UW Seattle Best Tea

Located in a highly populated area with many restaurants, Seattle Best Tea is a must-go place. Delicious variety or teas and smoothies. I got the avocado smoothly, which was delicious, but could have used more avocado and about 30 seconds more blending to break up the ice chunks. Staff is super friendly and prices are competitive with local area.

THE BEST TEA IN SEATTLE. MAYBE EVEN THE WORLD. I started going to their ID location years ago and have spent most of my life savings on boba. It is that good.

I first went to the Chinatown store and was very impressed by the quality of tea. My husband later took a Taiwanese Chinese language class and the teacher brought them there again, apparently the original Taiwanese tea in the locals’ opinions too 😆 so happy they opened at UW!

They have very refreshing drinks and choice of free toppings .Worth the price. I had Mango smoothie with lychee jelly and coffee jelly.. The trio was really awesome!

My boba was sentient and tried to kill me (drink exploded because of my brute force whilst stirring the boba) (my gains were too strong), but the workers were very nice when helping clean up and the drinks were very good and affordable.

Ordered Jasmine milk tea with tapioca boba. Unsure if able to adjust sweetness level. >The toppings are free, but the price of the drink matches competitors unless you really like toppings and get multiple in one drink >Suffers the same issue as Cafe Happy - milk teas are made from a premade mix (the black tea completely overpowered the jasmine) and drinks may be difficult to customize in cases of an allergen or food intolerance, or even just looking for a specific taste >slightly longer wait due to popularity of the cafe >staff were pretty nice Overall okay place, not bad but doesn't really stand out.

To their credit, the drinks are priced very economically (~$5.50 for 24oz!). And no extra for toppings. However the employee reassured me their taro milk tea was made with real taro and not powder, and the drink I got was clearly flavored with the purple taro powder that tastes artificial.

They have a new location on the Ave near UW. They offer a variety of different milk teas, smoothies, and slushees. They also have ice cream such as black tea, jasmine, and green tea. I got the black milk tea at 25% sweetness and was good, the boba was already coated with brown sugar so it was sweet. Overall good place to get boba!

Thirsty for bubble tea? Easy walk from the university. I highly enjoyed the Passion fruit with peach. Yum!

I visited the Seattle Best Tea's CID location a couple months ago and left thoroughly unimpressed, with my drink tasting entirely of creamer and with the boba being exceptionally undercooked, hard, and lumpy. To that end, I was a bit hesitant at visiting the UW location, but I decided to give them a try anyways. This location has some of the markings of an older-style boba establishment, like one that's been converted over from primarily a tea shop to a boba shop. Unlike the other location, this one even has ice cream in stock with some very interesting flavors. I asked the cashier and she said that while the ice cream isn't made in house, it comes from a local ice cream maker who specifically makes it for Seattle Best Tea. Sounds pretty intriguing to me! I didn't have the stomach space for ice cream on this visit, so that's something I'll have to try in the future. Heavy Oolong Milk Tea, 50% Sweet, Less Ice w/ Boba ($6.35) - The milk tea is pretty good and a big improvement over the CID location. No longer does the creamer completely overwhelm the tea flavor, instead I get a slightly earthy fragrance that's pretty nice on the tongue. Still, the flavor is covered up a bit by the sugar, which at 50% is too much for me. The ice level is okay at half, allowing the drink to be completely cooled, but still leaving larger chips floating on top. They don't fill the drinks to the top of the cup - my drink had a sizable gap. The boba is small and hard... hard enough to make the jaw hurt while trying to chew through it. Basically no bounce, almost like a hard pebble in the center. Very undercooked. Milk Tea Rating: 4/5 Boba Rating: 2/5 I would probably come back to try the ice cream at Seattle Best Tea, but the boba is a skip for me. Note: They charge a 10 cent fee for credit card transactions.

Black Milk Tea w/ Red Bean (hot, 10% sweetness level): The milk tea was extremely watered down. There was little to no tea flavor. The red bean was nice though. The store had a very cute ambiance, with plenty of seating inside and some cozy Animal Crossing music playing in the background. The service was quite fast.

I love the milk tea & egg pudding here it is my favorite! I also appreciate how they include the topping prices in the drink so you can get as many toppings with no additional charge! Service is always amazing as well everyone is always very friendly and offers and stamp card.

We were looking for a different bubble tea in the area but we couldn't find it. We saw this location and decided to try it because it looked really busy. I figure if it's busy, it must be pretty good. When you come in, it is quite clean and nice. They have benches to sit on while you sit for your order, which is nice. We ordered the coffee smoothie with coffee jelly, mango-passion smoothie with Boba, a mango tea, and lychee smoothie with Boba. They allow for adjusting the sweetness and ice. They were really nice and polite and thankful for us waiting. We got our drinks and they nicely put it in a carrier for us. We all had our drinks and it was really good. We all enjoyed our drinks. I'm definitely marking this as a favorite. Thank you! We'll be back!

Seattle Best Tea. No, Seattle worst tea. The tea and boba were not good at all. Work on it. The boba was hard and had zero squish. Along with the tea having the absolute worst flavor ever.

My go to ice cream on the Ave! I'm always so happy when they have Ube and matcha flavors available, it's the best combo. I would also recommend the coffee flavor. The employees have always been quick and friendly. The atmosphere is always enjoyable and there is typically a place to sit. It's a great casual place to grab ice cream or boba with some friends.

The interior was cute with some seating to hang out. The worker was also very nice at the front and I received my drink pretty quickly. I was a little disappointed with the black milk tea I ordered at 50% sweetness because it tasted kind of watered down or something. I also got the pearls and it was stiff and didn't really taste like anything. If I come back next time I'd probably have to try their recommended drinks instead.

It's unique to see a boba shop with free toppings (especially unique when you can get multiple free toppings!). Seattle Best Tea also has more varieties of tea than most boba shops do in Seattle. Otherwise, I didn't find anything noteworthy about the drinks they serve. My friend said the tea was "amazing" last time she came and this time was "good" (4/5 stars) but neither of us were particularly impressed with the boba (3/5 stars). The service was good (5/5 stars) and the ambiance is "leftover furniture that I got from my parent's house" (5/5 stars because that doesn't bother me).

One of the most convenient and affordable places to get boba on the ave. There's a reason they're called seattle's BEST tea!

We tried the Matcha Milk Tea w/ Red Bean toppings and Lychee Fruit Tea! Super refreshing and delicious! The interior was very cozy with the employees being very sweet during our time there! Definitely going to come back for their ice cream next time!

So here's what sets Seattle Best Tea apart: CHOICES (!!!), so many choices, whether your preference be milk or fruit tea AND free toppings. This is one of those all-encompassing places where whatever your go-to drink is, chances are it's probably here. The fact that you have multiple choices for a base tea (you can have black or green tea, but you can also choose white, chrysanthemum, pu-erh, rose, and more) and then combine that with your fruit flavor of choice?? The options are endless! The customization is unmatched! You are really out here being the master of your own fate. And to top it all off they have a variety of toppings (FREE TOPPINGS. THE TOPPINGS ARE FREE) AND there are like five different levels of customization for sugar? Which is kind of crazy. The 10% option went extremely hard. In the end I decided to try the regular black milk tea. I appreciated that the milk tea wasn't your regular run of the mill milk tea. The strong tea flavor was the star (as it should be), but I found it had a bit of an aftertaste. The biggest issue here was their boba which were both too small and too hard. They definitely weren't boiled for long enough and it was like I was biting down on pebbles that were slightly squishy. You could really feel the impact between boba and teeth which is not exactly the experience I'd say I wish for when drinking boba. Next time I am definitely going to try a fruit tea combination!

This is one of my favorite bubble tea places in Seattle. This location is conveniently located on the Ave, by UW. It is clean and quiet inside, and the staff are friendly and helpful. I think their flavors are natural tasting, and their boba is fresh. My favorite is their coconut milk tea, and is the only place I've found with this flavor. The best part is that toppings are free!

Love Seattle Best Tea!! I've only been to their I-District location, but glad they have bought a vowel to include the U-District. It was extremely busy the Saturday afternoon I visited - ordered and waited probably 15-20 min for my drink (taro with red bean and egg pudding), which is definitely more than usual, and way longer than I anticipated. However, they had a huge online group order to be fulfilled, and I was in no particular rush. It was also surprisingly hot that day, and the girl at the register graciously refilled my water bottle while I waited. Always a pleasure visiting for the same great tea, same unlimited toppings, and friendly staff.

Excited to welcome Seattle Best Tea to the UW area! I wish it opened when I was at U-District but it's a great addition for the college community. Though there's also five other boba spots within two minutes of walking. Seattle Best Tea is the unique spot that sells ice cream and sticks to fairly basic flavors while excelling. I think they excel at the ice cream more and the drinks can be outshone by other spots on the Ave though. Price here is fair though, especially when matched against the new expensive options on the Ave. FYIs for the ice cream. They seem to have 8 flavors available at a time despite the menu showing all possible options. At the grand opening, they did not have dragonfruit. It seems that if you order a double scoop, it's only for one flavor. Two flavors makes it two single scoops. Happened to me and another person who came out seemingly confused and thinking there was miscommunication. Maybe an error, maybe not. Jasmine Tea Ice Cream - pretty sweet with the floral taste from jasmine. The tea itself is fairly mild and outshone by the sweetness. It's a light aftertaste. Pleasant ice cream but I think other flavors are richer. Taro Ice Cream - rich taro ice cream that I highly recommend. There's even mashed up taro merged inside which enhances the richness and gives a variety of nutty, vanilla-like flavors from mild to strong throughout the ice cream which I think is fantastic. Black Milk Tea w/ Boba - a classic house milk tea. Nothing special but satisfies cravings and at a fair price (in comparison to other shops). Boba is sweet and fairly chewy, though closer to the undercooked side. Heavy Oolong Milk Tea w/ Boba - this is their number one recommendation and it's a strong oolong tea. Nothing absurd but a good choice for those who prefer the tea taste in their milk tea, as it is stronger than the creaminess. Wintermelon Milk Tea w/ Boba - typical wintermelon, sweet and rich but creamy. Oat milk subbed so also nutty (they do have milk substitutes). Like many other drinks, nothing special or different, just a timeless classic. Strawberry Milk Tea - this was probably the outlier from being "basic." There's a faint strawberry taste which fades into tea. Goes to show how they focus on brewing tea and use rich tea. Not sure if I liked the taste though because it felt like two flavors battling to impress taste buds. Wasn't bad, just felt conflicted. Matcha Milk Tea w/ Boba - light matcha but not powdery which is good. Didn't think it was particularly strong, more creamy with more milk than any tea. I'd probably skip the matcha here unless it's ice cream.

IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIGH QUALITY BOBA THEN YOU RECOGNIZE SEATTLE BEST TEA IS THE BEST FOR A REASON!! god. they have the freshest and most beautifully crafted drinks. they do it how it's done in CA, and thats just a very special thing. there are tea shops worth your time and money.. but this place should/must be on the top of your list. everything about this place is so legit. they have everything, good prices, high standards of excellence. a place like this should be the model for all bubble tea spots. some of these other places man, they make these sweet and nasty ass, low quality drinks for the white palette. so if you're a true seattlite, real liberal and politically active type, get yourself acquainted with SEATTLE BEST TEA. you should get the most authentic experience of bubble tea, so you can perform how culturally active and diverse you are. the location in CD is awesome, just like the one in UD. although, i dislike the UD because i despise young people, but will make a appearance to the UD for SEATTLE BEST TEA.

Just love! Came here for a sweet treat and ended up getting the Lynchee ice cream - portion was sizable and the service was really attentive. They have tons of options and inside the interior is pretty friendly so it's the type of place you swing by with friends and grab a quick bite.

I've been to Seattle Best Tea twice now and ordered the taro milk tea with boba both times. The first time, I accidentally forgot to adjust my sweetness so it was good but too sweet and this time I tried 50% which was not as sweet as I was hoping, so in the future I'll get 75%. For the taro drink overall, I am more used to having chunks of taro in my drinks. I think this taro is made with taro powder, which is okay but different from what I would prefer. The boba is chewy, and it has a nice balance between being too hard and too soft. I got my drink pretty quickly both times, and the company has a stamp card (buy 10, get one free) which is much appreciated. I went in the late evening, and there were a few other customers there. It feels like a nice place to catch up with friends and drink boba. Overall, I would recommend this place!

Friendly and cute place for a good cup of milk tea treat. They also sell loose leave tea we bought some sample tea bags here in our first visit. I love their heavy oolong milk tea with 50% of sugar. I prefer my milk tea is heavy on the tea so this is perfect for me. Rich and smooth, the flavor and texture of the milk tea is well balanced. Boba is flavored too, perfect sweetness. Sad it was a bit too far from me otherwise I could come here more often, but I just found out they have another spot in U district.

The boba here is solid! The toppings are included in the tea price, and you get up to 3 which was a great surprise. There's a 10 cent credit card fee though as an fyi. The seating was good too. Overall, the teas were very yummy, and I personally liked the egg pudding and the coffee jelly toppings the best. Their tapioca is okay but a little hard. Great spot for tea though!

Not only is Seattle best Tea delicious, it's also affordable with up to 3 toppings available for any tea order! Their service is quick and great and they're an amazing spot to stop by if you're looking for a refreshing or filling midday treat!

The place is small with a couple of tables and seating. I ordered the mango milk tea and it was good! It's nothing special, but it was good for the price and drink/flavor. The toppings are also free, which is even better! Recommendation(s): - Mango Milk Tea Service: 5/5 Tip(s): - Indoor seatings available - Accept Apple Pay - Toppings are free

I stopped by this location with friends during the UW street fair. I haven't tried the ID location but I know that Seattle Best Tea is fairly known. I got a heavy oolong milk tea with boba. The tea was nice and pretty full of the tea flavor but the boba was so-so. It was a bit on the harder end which makes me feel it wasn't the freshest boba batch. Overall it's a busy location but didn't have a ridiculously long line. I'm not sure if it would be my first choice in the area, considering there are other boba locations in the area I haven't yet tried, but it's not a bad one.

This place is pretty lowkey and simple but they make their drinks so good!! I'm a huge boba lover and this is straight up my favorite place. Toppings are free and they have delicious rotating Asian ice cream flavors like green tea, taro, brown sugar, lychee, etc. I live about 20 minutes away but will go out of my way for this place!! So so good! Make sure to get a stamp card (I've already gone through a few lol)

Decent spot, there are tables to sit at and it's usually not too crowded until other boba spots on the Ave. They're also a lot more reasonably priced than their neighbors and don't charge extra for tapioca / have several other free toppings

So awesome to see my favorite bubble tea shop open up a new location in the u district. Same great tea flavors, no nonsense service and ambiance and quirky decor. Can't wait to come by again now that it's so much closer and in a much better area than the international district neighborhood

Worst tea I ever had. Ordered passion fruits green tea but it tastes like water + stevia sugar. I would never came back.

I love the mango jasmine fruit tea with lychee jelly! The quality of the tea is unbeatable and hands down one of my favorite boba places in the U District. The matcha milk tea & brown sugar milk tea are close seconds too!

I love this place :) heavy oolong is sooo yummy, and my other regular order is a black tea smoothie with grass jelly

Very disappointing service. I visited this shop a few weeks ago because it advertised "unlimited toppings." I ordered exactly 4 toppings with my milk tea. After over 10 minutes, the owner appears from the kitchen and asks who ordered the drink with 4 toppings. When I go up to the counter, she shouts in my face, "your order was too complicated!!" She was extremely rude and told me not to order more than 3 toppings next time. Sorry, but there will NOT be a 'next time' for me! Order more than 3 toppings...at your own peril lmao. Also, the drink they made was not what I ordered-- it tasted too sweet despite my request for 0% sugar. False advertising, poor service, mediocre drinks.

New location in the U district! I actually did a double take while walking down the Ave because it just suddenly popped up. I've always seen long lines in the ID for Seattles Best Tea so I was pretty excited to try out this bubble tea without the line! I think their big appeal is the free toppings which can get so pricey these days. It was recommended to limit to 3 because you get to experience the topping flavors better and enjoy the actual tea. I got the heavy oolong milk tea which was their best seller. Loved it! Reminds me of royal milk tea. They also have tea flavored ice creams which I look forward to trying another day. The store itself is pretty spacious and has a sitting area to hang out and chat. They're also quick to bring out orders. Bonus, they have punch cards!

I was really happy to hear that Seattle Best Tea expanded into the U-District so I've frequented their new location a few times since they opened. The milk tea is just as good as in their ID location and there's also plenty of seating there too. Nice and homey. Picking a boba place on the Ave is so much harder now with all these good options.

They have a new location on the Ave near UW. They offer a variety of different milk teas, smoothies, and slushees. They also have ice cream such as black tea, jasmine, and green tea. I got the black milk tea at 25% sweetness and was good, the boba was already coated with brown sugar so it was sweet. Overall good place to get boba!

The shop was small but enough room to hop in and out to get your drink. There is no seating. Today I decided to try the durian milk tea. There were so many options it was hard to choose one drink to try. I was excited to see that all toppings were free. Usually going to boba shops they charge you extra for toppings. I wish the durian milk tea had a more prominent flavor. I will say that the egg pudding does not go well with the durian milk tea. It made it have a sour aftertaste which was unpleasant. If I had known about the ice cream options, I would've gotten that instead of the drinks. My family and I tried samples of the durian, lychee, and jasmine ice cream which were all delicious. The biggest size we were able to get was a pint. I wish they had a bigger size such as the size on an ice cream tub. We bought the lychee ice cream which even had bits of the lychee fruit in it. Thank you to the person that was working this afternoon for letting us try samples of ice cream.

Everytime we go to the Chinatown location we are always welcomed with a smile and a warm ambiance. My mom showed me this place a couple years ago, and I love it! It's my favorite bubble tea place. We came to visit the second location in the u district, and we were welcomed with smiles and laughter. Lydia does such a wonderful job running the stores. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PLACE TO ANYONE WHO LOVES BUBBLE TEA .

Quiet ambience with lots of seating. Fast and friendly service. And the BubbleTea was not too sweet.

Staple boba place on the Ave! Service is always so friendly and kind. My favorite drink is the chrysanthemum tea with crystal boba, so tasty

I love the chinatown location and this one is just as great. My favorite is the taro milk tea--they use real taro and it's not overly sweet. Definitely a must try! I'm also partial to their heavy oolong, which is a creamy black tea flavor.

Fairly decent boba place - very fast service, nice workers, unlimited toppings and good flavored tea. however I've had two instances where I forgot to specify my sweetness level. since they didn't ask, it slipped my mind and when i asked if it was okay to remake it the owner yelled at me saying it was on me to say the sweetness level first without them asking. I understand that it is burdensome to remake a drink but given that the worker in the front never prompted me to alter sweetness levels, when most do, I was a little confused. She remade my drink anyways, but with their recent price increases you're probably better off going elsewhere in U-district.

My family is a regular at the ID location.Their Taiwanese loose leaves offer consistent great quality. Once so often I treat myself a cup of boba tea as well. My favorite is heavy oolong milk tea, 50% sugar. Hands down the best tea shop with desirable qualities and fair prices. Now that I have visited the U dist. location, it just as pleasant.

I decided to check this place out because I saw a lot of people walking with tea from here recently. The cashier was very nice and it's a clean space, but the tea is terrible. I ordered a jasmine milk tea with boba. It tastes like canned tea and the boba is gummy and even a little sour. I would not recommend this tea spot.

I love Seattle Best Tea! I'm so happy they decided to open up on the Ave. I like to get their jasmine milk tea 50% sweet, I enjoy their tea flavor a lot. Also you can't beat unlimited drink toppings!