The Boba Files: Chatime (San Jose, CA)
8:00:00 AM
File #010: What time is it? Chatime!
One of
the worst things you can do to me is: take milk tea away from me. The second
worst thing is dangling it in front of my face when I shouldn’t have it.
Like a
double edged sword, I lose both ways. Chatime both indulges and ruins me.
It’s not
their fault. They didn’t purposely choose that location for their store with
the idea in mind that they were going to destroy Amy’s diet and make her happy,
sad and conflicted at the same time.
Sigh.
You’re
probably thinking… what do you want? Take it away and you’re mad and give it to
you and you’re still mad.
What can
I say besides…? Humans are fickle. Myself included.
I suffer
at the hand of convenience. My weight that is. My willpower is not strong
enough to resist the temptation.
And while
the servers don’t know me by name yet, I’m sure if they took down names like
Starbucks, they would have by now.
Chatime
is located in a shabby strip mall, next to Popeyes and a Taqueria. Parking
wise, that’s never a problem since there’s an abundance, but because of the
nature of location, I always try to park closer to the shop. Not that the
probability I get stabbed or kidnapped if I parked further is exceptionally
high, but why test it?
Not too
long ago, Chatime was occupied by another milk tea shop, one that wasn’t worth
mentioning because they paled heavily in comparison. That place ranked up there
with some of the worst tasting milk tea ever.
Chatime
maintained the same skeleton as the previous shop, but added new furnishing to
spruce up the interior-- more noticeably the purple seats. The inside is
sprinkled with bright purple sofa and peppered with witty tea and coffee
related throw pillows.
During
visits on Halloween and Christmas, they decorate the shop to fit the holiday.
As a
frequent visitor, I’ve tasted a wide range of their drinks and enjoyed a
majority of them. Much like most milk tea places nowadays, they give you the
ability to customize the sweetness and ice levels. I take most of my
drinks at 50% sweetness or lower nowadays, but if you order the “latte” drinks
like the “Tian Guan Yin” or the “Matcha Green Tea,” I recommend getting it at
100% simply because of how that drink is built. Drinking it means finding the
balance somewhere in the middle because drinking too high or too low means the
difference between sickeningly sweet and bland.
 |
| The Milk is the sweet part. Notice how my Matcha Latte has less? Because I asked for 75% |
Also, the
last time I went, I noticed they have many seasonal drinks that aren’t on the
permanent menu. So you may want to keep your eye out if you don’t see anything
on the menu that piques your attention.
When all
fails, I like to fall back to their roasted milk tea.
Ever
since their grand opening in the summer, they have gotten much quicker at
cranking out drinks and fulfilling orders. Wait time has dropped drastically
with the exception of high crowds hours, which tends to fluctuate between when
school comes out (a popular hangout spot for the high schoolers from
Independence High School) and late at night.
Chatime
is opened daily from 11 AM to 11 PM, to my knowledge, with the exception of the
weekends where it’s extended one hour to midnight, meaning while the Tapioca
Express in the area closes at 11 PM, people can flock over to Chatime to
fulfill their boba crave.
Which
brings me to this idea. They should have a milk tea place that opens at 11 PM
and closes at 11 AM. You slap it right next to a college campus and I guarantee
a hit. It will be the go-to place for all the stragglers who want to sober up,
the party go-ers who want a drink, the random families that are still up and
for all the students burning the midnight oil, but have serious munchies. Call
it Midnight Tea. Or something along those lines…
But
anyways I called it here first. Somebody make it and cut me a portion of the
profits.
Or at
least give me a lifetime supply at your place. That’s all I ask.
 |
| Japanese Genmaicha (Caffeine-free) |
If boba
isn’t your thing and you wanted some snacks, they have a limited snack menu.
I’ve tried the popcorn chicken and it’s pretty tasty for $5. I believe they
also have potstickers and fries along with some others.
And for
those who always complain about never having cash on hand, Chatime is one of
those rare stores that accept credit cards. Also, slap your Five Stars card
down because they accept that as well.
10 check
ins = 1 drink.
Don’t ask
me how many times I’ve checked in..
Do you
have a self-diagnosed milk tea addiction? Is it a good idea to consume so much
milk tea? Someone do the research. Release the documentary and call it “Boba-fy
Me.”
311 N
Capitol Ave
Ste C
San Jose, CA 95133
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