Boba of USC: Reviewed

By: Antonia Le ‘22

First off, let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room: this article would have been so much more relevant in literally any other semester. But what can I say? By the time I could healthily drink (read: not overload my blood with sugar) from almost every place that sells boba at or near USC, the world had turned upside down, and writing about milk tea didn’t seem so relevant anymore.

But the world goes on, and hopefully, we’ll all eventually be back at USC and free to drink all of the boba we want. So, if the existential horror of living in 2020 hasn’t ruined your appetite yet, read onward for a review of (almost) every place where you can get boba around USC.

First off, though, some rules:

• For health, sanity, and monetary reasons, I could not drink every milk tea drink from every boba spot around USC. As a result, I went to as many places as I could and ordered the most basic, standard house milk tea with boba. The rationale behind this is that if a place cannot make the simplest drink well, then there’s really no point in trying any of the other drinks.

• Of course, my opinions will not align with everyone else’s at or around USC. I realize that people will disagree with my assessments, and that’s fine.

Now, let’s get onto the actual content.

Literatea

Tucked in the back of Doheny Memorial Library, Literatea is known for its good ambiance and reasonably-priced coffee. However, what it is not known for is its milk tea drinks, of which it offers two: a standard milk tea and a Thai milk tea.

I hate to say it, but there is definitely a reason why nobody talks boba from Literatea. At least when I went there, the milk tea was extremely bland. It tasted more like water than milk tea. Moreover, the boba pearls themselves were hard; they didn’t have the kind of chewiness that I expect from most good boba drinks. Overall, if you’re on campus and in desperate need of your milk tea fix, I’d recommend literally any other place. Sorry, Literatea, we all have flaws, and your quality is boba is one of your only ones.

Law School Cafe

In the basement of the law building is a dimly lit space that includes boba milk tea on its menu. Like Literatea, it only serves regular and Thai milk tea for its boba drinks. However, whereas Literatea’s drink was bland and underwhelming, the milk tea from the Law School Cafe was very sweet and overpowering. The boba pearls, in contrast, were soft and flavorless. In a way, the sugary nature of the drink balanced out the blandness of the boba pearls, resulting in a treat that’s fine enough, but not necessarily something that you’d get again.

Fertitta Cafe

If you truly can't leave campus but you’ve gotta get you boba fix somehow, then your only real choice is to head on over to the Marshall side of campus and stop by the Fertitta cafe. You still have to choose either between standard milk tea or Thai tea, but what you’ll get is a drink that neither’s too sweet nor too watery. The boba pearls themselves are a bit on the softer side, but they’re still chewy enough so that you can’t complain. Overall, it’s not exactly the kind of quality you’d expect at a real boba place, but it’s the kind of boba that you would probably consider going back for. I know that I have. 

Honeybird

If you’ve ever found yourself at the USC Village, you’ve probably walked by Honeybird at least once. While Honeybird is more known for its fried chicken, it also started serving a small selection of boba drinks several months ago. One notable thing about Honeybird’s boba is its price; though its cups are small, the same size as the four-dollar drinks at Literatea/Law School Cafe/Fertitta, the boba at Honeybird most recently sold for around five dollars a cup, which means you’re paying as much for a smaller drink from Honeybird as you’re paying for a larger drink from Pot of Cha or Boba Time. The milk tea itself is fine enough: not too sweet, but still flavorful. The boba is also appropriately tasty. Overall, the milk tea at Honeybird is good when you need it, but not anybody’s favorite. Generally, I’d only ever stop by Honeybird if I was too lazy to go anywhere else. However, if you’re willing to make the trek off-campus, you have many options that give you more (and better) boba for the same price.

Cup O'Joy

If you’re looking for affordable and inoffensive boba, look no further than Cup O'Joy. With prices starting at $3.75 for a medium-sized cup, you’ll find yourself paying less than you would at any on-campus location for the same amount of boba. The milk tea I had at Cup O'Joy was a bit watery, but still flavorful enough that it still qualified as milk tea. The boba pearls themselves were also fine (if a bit soft). If I wanted to rank all of USC’s boba spots, I’d put Cup O'Joy somewhere on the same level as Fertitta. Its flavor isn't quite there, but with such a low price and large selection, I can’t really complain.

Boba Time

In the opposite direction from campus, Boba Time is another good choice.  Its boba pearls run on the sweeter side, and they’re probably the hardest (but still chewy) of all of the drinks I tried. The actual milk tea was good. The flavor profile wasn’t exactly unique, but it tastes like what you think milk tea should taste like, and it’s easy to drink down super quick. In my mind, that’s a perfectly fine choice for your boba craving. Though I have not tried (and will probably never try) its entire selection, what gives Boba Time extra points in my mind is its extremely wide selection of drinks. If you don’t like one drink, chances are that Boba Time will have something that’s more your speed. 

Factory Tea Bar

If you’ve ever been to Factory Tea Bar in person, you’d know that it has the most elegant vibes of any boba place near USC, and its vibes translate into its drinks. Out of all of the milk tea I’ve tried, Factory Tea Bar’s signature milk tea was the only one to make me sit down and think, “Man, that tastes different”, but different isn’t bad! It’s good! It’s not your regular milk tea. It surprises you, and it makes you want to keep drinking. The boba pearls, on the other hand, were good in the classic sort of way, having the kind of taste and texture that you think that good boba should taste. Overall, though Factory Tea Bar has been with us the shortest amount of time, I’m not surprised that it has already become so popular with USC students. 

Pot of Cha

I know that I’m going to get hate or be called basic for saying this, but Pot of Cha is my favorite place to get boba near USC. Sure, its “regular” milk tea (which is listed on its menu as the Red Ruby Premium Black Milk Tea) doesn’t have the unique flavor of Factory Tea Bar, but it packs the biggest punch of any of the other boba places I’ve listed above, without being overpowering. Its boba also strikes the perfect balance between soft and chewy. There’s a reason that most of the clubs at USC who do boba fundraisers get their supply from Pot of Cha, and that’s because it is delicious, classic, and more conveniently located than Factory Tea Bar. If you’re not too picky about boba and just want something sweet to drink, Pot of Cha is the place for you. I know that it’s the place for me. 

In the process of writing this article, I drank at least one cup from every establishment (sometimes more, if I was ever writing at the place itself) and probably drank enough to make my doctor worry. However, I also had the excuse to go to places I’d been too lazy to walk to before, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to discover some new places to get my boba fix, even if I can’t get anything now. I don’t know about you, but when we’re all free to walk around outside again, the first thing that I’m going is to get a tall cup of milk tea from my favorite spot. What’s yours?

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