Big Straw Boba Reviews
Fuku vs Tsaocaa
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Fuku vs Tsaocaa ~
In which the club reviews a variety of drinks from Fuku Tea and Tsaocaa. Members rated drinks based on a variety of factors such as boba (texture, firmness, sweetness), drink (flavor, sweetness, tea taste), and overall impressions.
Graphics by Sihan Wu, Ellen Ma, and Amy Luo
Jasmine Milk Green Tea + Herb Jelly + Nata Jelly (50% sugar, less ice) from Tsaocaa
Overall Rating: 8/10
Phyllis Feng
Boba: The boba is nice and chewy. I couldn’t really taste the herb jelly but it certainly didn’t hurt. The nata jelly has more of a crunch to it, which contrasts nicely with the chewy tapioca pearls. There is not much flavor to these; they seem to exist purely for the texture.
Drink: Very light, refreshing taste. The jasmine flavor is subtle, nicely balancing out the milk and the boba. I couldn’t really taste the green tea part, but that was personally okay since I’m not the biggest fan of green tea. The 50% sweetness and less ice was perfect — one might even want to get a lower level of sugar.
General thoughts: It’s a very basic taste — it’s nice, but not special. This would probably be a safe, go-to option for anyone who’s looking for something that is compulsively drinkable and not too filling. It’s not too aesthetic — the milk tea itself is a beige color, and the herb jelly looks like kelp seaweed. This is more of a summer-time-esque beverage.
Peach Oolong Tea + Herb Jelly + Amber Bubble + Milk Foam (70% sugar, less ice) from Tsaocaa
Overall Rating: 6/10
Ellen Ma
Boba: Chewy and sweet ! Couldn’t really taste the herb jelly but it had a nice texture.
Drink: The tea taste is kind of overshadowed by the milk foam, but the peach flavoring is still there.
General thoughts: Honestly not the biggest fan of milk foam in general (I don’t know why I ordered it). Packaging is cute. The drink is overall okay, but I probably wouldn’t order it again.
Lychee Green Tea + Crystal Pearl (50% sugar, no milk foam) from Tsaocaa
Overall Rating: 7/10
Maria Guo
Boba: Refreshing texture and taste, I’m a big fan of crystal pearl.
Drink: A little too sweet, should’ve done 30% sugar. But cool and refreshing. Can’t really taste the green tea, lychee flavor a little overpowering, but that’s not a problem for me because I like lychee.
General thoughts: Overall a good drink, very pretty color and standard taste. Not for someone looking for a green tea flavor though. Too much ice, should get less ice.
Peach Oolong Tea + Brown Sugar Jelly (70% sugar, less ice) from Tsaocaa
Overall Rating: 8/10
Sihan Wu
Boba: Boba is chewy, the brown sugar jelly is just the right amount of sweet.
Drink: 70% sugar is not too sweet, but the sweetness is compensated by the brown sugar jelly. Very light hint of peach flavor, with a subtle aftertaste of oolong tea. Getting less ice is definitely the way to go, the tea would be way too watered down if the ice level was normal.
General thoughts: The toppings will stay at the bottom, so as you sip away the tea you will quickly realize that you are going to be scooping the toppings out separately to finish them. The drink came with a plastic film cover, which was risky because popping in the straw while the tea was filled to the top might cause the tea to erupt everywhere.
Honey Citrus + Lime w/ Jasmine Tea (less ice, less sweet) from Tsaocaa
Overall Rating: 6/10
Megan Yim
Boba: The boba is chewy and good sweetness to balance out the citrus flavor in the tea.
Drink: The sweetness level is pretty good. There is a tangy, citrus flavor throughout the drink and the candied citrus peels also give it more texture and flavor.
General thoughts: Overall, I think the drink is pretty good. However, the drink is not very special and is something that sort of tastes like it could be a concentrate that is found in an asian supermarket that is mixed in with water.
Purple Potato Bubble Milk (less ice, 50% sugar, milk foam) from Tsaocaa
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Megan Li
Boba: The pearls are cooked (???) pretty perfectly, as they have a nice bounce but aren’t fighting back with each bite. At the same time, they’re soft and squishy enough to pair well with and contrast the harder purple rice.
Drink: I’m honestly bad with discerning flavors, but there’s a good vanilla, milky flavor to this drink; I can’t speak to how closely this tastes like purple potato because I’ve never had it, but does it really matter when it tastes good? However, I think 50% sugar is the highest I would go—anything more and it’d definitely be too sweet. The milk foam on top is a bit of a special touch as well, but I wish it wasn’t the only thing that remained at the end because it’s difficult to suck up.
General thoughts: I’d totally get this drink again! It’s perfectly inoffensive with enough flair to be interesting. Fair warning, though, I couldn’t call it refreshing, since it’s basically just milk, so as long as that isn’t an issue, I think this is a solid choice from the menu. Also, you don’t get too much, as the cup is a bit small, but Tsaocaa makes up for it somewhat with the cute packaging. It’d be good to keep a spoon or something on hand in order to better scoop out the milk foam and leftover toppings at the end, though the straw is still workable.
Brown Sugar Milk Black Tea (50% Sugar, less ice, milk foam) from Tsaocaa
Overall Rating: 9.5/10
Keya Sharma
Boba: The boba was sweet and chewy which was really nice. I feel like the pearls were slightly smaller than I remember? But that made the drink better for me. I liked the boba in this drink.
Drink: The black milk tea is a pretty standard/ basic drink and the brown sugar syrup adds a nice sweetness. I wouldn’t order 100% sugar, I feel like that would end up being too sweet. The tea flavor was nice and refreshing, I may ask for more ice next time to have a colder drink.
General thoughts: Overall, I really enjoyed this drink. It was sweet and refreshing and exactly how I expected it to be. This was my first time getting the milk foam topping and I am not disappointed (The milk foam kind of reminded me of cheesecake?). The drink looked really cute too. I also like their packaging with the tab on the lid to hold the straw hole cover. The only downside for me would be the mishap with the delivery.
Hong Kong Milk Tea from Fuku Tea
Overall Rating: 7/10
Amy Luo
Boba: Lychee - Really nice texture, pretty chewy and sweet. Very juicy + refreshing.
Drink: Tastes like milk tea coffee. Make sure to get light sweetness because it can taste pretty heavy. This might be my favorite Fuku drink.
General thoughts: It’s a pretty good drink! Overall, I would recommend this if you are a fan of coffee.
Thai Tea ( Milk 2%, less ice, boba) from Tsaocaa
Overall Rating: 6/10
Andy Kim
Boba: Chewy but not very sweet. It has some kind of slick texture on the outside that is slightly off putting.
Drink: Not very sweet, does not taste that much like Thai tea. It's mostly got a milky, smoky flavor. Given the price it's okay, but if you want genuine Thai Tea I would go elsewhere.
General thoughts: It's genuinely just alright for a one or two time purchase. The taste is passable, the sweetness is also alright. The best part is the boba's firmness. It is an aesthetically pleasing bright orange, and arrives with a nice gradient of bright orange to coffee brown. The packaging is bland but serves to show off the color of the tea.
Iced Blueberry Green Tea + Milk Foam (50% sugar) from Tsaocaa
Overall Rating: 7/10
Deepti Sunkara
Drink: Very sweet - 50% sugar was perfect for this drink. The green tea flavor is hidden by the fruit flavor which I didn’t mind. The milk foam gives the drink a nice balance but drinking it through the straw means a lot of it ends up at the bottom which is hard to drink.
General thoughts: A good, sweet drink for people looking for something fruity and refreshing. Not recommended for those more interested in the green tea category.
Thai tea with bubbles (no extra sauce on the order) from Fuku Tea
Overall Rating: 6/10
Seoyoung Joo
Boba: No bad things to be said. Chewy, sweet, adds a lot to the drink. It won’t blow you away but has all the basics down well.
Drink: The tea is not great. It’s the classic bright orange. It’s sweetened and it’s the flavor you expect, but there’s a weird chemical aftertaste it leaves in your mouth. It’s also kind of a watery side rather than creamy or milky. Not as good as expected.
General thoughts: Bubbles good, tea not so good. Still makes a refreshing drink if you’re in a hurry and you want to grab something. I’d get something other than thai at Fuku, though. Leave the good thai teas to a higher end establishment like Dobra tea (which doesn’t need bubbles to blow your mind) or even KFT or Gong cha.
Peach Oolong milk tea (no ice, 0% sugar) from Tsaocaa
Overall Rating: 7/10
Jessica Shi
Drink: The peach flavor is very noticeable even with 0% sugar! Milk is definitely not whole milk(probably powder), but it goes well with the tea. The foam tasted really good, especially since it adds a little sweetness and saltiness to the original tea.
General thoughts: I appreciate Tsaocaa using actual peach oolong to make the milk tea because most places would have just added peach syrup to normal milk tea. This drink is very satisfying but not so filling without the boba. I would order again for an afternoon pick-me-up instead of coffee.
Passionfruit Lime Green Tea with Lychee jelly (less ice, 30% sugar) from Tsaocaa
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Caitlyn Baensch
Boba: I didn’t get pearls and got lychee jelly instead. I really like the lychee jelly taste and consistency - it's a bit chewy and has a sweet, juicy taste
Drink: I really enjoyed this drink - it seemed like the perfect amount of sweetness and tasted very refreshing and tropical. Passionfruit is one of my favorite flavors and combined with the citrusy lime flavor and lychee topping, I thought that the flavors mixed really well. I think if I had gotten any sugar level higher it would have been too sweet.
General thoughts: I would definitely get this drink again! It was very light and drinkable; it didn’t feel overly sweet, sour, or heavy. I think this is a good basic drink for anyone new to boba or anyone looking for a refreshing treat.