"Xing Fu Tang is our top pick for brown sugar boba, with locations in Flushing and Manhattan (on St. Mark’s and Hudson Yards). The boba is always warm and fresh, and the giant copper cauldron of tapioca pearls simmering away in dark, sticky brown sugar sauce makes the perpetually crowded shop smell like slightly burnt sugar. If you want to be extra, get your boba milk topped with whipped dalgona coffee…or 24K gold leaf. If you're looking for a drink with no milk and caffeine, the electric blue lemon-lime soda mixed with curaçao and strawberry jellies is the best choice." - molly fitzpatrick, carina finn koeppicus