Ku Cha House Of Tea

Boulder, United States

4

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 303-443-3612
Website:
www.kuchatea.com
Address:
1141 Pearl St, Boulder, CO, 80302
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.2 miBroadway & Canyon
0.2 miGate 1
0.2 miGate 2
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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Wi-Fi
No

Today

Today 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Boulder) 23:43 Friday, 13 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Tuesday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Thursday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Friday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 8:00 pm

Description

Specialties

We are a traditional Chinese tea shop, with a large selection of premium loose leaf teas around the world.

Located in the heart of Downtown Boulder Pearl Street Mall, Ku Cha offers her customers a nice and quiet tea room, where anyone can relax and take a moment for themselves while sipping over a cup of perfectly brewed tea.

We also offer free tea tastings every Saturday. Please check out our website for schedules.

History

Established in 2005.

Ku Cha House of Tea was born as a result of owners’ deep love to high quality teas. Specialty tea market has been growing for years; however, at the time, it is very difficult to find premium loose leaf teas here. To fulfill this need and our desire, the owners decided to open this business. Thanks for all the supports from staff and customers, Ku Cha has grown since then and kept growing. It’s our mission to introduce, not only the quality loose leaf teas, but also the tea cultures, from the world.

Meet the Business Owner

Qin L.

Business Owner

Qin came to University of Colorado at Boulder in 1997 to pursuit his graduate education in Electrical and Computer Engineering. After graduation in 1999, he joined a software start-​up in Boulder, where he devoted almost 4 years’ of hard work. Always inspired by the entrepreneurship, he went back to CU to study MBA. After graduating and a long period of soul searching, he and his wife, Rong Pan, started the tea business, Ku Cha House of Tea. «Ku Cha» means «Bitter Tea» in Chinese, which represents a simple way of life — the way of tea.

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20 reviews of Ku Cha House Of Tea

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Place rating: 4
Eldorado Springs, CO
The female tea barista that works there is polite and courteous. When I ordered the flavored black tea, she promptly made several recommendations. She even patiently took out a few cans of tea leaves that are mixed with different assortments of herbs and spices for me to smell. I went with her favorite recommendation, i.e. Spring of Paris, a type of black tea that exude subtle hints of strawberry flavor.
The tea can either be served in a teapot with a teacup or just in a regular cup. My tea is served in a small antique-​like teapot that is quite cute. The design of the teapot is not that ergonomic though and takes some skills to pour the tea into the tiny teacup without spilling.
Place rating: 5
Manhattan, NY
ANY TEA EXISTS here. Even though the sign outside says it’s Bubble tea, it’s far from generic. You will breath the Traditional leaf teas and embrace the“healthy stuff.” (You can add Boba/​Tapioca if desired though).
Ambience: Great atmosphere that is decorated with oriental designs and art. There’s an insanely large tea collection from around the world.
You can get the tea to go or go and sit in a nice back area in the back of the room. It’s designed so half is a traditional sit down /​shoes off style, or on a longer table. The light is dim and the ambience is peaceful. There’s plants and running water too, not to mention very clean bathroom :)
Customer Experience: Each time I’ve came, the baristas were very friendly and very accommodating. They are definitely very knowledge about tea and if you ask and there’s space in the back room, you can get a tea set to experience drinking tea from.
Drinks: I love any type of tea. My personal favorite is JIN HUA tea. I would suggest being open and exploring. Buy some as gifts to take back.
Place rating: 3
Lakewood, CO
In my opinion, the tea here is slightly underrated. The selection here is great, the ambiance is great. The only negative factor is the atrocious service, but other than that this place wins my approval.
They advertise that they have boba, and they do… BUT if you are tempted to buy it you have to know what you are buying in to. The boba tea is more of a traditional tea. So, if you are looking for the extra sweet and sugary boba drinks (which are more commonplace) then this is the wrong item to get. While the actual boba balls are sweet, the tea is not. One possible resolution to this is to let the drink sit for a while to seep up the sweetness.
As for the regular teas, the selection is huge! I am sure you can find something you like.
Lastly, it is worth noting that the staff there are pretty indifferent and are often confused
Place rating: 3
Denver, CO
The only reason why I walked in here is because they got a big sign outside their shop that says «BOBA» with a picture of a delicious looking milk tea on it. Great advertising there, especially for someone like me that has yet to find a decent spot for boba out here in Colorado.
Ku Cha is more of an actual tea house though than a boba shop. They’ve got a pretty wide variety of loose leaf teas that you can choose from, as well has having an in shop menu of hot drinks you can buy as well. As for their boba drinks, they really only have like 4 – 5 choices to choose from. I got their mango green tea, and it was pretty okay. The tea itself was very bitter with almost no hint of mango at all, but I like my stuff bitter so it was A-​OK with me. Their boba is super sweet. Like their boba is the Frosted Flakes of all the boba shops I’ve tried out. Pure sugar. Really contrasted the bitterness of the tea, but not in a good way.
In all, it’s a solid spot if you’re really into your tea, but for boba drinks it’s just a nice little option to have. Nothing to go out of your way for, especially since it’s all the way up in Boulder!
Place rating: 5
Chula Vista, CA
Unlimited options on tea. The staff even showed me how the make it. We sampled different blends, types, and flavors. Matt was amazing making me a great Mango Green Tea. It can be made hot or iced, and either sweetened or unsweetened. I would rate this 10 stars if I could.
Place rating: 4
Dallas, TX
Quaint little tea house right downtown. There is a small space in the back for the tea room private by partitions from the main store. There is a wide selection of tea and knowledge throughout the store.
Place rating: 5
Golden, CO
It was amazing!!! They have such a large variety of tea! The staff was amazing and gave a really great recommendation. The pots, cups, and implements were all amazing. Purchasing items were pretty expensive, but the tea was amazing.
Place rating: 2
West Los Angeles, CA
Service was slow, the inside was needlessly cliché, and the tea was simply not that impressive.
It has tourist trap written all over it, and it’s a so-​so one at best. Listening to the employees try to explain tea is so bad it’s wince-​inducing, and the only thing worse is hearing some of the customers (fellow tourists, obviously) trying to make heads or tails of the tea. I alternated between agony and laughter inside. The only plus was that the milk tea I had on a hot day wasn’t the worst I’ve had.
To be fair, you don’t go to a place like Colorado expecting an authentic tea shop, or even a trendy pearl milk tea place. Nor would you expect the patrons to appreciate it. But you don’t get either here, and to be fair, I can’t necessarily blame the patrons…
Place rating: 5
Salem, OR
Phenomenal! The tea they have for serving is delicious. The make your own tea station was enticing and even organized by the possible benefits of the teas, with a chart in reverse for the ailments you want to address listed with which teas help next to it.
The gal who helped us was phenomenal, kind, happy, and knowledgable about all the teas. She had great recommendations and sold the exuberance of the Tea house. There was one very unhappy guy who, when asked how to start your own tea, told us to figure it out for ourselves.
The tea room where it is served ha traditional seating on the floor with cushions and no shoes. There was a nice fountain as well and the tea snacks were various tasty treats perfect for enjoying a break from shopping pearl street or for good tea in genera. They also serve bubble tea/​boba tea in various flavors. The chai is delectable and the hibiscus green tea was wonderful. A large pot served us three at least 3 times each with plenty to spare but I dont know that a small pot would have provided that much. Those are the two sizes or you can order to go which if you are in a rush I highly suggest sill stopping in for a Togo order.
Place rating: 5
Westminster, CO
Tea bliss in Boulder! This is a wonderful tea shop that is truly a gem for tea connoisseurs! Love the ambiance and great selection of all kinds of fine teas from around the world including puerhs, oolongs, greens and white teas, as well as blends, chai tea, and rooibos. Some teas can be a little pricey, but quality teas often work out to be cheaper than you might realize with multiple steepings. The sitting area in the back is soothing spot to enjoy a cup!
Place rating: 4
Dallas, TX
The ambiance is definitely calming and soothing. The tea selection is also very good, with different types of green tea from Japan and China. I tried their boba, and it was pretty good. Although the milk tea wasn’t sweet, it was perfect with the sweet boba. Staff were also really nice. Neat place to check out!
Place rating: 4
New York, NY
I was one happy camper going in here.
My bf and I were wondering around Boulder one day and popped into Ku Cha House of Tea and naturally had to buy some tea.
We smelled about 30 kinds of tea (they have them in little boxes that you can smell) and bought a bunch. We didn’t love the chocolate tea that we brought home but everything else was pretty delicious.
I wish we had more time here so we could have sat down in the back and ordered some more tea to drink.
Place rating: 4
Boulder, CO
My second time here and I got a cup of organic ginger puerh tea. But first what I noticed about the shop. Walking in you get a slap in the face of the most intense tea smells. It’s fantastic and adds to the experience and ambiance. Instrumental music of the Far East also added to the experience.
There is no shortage of tea here and the selection can be overwhelming. I got a puerh, the ginger one and it was great. It’s cool they will brew you any tea in the shop for tea time. Where they bring you and your friends beautiful and colorful tea sets.
They have a small zen tea garden. With a little fountain and tables to sit at. Four of which are tables with pillows on the ground. It’s an exceptional establishment and if it’s cold in pearl street it’s the perfect stop.
They also make boba tea and it’s all really great.
Place rating: 5
Denver, CO
Extensive variety of teas. Beautiful and clean interior, friendly and knowledgeable staff.
Place rating: 4
San Jose, CA
The bubble tea here is delicious. However, the folks behind the counter aren’t super helpful, so best that you know exactly what you want.
Place rating: 4
Sunnyvale, CA
Cute tea house on Pearl street! They have space in the back that is set up like a traditional tea room — definitely a great place to relax after a long day of walking around!
Place rating: 4
Cape May, NJ
During our trek across the nation, we stopped in Boulder, CO and strolled along the outdoor mall. It was quite hot so I dropped into this tea shop to find something to cool down with. I ordered the iced organic ginger refresh tea slightly sweetened with honey with the addition of tapioca pearls. YUM! Definitely a light and refreshing treat.
Place rating: 2
Plano, TX
This review is for their boba milk tea only.
What they serve really isnt milk tea. Well wait — it is if you consider weak tea + a dash of milk + sugar packets. I took a sip in front of the barista and gave him a look like «really?» It honestly tasted like water. Also the barista looked like he could really use a shower. …
This place just seems to be all look and no substance. Sorry, wish I had better comments.
Place rating: 3
Alameda, CA
Was skeptical coming here but it’s pretty legit. Prices are actually pretty decent. Lots of choices of various teas — Boba can be added to any drink.
Location is convenient — right on Pearl Street. Great spot to stop by after shopping.
This place is very similar to TenRen tea out in the Bay Area.
Place rating: 4
Denver, CO
Just added this on my list of places to take my sister (a tea-​lover) when she visits this summer. Definitely a haven for tea fans.
While I haven’t purchased any loose leaf varieties yet, I did stop in for some iced boba tea on a warm Sunday in March. I got mine with milk and sweetener. When asked which variety of tea, I stared aimlessly at the board listing all of their offerings. I asked for suggestions and ended up with a lychee-​flavored tea. The flavor was subtle as was the sweetness, which is nice in contrast to the über sweet bubble teas you see other places.
But let me say, those tapioca balls were the best I’ve had. These were actually the sweetest part of the drink. Their texture was soft and chewy, and they dissolved in seconds of chewing.