Tapioca Express

This place has the BEST SALT & PEPPER CHICKEN or CALAMARI. I’ve been to many different tapioca location and lollicup and many diff. Boba place but not any of them can beat theirs. It’s so addicting that you never want to eat any other places. The price is cheap. Their coconut cream thick toast is to die for if your looking for some yummy hot dessert and will fill you up. It’s not to sweet but just prefect :) all my friends and family loves this place. Their decoration is very typical like others tapiocas boba places. But again their food is extrodinary. 2 thumbs up.

i like their boba drinks (i’ve been getting mango black tea w boba) but my friend doesn’t care for theirs for some reason.
btw, it’s called «that boba place» now. it’s right next to maru sushi on the NW corner of harbor and adams. they don’t open til 12:30 either so don’t go too early :)
i am giving them 5 stars because i have tried spicy chicken at many boba places and theirs is definitely my favorite. they use all white meat and make it pretty spicy (very tasty!). (the fried basil leaves even taste good hehe). other places’ chicken weren’t very spicy and they use dark meat which were almost gross to me… so i was pretty disappointed.
someone mentioned their calamari being raw. i thought my chicken could have been cooked more the last time i went but that was the first time that happened and i’ve ordered it many times. looks like u should order it extra crispy just to be on the safe side. i will if i remember :)
it gets crowded at times but we’ve always found a place to sit. i drive all the way from HB to get their boba & chicken when westminster, FV and GG are probably much closer :)

Came here three times because I didn’t want to drive down to the Bolsa area.
This place is down right terrible! They get one star because of their location (not too many boba places in Costa Mesa).
First visit:
I spent like 5 minutes trying to understand what the cashier was whispering in her heavy accent): The service was alright. I got honeydew boba this time. It was OK.
Second visit:
The fried calamari was raw. We found about 3 pieces out of the whole thing (less than 15 pieces total?) that were slimy behind their crispy outside. But we were fine. Accidents happen right?
Third visit:
Got boba and fried calamari. EVERY other piece (85% of the bag) was slightly raw on the inside. So I took it back and politely asked if they could refry it for us because lots of it was raw. The worker who made it, an asian guy, and his co-​worker looked at me and asked if I’ve been here before and if I’ve ever bought their calamari. I said yeah I have. And then he lashed «WELL, That’s how we make it here. You should’ve said you wanted extra crispy then.»
WTF? I didn’t know that regular fried calamari was supposed to be slimy on the inside? I didn’t know that I should specify that I do NOT want my fried food raw.
Service here is pretty lame, I don’t think I should have to argue with someone to get my food done right. The boba’s OK so if thats what you need good luck in encountering someone who you can understand/​hear.

this place isnt called tapioca express any longer. maybe because its way better than tapioca =). this place is very near to my house and i go once in a while to get boba, coffee, or tea. its a tiny little place with a sofa and 2 tables. theres also a little area where you can seat outside and hang out. the staff is usually pretty friendly and are pretty fast with the orders. all the drinks are good and are super cheap. AND THEY TAKE CREDIT CARDS!!! unlike other boba places, which is a bonus! =)
the only bad things about it are sometimes there is no place to sit and little college or high school kids post outside and smoke. it causes the smoke to come inside and stinks.
other than that its a great place to get drinks or snacks

The drink is terrible here… what I normally order didn’t taste the same here…
Their popcorn chicken is good though =)

Itty Bitty Little Place in the same complex as Paul Mitchell the School. I love their jasmine milk tea. I never get anything else so I make the people I come with get something different every time I go.
The staple is the jasmine milk tea for me. It’s the best $ 3 boba fix and I would rather go to this place than little Saigon.
The boba is always tender. I thought it would be hit or miss with any boba place, but for some reason, this place never fails to have great boba. I hope I didn’t just jinx it.
The only downside is there is no room to sit, chill, or read. The sitting area is just too little and cramped. I come for my jasmine milk tea and leave.
They also have snack food here like fried calamari and such. I’ve never ordered any food due to the lack of sitting room, but people seem to order it a lot to go.

I used to come here often during my high school years, but it’s been years since I’ve returned. It just hits the spot.
I normally order watermelon snow bubble with lychee jelly. Soo good and refreshing, even though they use flavored powder and not real juice. It’s all the same to me… DELICIOUS. What really gets me happy is their salt and pepper calamari. They ask about your preference on spice level, but I feel they have a perfect balance of crunch and flavor. I tend to order mine medium and it provides just enough kick without numbing your senses.
This location is smaller than others I have been to, but it’s got a warm and inviting atmosphere to it. The service is quick and efficient. There is indoor and outdoor seating. Great to enjoy a refreshment during the summer.

Yay! First time here after hearing about this place for over a year. Even though I used to work at the Tapioca Express in Westminster, I will not be bias towards this location.
Servers were friendly and fast. The place was small, but not dirty or cramped.
HOWEVER… I ordered a Jasmine Milk Tea with boba and mango stars and for the first time I didn’t finish my Jasmine Milk Tea. not even half of it. =/​It doesn’t matter where I get jasmine milk tea, I always end up drinking the whole thing, but I didn’t from this place. hmm. STRANGEEE…
Other than that, this Tapioca Express is cheaper than the place I used to work at. The difference is about almost $ 1 per drink. =)

I go here to get my pudding milk tea boba fix almost every night! The quality is consistent, however I wish the service were more cordial. The milk tea is perfectly sweetened, and doesn’t leave a nasty after-​taste like most boba teas that i have had. The boba is also PERFECT! they are not too hard, or too gooey, and are mysteriously chewy til I am done devouring the drink. I go late after class to get my caffeine each night before I dive in a long night of research writing. Meet me there!

I had to come here because my friend was craving for their strawberry snow bubble. After I tried it… EW… never will I order that.
IT WAS WAYYY too sweet. It tasted like strawberry candy.

Seems like this place got very high rating, but why? My experience wasn’t so great… I had to say this place has different ambience, it feel more like a coffee house than Tapioca Express.
On the way home from my yoga, I was so dehydrated and hot. craving for something sweet and tart. yeah. yogurt frost. so I check on my iPhone to see if there’s a Tapioca Express on the way home and there IS! I thought it’s great since I don’t have to go out of my way to the one in Irvine before getting home so I swing by.
I went in and ask if they have a yogurt frost. and the guy standing behind the register looked puzzled, then he spit out a few word.“We are out”, I was like you are OUT? I was very disappointed since I was so thirsty and hot at the moment. like you use your last energy to crawl to a water fountain and found out that it was broken. my mind went blank. And the guy said again. «well, if you don’t mind waiting for 15 mins, we can go out and buy it.» *$^!&#^!$#^#&!&@… I told him no thanx, and just return to my car and head over to the one in Irvine. How can they be OUT in the midst of the day??? Bad management.

This place satisfies the cravings but it is by no means a Cha 4 Tea. I’ll give it props for consistently having boba of good texture, but the teas are just like any one of the other Tapioca Expresses.
I actually tried the shaved ice today. For $ 4.04 (tax included) you get three toppings along with honey brown syrup in a large Yogurtland-​esque container. The ice was ice — don’t expect anything like the powdered goodness a la Class 302. My friend described it best when she said, «it seemed like they just got ‘crushed ice’ from a fridge.»

Great location. Service is friendly, and the drinks are well prepared.

Definitely the best Tapioca Express around because the quality is always consistent and the boba is always fresh! I hate how other Tapioca Express stores give you too much ice, water down the teas, or serve you day old boba. The staff is super friendly and mellow. no rude service here. You have to try to chicken and calamari. yum! They make it fresh and everyone orders it so it takes awhile, but I promise you it will be worth the wait. Whenever I am in the area I make sure I drop by. Yes, it’s THAT good.

I am a huge fan of boba. I like to try different places out. So me and josh tried this place out. Anyway besides the long wait it was pretty good!

This is my favorite Tapioca Express out of the manys that I’ve visited.
Service here is pretty good – most of the workers know what they are doing and work pretty fast to get our drinks out.
I like the wide selections of goodies you can put in your drinks (boba, mini boba, pudding, lychee bits, mango stars, etc.)
The drinks are perfect. Drinks aren’t too sweet or watered down. They are also pretty good if you give them special instructions, they follow it. My favorite drinks are the watermelon juice (FRESH watermelons!) and passion fruit yogurt. I’ve tried many of the drinks and honestly, u can’t go wrong!
Along with my drink comes an order of the calamari. Great portion for the price – filling and delicious!
One thing I don’t like about this place is that there is a surcharge to use a credit card under 10 dollars :(… not cool – boo to surcharge fees! so four stars instead of five!

Having been told this particular Tapioca Express was exceptional compared to the rest of the Tap X’s, I eagerly came here to try their pearls made out of ‘brown sugar and honey’. I’m a regular at Ten Ren/​Tea Stations and have always considered Tapioca Express as the standard for boba, not great nor bad.
The location itself is small, with minimal seating and a couch to fill out the store. Menus are all in English, no Chinese visible at all so I found that a bit strange. I guess this TapX is catered towards the more American crowd. While there, I couldn’t help but think the customers there and even the TapX employees all got their haircuts from the Paul Mitchell school located in the same plaza. All the girls look the same!
As for the drink, I ordered an Earl Grey milk tea as recommended by another Unilocaler with large pearls/​boba. Mind blowing? No. Good? Yes. Pearls were pretty good, chewy and doughy, better than most Tapioca Express branches but certainly not the best ever. I wouldn’t make a special trip in the future to get boba from here.

This Tapioca Express makes the best, absolutely z’best blended drinks of any other location I’ve been to. They mix the drinks well, so their Thai Tea Snowbubble has a good flavor and tastes perfectly mixed. My sister likes the Coconut Snowbubble here. My only qualms is the interior which often fill up with too many people. There are two tables total. Their ugly wicker couch not only lacks cushion but you sink when you sit on it. The wireless often doesn’t work and they change the password often. The current password is aptly named, «password.»

I used to like Lollicup in Irvine, but recently their drink quality has gone down the drain. This Tapioca Express in Costa Mesa has delicious snacks. The chicken is made of chicken breast, and surprisingly, the calamari is the same price as chicken! If you have a chance, get the coconut cream thick toast. It is awesome but they don’t have it often.
The tapioca here is cooked to a perfect texture. It doesn’t get hard in my drink :) One more thing. This place is sooo inexpensive for a boba drink.
Edit:
Their royal milk tea snowbubble and almond milk tea (syrup based) are my favorite drinks (with egg pudding added). I recommend upgrading to the large cup for only 50 cents more.

Tucked into a strip mall on Harbor and Adams, «Tapioca Express» could be considered the Diedrich’s and «Cha for Tea» the Starbucks on the coffee continuum (that is, before Diedrich’s got bought out and completed the turn to the dark side with Martin jumping ship to start Kean Coffee). But I digress.
In a world where everything is customizable at a price, I think Tapioca Express offers a low cost alternative to your swarming, boba enthused Irvine «Cha for Tea» crowd. If you’re in or around Costa Mesa, you’d do well to head over to TE instead. Starting at about $ 2.50 for a regular size drink, you can get out of there without paying Starbucks style prices. I ordered a large Almond Milk Tea (with Boba) for $ 3.50 (Highly Recommended) and left with a smile, as always.
There is rarely a wait here, and I am always greeted with courtesy, even if there are people lingering around being «OC.» I was asked if I wanted my drink «hot,» or «really hot,» depending on how far I was going to drive before I drank it. Impressive.
Haven’t tried the food but heard it is good. The interior is somewhat sterile, and sparse for seating, but if you’re en route somewhere, I’d definitely stop by here on the way… Parking and wait times are negligible. Or you you could cram in a few friends for a rousing game of Parcheesi if you liked (you’d just have to bring your own board like I do).