i Java and Chai

This place used to be the bomb back in the day. I’ve been coming here since I was in high school. With new owners these past couple of years it has gone downhill. The drinks don’t taste the same. Yesterday they rainout of boba. The lady running this place is rude. The checkout process is cumbersome.
The selection and staff before the ownership change was great. Now it’s a dread inside when you walk in there.

I’ve only ever been here once, and it was quite late at night too, but the hospitality that I received was beyond heartwarming. There was an old man, clearly the owner of the shop, and despite the fact that it was almost midnight, and he was the only one working, he still greeted me and my friends with an innate cheerfulness. I do believe that I got the Chai Tea with boba. It tasted amazing! And of course, I HAD to leave a generous tip

We travel out of our way to come here. Absolutely the BEST ingredients. Do you know what is in your smoothie powder? One of few boba places that don’t make my stomach hurt. Family that owns it make you feel at home. Many students come to stay and study.

I’ve know about this place for years, but I rarely visited because the atmosphere seemed a little run down and the quality of the drinks weren’t great.
I stopped in here with a friend, since tasty cup (across the street) was closed and this is one of the few boba places open late (closes at midnight during the week). I believe there are new owners since I last visited more than a year ago. The staff was Very friendly and helpful, which was a change from before. I ordered a jasmine green tea that was delivered to our table on a tray — teapot, mug, and sugar included. It was loose-​leaf tea and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The manager (?) stopped by to check how we liked our teas and offered ice cubes to cool our teas.
The place got very busy by 930pm and most of the tables were full. I’d recommend this place for a nice catch-​up session with friends. They do have free wifi if you want to study, and they have games for you and your friends to play. Overall, I’m happy with the improvement of this place from last year! I hope it continues to get better.

I wasn’t impressed with this place. Got the taro smoothie and was not particularly happy with it. The place was too crowded but I can imagine it’d make a good study spot when it’s not finals time. Maybe the other drinks are better?

When reliving old childhood suburban haunts, one must stop by Java and Chai. Rolling into the empty parking lot brought me back to high school in a flash. While the staff was excellent — our server even let us try different samples of tea — my chai tea latte was average. Additionally, our orders took longer to arrive than anticipated. This coffeehouse offers multiple varieties of drinks, some food, and ample space for relaxing. It is convenient when waiting for a showtime at the nearby theater or if in need of a calm atmosphere for hanging out.

Richardson and Plano can interesting for coffeehouses. Sure, maybe top-​notch craft coffeehouses may not come into mind, with a roaster in house, but you’ll be bound to find coffee shops that reflects owners varied ethnic cultural backgrounds — and in this part, it’s mostly Asian (and doubles as a boba shop). But this one stands out for being Middle Eastern, Syrian to be specific.
They do have lattes, and boba teas to serve the neighborhood, which I thought was an open and smart thing of the friendly lady that runs the place to do. And the coffee, while it’s not some fancy coffee or of some reputable brand name, was good. She also makes Turkish (aka Arabic) coffee, so that was a nice option to see.
And as for food, there’s homemade baklava and za’atar bread, which provides an opportunity for some Middle Eastern snacking. I tried both, and found them both to be good, not great but good to have with coffee.
As for the ambience, it’s a little grandma-​sy, old-​school, small-​town-​feel kind of a coffee shop, with plenty of tables, seating, and even games. It pulled off in the homey feel and doubles as a great study spot and a community meeting place even without the plush sofa chairs that are being offered in the other coffee shops.
I would not mind returning. Because of plenty of seating, friendly service, coffeeshop amenities and the uniqueness of the offering, I think this is a good four stars even though the coffee is not perhaps for the gourmand.

OH. MY. GOODNESS.
I feel like I was introduced to a hidden treasure. I’ve lived in Plano for over 7 years and I had never been to this place until this past semester when two of my sorority sisters took me here. I was immediately hooked.
I love the atmosphere. My sisters were regulars here and the workers all knew them, it was awesome to see them interact like they were old friends. The place is clean and there’s a lot of seating for the size of the place. The bathrooms are sparkling clean. The place is open until midnight most nights and until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, which is perfect for studying and homework since I go to UTD right down the street.
I have always gotten the same thing here: honeydew milk tea with boba and it is phenomenal. Love, love, love it. My friends venture out and get the taro and different coffee drinks, which I’ve tried theirs and are amazing, but there’s just something about the honeydew milk tea that gets me!
I’ll be back here by the end of the week, LOVE this place!

Staff is always really nice, consistent quality in drinks is also a plus. They work pretty fast too. It gets crowded sometimes because a lot of students go in from UTD and Collin College.
I always get the New York After Dark and my girlfriend gets the Taro tea or Milk tea.
If you’re a student bring an ID for a discount too.
Although I do wish they would fix their speakers so the music sounded better!

Overall: Solid performer that aims to please. Great service and products with very late closing hours to boot.
Drinks/​Food: Had an Orange Black Tea with Boba. Flavor was spot on and tea concentration was great. Boba had that soft outside and slightly firm center that we all love. A few of the boba stuck together though, because they don’t constantly stir the batch.
Service: The owner Samir gave me a warm and friendly experience. He explained all their flavor choices and the processes that the go through to make their teas and coffees. Although their pricing is somewhat higher than market, it’s this personal touch that will keep me coming back here for the foreseeable future.
Seating: Decent seating. There are several small square tables, 4 high top cocktail tables, and a couch.
WiFi/​Power: Fastest WiFi in a coffee/​tea shop every!!! 18Mbps down /​5Mbps up. Plenty of power outlets too to keep your hungry devices fed.
Parking: Spacious parking lot with easily more than enough spaces for your needs.
Atmosphere: Ample lighting, but dimmed just enough to create a warm vibe. Great energy with all the patrons either playing board games or having happy conversations. Demographic appears to be mostly high schoolers, but I did come in the late evening though.

What a peaceful environment and amazing staff! My experience here was awesome and I will definitely be coming back.
The cashier warmly welcomed us and gave us samples without my friend and I even asking! I really appreciated the gesture and was able to know more about their flavors and drinks.
My friend ordered the large Thai tea and I ordered the large Strawberry green tea. The prices can be a bit steep, but their high-​quality drinks make up for it. I asked for unsweetened and it was perfect. I had a sample of the Thai tea and it was light with a great consistency. I love this place so much!!! Come here if you get the chance.

The drinks are average, the service is very good, friendly. There are a lots of students here. Power are available for all your needs

Open late (midnight) and has free wifi. Large selection of drink flavors and boba/​jelly. Several types of popping boba available.
Atmosphere: Seemed like good place to work/​study. Crowd at ~11pm of mostly Asian college students were working on laptops with headphones or quietly chatting. Bathrooms were clean.
Drink: Large Thai tea to-​go without ice. Price ~$ 4.50 (bit high) considering that boba/​jelly is extra (50 – 70 cents), but taste is very good. Thai tea didn’t taste powdery (like some other places).
Service: Welcomed immediately upon entry and received drink order promptly.
Bottom Line: Would return to try other flavors but likely would not add boba/​jelly to save on cost.

Love the jasmine green tea with boba here. Semi-​sweet please~~~use UTD card to get discount. Comfy when it’s weekday daytime.

Man… this is just absolutely so sad but this place has gotten even worse than I remember. Not sure if this is because of the time I visited (around 9PM at night) or if it was just that they had a bad day, but the drinks my friend and I purchased were just terrible. I ordered the jasmine milk tea with boba, which turned out to be just SUPER watery and flavorless. To add insult to injury, the boba were all stuck together like some mutated goo at the bottom of the cup, making them impossible to drink/​consume. My friend’s coffee drink was equally embarrassing.
Also, since this place is probably the only «late night» chill place Plano has left to offer, it seems like every other high school student shows up here on a weekend to hang out. Nothing against them but it gets so crowded and distracting… the place isn’t big to start with, so when you pack 20 people in it… ugh…
Left the place straight up disappointed… :/

Get the taro milk tea with boba… it has a lovely flavor. They also have chai and a variety of different coffees! I also tried a lemon macaron… it was a little dry but had a good lemon flavor. There are a few seats if you want to come in here to read a book or have coffee with a friend. It’s definitely a blink and you’ll miss it kind of spot! But I enjoyed my visit. I will for sure come back to get away from Starbucks and chain coffee places.

Cashier laughed at me and joked around with her co-​worker when I asked if they had any vegan food. They don’t. She asked me why I’m vegan as if it’s any of her business. I didn’t give an answer, just ordered a jasmine green tea VERY lightly sweet, no boba. It came back with boba, they re-​made it and it came back super strong. I’ve brushed my teeth twice and still taste it on the back of my tongue. Tried to sit and read while I drank my tea but the high school kids taking selfies and waiting for their moms to pick them up from the movies were really distracting.
Staff is rude. Drinks sucked. Atmosphere is anything but relaxing.
There’s a much better option that just opened up across the street. They were more than happy to accommodate my vegan request with soy milk. Check my reviews if you want some real boba tea.

I like the atmosphere in the store and the many kinds flavors of drinks it offers. The most surprising thing for me is that they have 8 kinds boba flavors which I have never met before. Once you bite it, the juicy sweet liquid just flow out… tasty!

I was told that this place was a childhood/​teenager favorite by my fiancé so he made an impromptu stop here to get drinks. We were both severely disappointed in his lychee green tea and my milk tea. The lychee green tea had a lingering syrup on the bottom that just kind of gooped up and looked old. The milk tea also had a funky aftertaste.
After just a few sips, they were both undrinkable so the $ 10 (including tip) was not money well spent.
We saw a bunch of customers on a Saturday afternoon studying/​lounging here so there must be something going — maybe their iced coffee drinks are more promising?
TIP: You get a discount if you can show a student ID.

Cute place, and opened till 2 AM on Fridays and Saturdays making it the perfect place for a late night study session.
I had a large green milk tea with boba and I must say that the tea was very refreshing. Compared to other boba tea places I’ve been to their teas aren’t that sweet, but still good. If I went again I’d probably tell them to make my drink a little sweeter.
Their boba was okay, it wasn’t the best I’ve had, it was a little hard, and not as soft as I’m use to, but I’d probably come back since their tea is so fresh tasting.
In the end because of the late hours, I’d come back. If I were to drive to Plano just for bubble tea I’d probably head across the street to champion, their boba tea is always really fresh and really good, but there’s no where to sit.