beat the crowd and had plenty of time to decide on what to get — they all sounded delicious! I settled on the ‘special’ classic milk tea with soju and my friend got the special horchata with sake. Both had great flavor and the alcohol didn’t overpower the drink at all. And they’re served in cute mason jar mugs! Prices can be kinda steep for boba compared to other places nearby ($ 4 for regular/​$ 7 for alcoholic) but since they’re only open 2days a week, might as well splurge for one!

This pop-​up Boba Guys serves both high quality boba milk teas and its alcoholic equivalent! The spiked versions can only be sipped in house (yes, you will get carded) and consist of nigori sake for the spiked horchata and some other liquor (I assumed soju) for the jasmine.
If you can’t find the Boba Guys spot, just head towards the back of the restaurant — you’ll spot the aardvark. Some might complain about the spiked version costing an arm and a leg, but if you think of it as a cocktail (as you should), it’s a steal.
I personally couldn’t taste the alcohol for the life of me, but after having seen them make and mix the drinks… I’ll trust it. It was great and tasty to try, but I realized that I’m better off with a regular BMT.
Thanks for the great and friendly service!

What a cool idea! High quality teas (supposedly, Asha level tea), alcoholic boba (spiked with sake or soju), and non-​alcoholic boba.
My friend and I were strolling down Telegraph around 8:45pm when we noticed a livelier than normal Happy Valley. Curious about the crowds, we peeked inside and saw that Boba Guys set up a sweet little popup shop inside! Woohoo! We decided to stop by after dinner.
Tables of students with cute glass-​handled mason jars with aardvarks on them greeted us as we found our way to the back of Happy Valley. Only two guys (I guess they’re the boba guys! lol) were in charge of making the drinks and taking orders, but they handled the crowds with a smile and relative ease. They ran out of pearls toward the end of the night, but let those in line know in a timely fashion.
I decided to try the house-​brewed horchata milk tea with boba. The consistency of the horchata milk tea was smoother and creamier than most comparable drinks I’ve had in the past, thanks to the use of Straus Family organic milk! I loved the spicy notes of cinnamon mixed with flavor waves of sweet horchata in every sip. The slightly chewy boba matched surprisingly well with the horchata drink, too!
At $ 7, the alcoholic boba is a splurge, so I’m planning to save it for when I really need it later, lol.

I was so excited to hear about this place opening up in Berkeley — it’s actually located inside the Happy Valley restaurant on the corner of Dwight and Telegraph. Such a convenient location! I was a bit apprehensive about how alcohol would work with boba, but the outcome was a pleasant surprise.
The glasses are so cute (mason-​jar-​type glasses with handles on the side), I wanted to take one home. Watching the barista make the spiked jasmine drink was so fun, and you couldn’t taste much of the alcohol in the drink (perfect for me!). The tapioca itself was perfect in terms of chewiness standards, which I’m usually pretty picky about.
Props to the guy working there, because I was eating at Happy Valley with a very rambunctious private party, and he was very nice/​patient, treating everyone with a lot of courtesy. Great customer service all around.
Overall: The novelty of spiked boba tea really works out! I’d recommend this place over other nearby boba places on south side because of the quality of the tapioca balls and the personal feel you get from the barista (you won’t get that at Sweethearts or Sheng Kee), although I’m still a dedicated Asha fan. Of course, you have to consume the alcoholic drinks inside because of open container laws, but that’s expected. Definitely will be coming back in the near future!

For what it is, this Boba guys pop up is an interesting addition to this area of Berkeley, and is currently located inside of Happy Valley restaurant. Their current hours of operation are Friday and Saturday from 5 – 10 pm.
They have two alcoholic boba options at this location, and I was able to try them both on my first visit there because I was curious to see how this drink combination was done. Although their store in SF has more options, this pop up location has two alcoholic boba options, a Jasmine Green Tea and a Horchata option. Each option is a little pricy at around $ 7 for each drink, and since they do contain alcohol, you have to consume them on site.
Jasmine green tea: I found this choice to be a little odd for my liking, and I tried this drink first as it was recommended to me by one of my friends. The tea had a slightly bitter after taste, and I feel that it didn’t blend too well with the alcohol used for this because the taste of the alcohol used was distinguished and noticeable. Although it wasn’t bad, I feel like it didn’t blend the flavors too well, so definitely wouldn’t be my first choice next time I come back.
Horchata: I preferred this drink over the jasmine green tea, and it had a cinnamon flavor, and manages to blend better with the alcohol used than the other tea. I forget which alcohol this drink contained, either soju or sake, but it was pulled off nicely in my opinion. There are only slight tastes of the alcohol, which makes the drink quite pleasant overall. I think this would be my go to option for future visits here unless they bring in more options.
The boba itself is also quite enjoyable, and they manage to cook it so that it’s prepared soft and chewy without hitting the unpleasant extremes of both. It’s definitely better quality boba than many of the other tea locations in the area, and for that I am impressed.
Overall, a pretty unique concept and a cool new addition to this part of the neighborhood. I would like to see improvements in the way they blend their drinks in the future though. Also, friends have told me that certain drinks have tasted differently on certain days, so consistency would also be nice to see. If you wanna try more than one flavor, I recommend coming in with a friend and sharing because portions can be quite large.

Without doubt, this is the best milk tea in Berkeley. I think Asha still wins in the fruit tea + boba area, but the jasmine milk tea I had was outstanding.
This pop-​up shop is located inside the Happy Valley restaurant. Go inside, and toward the back right corner you’ll see a hipster Asian guy behind a counter with the iconic aardvark logo. You have 3 non-​alcoholic options: original milk tea, jasmine, or horchata. You can also sub the milk out for organic soy milk (perfect for those of us who are lactose intolerant). I chose the jasmine with soy milk. At first, I was a bit apprehensive because usually the soy milk leaves a weird aftertaste. This was not the case with Boba Guys! The milk tea was still perfect — not too sweet, not too milky.
At $ 4 a cup, this is a bit on the pricey side. Their boba is so good that I don’t really care though. So do yourself a favor, and run down to Telegraph x Dwight on a Friday or Saturday night.

The insectivorous aardvark, the only extant species in the tubulodentate order, is far odder than Boba Guys’ drinks, as a clade having diverged for 20 megaannum certainly deserves its own tier. Boba Guys et al. (2013) claim the aardvark’s narrow snout and long, sticky tongue evolved to slurp milk tea and snag boba from a prehistoric source yet unidentified. It was only after that source’s extinction that aardvarks repurposed their anatomy for entomophagy (the consumption of insects). And hence the Boba Guys mascot was born. Rumor has it that they’ve initiated efforts to reintroduce boba to aardvarks, along with spiked milk teas.
ANYWAY, I had their spiked jasmine milk tea ($ 7, requires ID and dining in). A handled mason jar is a unique vessel to serve in, a symbol of homemade food. The smoothness and richness is marked (E=0.06), a result of the quality homemade and organic reagents they use and true laboratory experimentation and precision used in design and replication (cf. Methods). The jasmine is neither pungent nor too subtle. The boba is plentiful, mildly sweet, and nicely chewy, not bland nor gelatinous. The ethanol spike underlies, complementing the sweetness of the tea. It is overall an exquisite drink.
My tried to do as the aardvark does, protracting my tongue into the jar. Homo sapiens, it seems, isn’t fit for this task.

NOTE: Alcoholic versions can only be enjoyed in-​house. So sit yoself down with one of their mason mugs and enjoy your drink.
I know you’ve had your misgivings when you heard about this alcohol + boba idea. That had to be something a college student came up with late at night during a kickback, right? Well, considering one of the founders is a Berkeley alum that might not be so far off the mark. But it’s awesome to see that he’s returning to his roots here (you can see the influence in the blue and gold poster as well)!
Anyway, rest assured that it was actually a genius idea. They’ve found the right combinations and ratios of milktea to alcohol in both the Spiked Jasmine and Nigori Horchata drinks, and you get to watch the barista make them right in front of your eager eyes. Taste-​wise, both my friend and I were pleasantly surprised by the mild hint of liquor in our drinks, which bodes well for the less alcohol-​inclined. They use real Straus milk in their drinks as well, so it’s a lot smoother than normal milktea. The Horchata was slightly too cinnamony for me, but I think both are still at if not above Berkeley milktea standards. The boba itself is loaded in generous portions and was cooked to chewy perfection — none of that mushy or chalky crap.
If you compare the spiked drinks to a cocktail, at $ 7 you’re paying about the same price so I think it’s actually reasonable considering alcohol, mixing, and dishwashing costs. Also, it makes the $ 5 min for card. Our barista was super nice and sweet in a dorky kind of way. He kept asking for input, which makes it seem like Boba Guys is genuinely interested in what their customers think. Hopefully that’s the case. Either way, I’ve already got a series of return trips planned… See you here!
Update: came back the next day and tried the Horchata again — they’ve toned down the spice and it’s become a pretty epic drink.

I passed by the flyer at the end of last semester and it piqued my interest.
After returning from break, I decided to drop by. Sadly this was after their Back-​to-​School event, where they gave away free boba. However, I am glad that I decided to drop by.
It was hard to notice since the only indicator (if you do not follow Boba Guys on Facebook or any other form of social media) is a flyer on the window of Happy Valley. The pop up is usually on Fridays and Saturdays but the hours change. It is a small station located in the back of the restaurant with one or two workers, waiting there to greet you.
Two words: Alcoholic boba.
My girlfriend and I got the Jasmine Milk Tea and Nigori Horchata. Both were pretty good! The boba was very soft yet chewy. Significantly better than some of the other locations. The milk tea was not creamy or as milky tasting as other boba locations in the area, giving it a much lighter and fresher taste. The Nigori Horchata was definitely my favorite. The alcohol taste was not very strong and the horchata was alright, but obviously not up to your traditional standards.
My only problem with Boba Guys is that it is on the expensive side compared to other locations, being $ 4 for the Jasmine Milk Tea and $ 7 for the Nigori Horchata.
On the plus side, they donate $ 0.25 to UC Berkeley per drink! Yayyyyy!
I will most likely be coming back here soon but not often since it is pricey.

Coming back for the start of the new semester and seeing so many eateries pop up is always really pleasant. Adding on to that list is Boba Guys, a pop up store located in the back of Happy Valley.
Boba’s always been an important mainstay in Berkeley. Though for the longest time your only options were around Asian Ghetto, the appearance of Sheng Kee, Purple Kow, and many others have increased the options.
Boba Guys is the first offering a bit more south of campus, so it definitely fulfills a niche for those who live in apartments a bit too far from Asian Ghetto.
It was definitely great to receive a free drink on my first weekend back, and I’m definitely excited for this place. The milk tea and boba are both solid, but I won’t say it’s anything groundbreaking, though I never really expect that from a boba place.
The prices are a bit high, but it was free today, so I won’t comment further on that.
TIP: The horchata seems interesting!