The Boba Files: Sharetea (San Jose, CA)
8:00:00 AM
File #012: One More Time! Knock My Socks Off!
Have you ever had really high hopes only to be met by disappointment? No? Well just think of the last time you went searching for a new job and you’ll know how it feels.
Anyways, my first visit to Sharetea didn’t go exactly as planned and I ended up going home a disappointed girl-- and I didn’t even pay for that drink, PC did. But, if you are interested about how that went, just click on the hyperlink above and read all about it.
So, when I heard that a Sharetea was opening up in my neighborhood to replace Barcode (another boba place, probably one of the first in my neighborhood), I was interested-- but skeptical.
My friends and I paid them a visit on opening weekend and they had a promotion where if you checked in on Yelp, they’ll give you a free topping. Throwing caution to the wind, I decided to order the same thing I ordered at the San Mateo Sharetea: Green Tea Crema with boba.
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| Green Tea Crema with Boba |
Verdict: Yay or Nay?
Yay…? I say that half-heartedly because now I know that the San Mateo drink was a fluke. But it turns out, I don’t really like Sharetea’s crema formula. It tasted much better the second time around, but something about it doesn’t fit well with my palette, so I think I’ll be staying away from their crema line for future visits. My favorite crema still rests with Gong Cha and 85°C Bakery.
Like I mentioned previously, their drinks only come in one size which is the equivalent of a large in other boba shops. Also, their drinks lean on the sweeter side. I usually go for 50% sweetness in most boba shops, but I may even get my drink at 30% at Sharetea.
Sweetness and ice levels are adjustable to fit your preferences. They have numerous choices when it comes to toppings (boba, mini pearls, ice jelly, ice cream, lychee jelly, red bean, herb jelly, aloe vera and pudding), for an additional 50 cents. And Sharetea is very generous when it comes to the toppings, as in I think they put too much in-- at least for my own personal preference.
After visiting for a few times, I seem to stick to
a couple of these variations: Okinawa Milk Tea (80% sweetness), Oolong Milk Tea
(50%) and Honey Milk Tea (50%).
As expected, there was a long wait and chaos happening in the drinks-making area due to the influx of customers during the grand opening weekend. I think I waited about 50 minutes for my milk tea, while sitting outside-- indoor seating is severely limited. Not too surprising since there weren’t that many seating when Sharetea use to be Barcode.
If you have been to Barcode before, the layout is almost the exact copy, but flipped. So back when Barcode had seats on the right and the ordering on the left, Sharetea has their seats on the left and the ordering station on the right. Sharetea also has a larger kitchen area, which leaves less room for seats. On the top of my head, there’s about 10 seats inside and recently they added a bench on both sides to accommodate people waiting.
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| The cup sealers are adorable. |
Wait time has also dropped significantly. No longer am I waiting 40 minutes for my drinks, I can usually get it in about 5 minutes. And thankfully the hype has died down, so that while there’s still a line out the door, it’s much shorter than the first few times I’ve visited. Parking is difficult in this small plaza, but if I can’t find anything over in that lot, I just park in the larger 99 Ranch lot and walk over. A little walking never hurts anybody!
One thing is, they close at 10 PM, so if you have milk tea cravings, you may need to head over to either Hello Desserts or Black Pearl to satisfy those cravings since they are opened later. They also accept Five Stars, so you can rack up those points for a free drink.
So contrary to what Jane Austen wrote: “my good opinion once lost is NOT lost forever.”
What was the longest time you’ve ever waited in line for milk tea? Or just for food, in general?
1728 Hostetter Rd
Ste 30
San Jose, CA 95131
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