The best boba shops in Los Angeles

Packaged in enormous bucket cups more suited for popcorn than beverages, Half and Half's boba milk tea is not for the faint of heart or the faint of stomach, but it's still some of the best tapioca-tea combinations in all of Los Angeles. (Their closest location to the city of L.A. is in Pasadena, but you'll find a half dozen locations scattered across the SGV.) Their signature hot honey tapioca balls are made fresh and still warm when dumped into your iced drink. A must try: the iced milk with strawberry, pudding and boba, which tastes just like melted strawberry cheesecake. 

This Pasadena shop's kaleidoscopic drinks have become an Instagram sensation for their looks, but their superior taste is equally swoonworthy. Brewed with organic leaves sourced from Taiwan, the shop’s signature oolong cold brew tea provides instant stress relief during a heat wave. The menu offers more than two dozen organic milk-based teas and caffeine-free specialty drinks, including a matcha latte, a butterfly pea flower lemonade and a charcoal-infused "Day and Night" oolong milk tea. Yet the must-order might be one of their three toppings: an organic tofu pudding as milky and rich as flan. For dessert, don’t miss out on their takoyaki-shaped boba egg puffles.  

With a menu boasting more than 100 drink combinations and a dozen locations across Los Angeles, It’s Boba Time has something for everyone, almost everywhere. From classic milk teas and slushies to surprisingly tasty açaí bowls and patbingsu (Korean shaved ice), you can’t go wrong here—and the cookies-and-cream shake is one of our favorite ways to catch a sugar high. Parking at their popular Koreatown location on South Vermont is free, but be warned: it might get hectic after dark.

A block away from Culver City mainstays Honey's Kettle and the Museum of Jurassic Technology, Latea offers some of the finest boba on the Westside. The line that snakes out the door often rivals that of the eternally packed Salt and Straw across the street, and the mouthwatering housemade boba is always chewy and perfectly soft when ladled inside classics like assam and jasmine milk teas. Our word of advice? Refrain from adding them to the heavier, sweeter drinks like the creme brulee and tiramisu milk teas—gilding the lily isn't necessary with these dessert-like beverages.

This San Francisco-based chain with locations in Culver City and Historic Filipinotown has garnered a cult following on both coasts, though a series of recent workplace scandals has plunged the business into crisis mode. Still, their signature speciality teas, notably the Hong Kong milk tea, jasmine green milk tea and strawberry matcha latte, are still some of the tastiest drinks you’ll find anywhere in L.A. Like other artisan boba shops, Boba Guys uses loose-leaf tea, fresh fruit and premium organic milk (though the lactose-intolerant or dairy-averse can opt for oat or almond milk as well). 

The line for Sawtelle's oldest boba shop often snakes out the door, but fear not: the queue moves quickly, giving you plenty of time to choose. Personally we recommend the time-tested combo of a good ol' fashioned milk tea with a side of Taiwanese popcorn chicken. Chewy, with a pleasant toffee-like aftertaste, the drinks here might not be the most artificial flavor-free, but they sure are delicious. Take your drinks to-go and wander down Sawtelle to work up the appetite for a second dinner. Plus, unlike most boba shops, it's open relatively late, making it the perfect place to sate your sweet tooth well past regular hours.

Known for brewing high-quality loose tea leaves imported from Taiwan, this popular Southern California boba chain now has outposts in Little Tokyo, Beverly Hills, Koreatown and Sawtelle. The artisanal tea and housemade boba translate to a remix on the Taiwanese bubble teas (think ceylon, jasmine, oolong) with bold American flavors—in particular we like the standout brûlée latte with oat milk and caffeine-free taro boba milk "tea." Sunright's extensive menu also comes with a wide array of traditional toppings, including red bean, fresh taro and lychee jelly. 

This Taiwanese boba chain is known for its wildly addictive brown sugar milk tea: a creamy, dreamy concoction of caramelized syrup, tapioca pearls and fresh milk that takes eight hours to brew. Top that with cream mousse and coffee-infused jelly and you get the perfect cheat day treat. We recommend shaking it well before consuming so the clumps of brown sugar syrup that resemble tiger stripes can melt into the milk. For something lighter and fruitier, try the ever popular mango sago or the brown sugar lemon tea.