Albert T.
Yelp
I visited YiFang for the first time in Milpitas after a friend recommended it as one of their favorite boba shops. This was just a couple of months after the world came out of the Covid lockdowns, so while I received a drink that was honestly pretty bad, I thought that perhaps it was a one off issue. I was still hesitant on giving the UW location a try, but decided to head there anyways.
This location has a huge screen right in front used to order. They charge an extra 30 cent fee for orders under $10 (displayed very prominently on the kiosk). Honestly I think the screen is way too big and very awkward to use.
Earl Grey Milk Tea, 50% Sweet, Less Ice w/ Boba ($6) - This drink does not taste like Earl Grey at all. No hint of bergamot whatsoever. It's heavy on the creamer, not so heavy that it overwhelms everything else, but very noticeably on the creamy side. Taste-wise, it's either black tea rather than Earl Grey, or it's so watered down that all the bergamot flavor is gone. The creamer is not the issue. It *does* taste like black tea, a little hollow in fragrance, but it's there. On a positive note, half sweet is the definition of not-too-sweet and less ice is also pretty good, cooling the drink down entirely but leaving no ice chips at end. The boba is strangely rough on the exterior, with a bit of stickiness, but lots of microbumps that really stand out when moved across the tongue. There's a nice chew and a nice bounce, but that roughness feels a little off putting to me. In addition, some of the pearls tended to clump together into larger masses, making it a bit more difficult to separate and suck up the straw.
Milk Tea Rating: 2/5
Boba Rating: 3.5/5
I'll be honest - if I had ordered the black milk tea and gotten this drink, it would likely have been a 3.5/5. But I ordered the Earl Grey, and the drink I got tasted nothing like Earl Grey.
I usually don't mention interior of the store in my reviews, but I have to say - this shop is filthy. Dirt all over the ground, random wooden pallets and boxes upon boxes of boba supplies past the seating area. It's almost like a warehouse.
Bathrooms - Two individual rooms, one for each gender.