Boba Battle
May 8, 2017
T4 (46132 Warm Springs Blvd Ste 133)
Pearl milk tea with black tea, boba, and crystal pearls ($3.25, medium):
Michelle: This had a really strong milk flavor–it tasted like evaporated milk, but in a good way. The black tea wasn’t as discernable. The boba didn’t have much flavor, but it was soft and chewy. The sweetness of the drink was just right. Overall it’s a very solid, basic milk tea option. 4/5
Atira: The milk tea tasted pretty good. It had no defining qualities from the other places that I’ve tried. The pearls were small and weirdly shaped – personally, I didn’t like them at all. They also did not have any flavor. It was a pretty normal milk tea – not amazing, but not bad either. 3/5
Mango royal tea ($3.00, medium):
Michelle: This was really good. It tasted a lot like mango juice, since the texture was thicker, and had a really prominent fruity flavor. It’s good for people who like the fruit more than the tea. 5/5 stars
Atira: I liked this a lot, because it was really refreshing and fruity. It tasted more like juice than tea. Personally, this was my favorite of all the drinks. 5/5
Wintermelon tea ($3.00, medium):
Michelle: This tasted rather watered down, and it was reminiscent of honey. There was definitely an herbal aftertaste. I wasn’t a big fan. 2/5 stars
Atira: This was so-so. 3/5
Gong Cha (46827 Warm Springs Blvd Unit 101)
Pearl milk tea ($3.50, medium):
Michelle: Their pearl milk tea was too sweet. It had a brown sugar syrup-y taste, and left me feeling nauseous. The boba was also rather flavorless, and just a little bit harder than T4’s. Maybe it would be better if it had a lower sweetness level. 2/5 stars
Atira: This was sickly sweet and you couldn’t really taste any of the milk tea past the sugary flavor. The boba was chewy and better than T4’s in my opinion. 1/5
Mango green tea ($3.25, medium):
Michelle: The tea flavor in this one was a lot stronger than in T4’s. You could really taste the green tea, which would be good for tea lovers, and the mango flavor wasn’t as pronounced. Personally, I didn’t like how strong the tea was because it left a bitter aftertaste. It was also more watery than T4’s. 3/5 stars
Atira: This tasted a little bit watered-down and there was only a small hint of mango flavor. The tea was more pronounced, which is not something I prefer personally. It had a good amount of sugar, unlike the milk tea. It tasted refreshing and was a nice drink by itself. 4/5
Wintermelon drink ($3.00, medium):
Michelle: Here, the winter melon flavor was much more concentrated than T4’s, but without the herbal aftertaste that T4’s had. It was also sweeter, but just a little too sweet. 4/5 stars
Atira: This was really strong and too sweet. It was an okay drink, as it was still refreshing, but I would not order it again. 3/5
Overall thoughts
Michelle: On a whole, T4 and Gong Cha are comparable in price. T4 did have a nicer atmosphere, since the store was well lit and had plenty of seating and games, whereas Gong Cha felt a lot more crowded since the space was smaller and darker. I preferred T4’s pearl milk tea and mango tea to Gong Cha’s.
T4: 4/5 stars | Gong Cha: 2.5/5 stars
Atira: T4 had a bright, open atmosphere whereas Gong Cha was considerably smaller, more crowded, and darker. T4’s milk tea was pretty average, but still was refreshing and tasty. I personally liked it better because it had a really good mango tea. Gong Cha’s drinks were too sweet and the mango green tea was more tea-flavored, which I don’t prefer. If we had ordered 50% sugar, it might have tasted better. Overall, I liked T4 much better than Gong Cha.
T4: 4/5 | Gong Cha: 3/5
