Gong Cha

Some of you might call me crazy, but their 30 minute wait out the door is worth it. The line is somewhat deceiving since their line inside the store only fits a few customers.
I highly recommend their milk foam green tea! I enjoy 100% sweetness, but their 70% and 50% sweetness is pretty good too.
Don’t forget to ask for a stamp card if you plan on returning!

Not that I’m an authority at this, but you know the milk tea joint you’re going to is legit when you see a Saturday night line and there’s a 99 Ranch within walking distance. Strangers to Fremont, my friend and I had a night craving for milk tea so we hit up Unilocal and settled on here. While Gong Cha doesn’t do anything radically different from the other boba places I’ve been to, there were a few things that stood out to me.
1) Choices
«Can I get the usual?» Your milk tea is completely customizable! You start out with a base drink and then go from there. You can decide how much sugar/​diabetes to add (from 30−100%) and the level of ice you want as well (from 25−100%). From there, you can add as much «toppings» as you’d like, which includes anything from boba to pudding to jelly to cookies and cream milk foam. I imagine that if you come here pretty often, you eventually have your own usual drink set up in your mind.
2) Flavors
They have a Top 10 list of their favorite drinks on the wall, and some of these were pretty unique. I got the earl grey milk tea, which came out surprisingly awesome. A few of the other ones I was tempted to get were the lemon juice with white pearl and the panda milk tea. Something to look forward to on next visit?
The only unmentionable was the line. The place is tiny and there’s only one register, so expect a 15 minute line that stretches out the door. Also seating was nada on the night we went, so this boba run became a take-​it-​to-​go outing instead. However, like all things in life, legit milk tea shouldn’t come easy and so it’s worth the wait!

Ordered QQ passion green tea, which is just normal. It seems that this place is famous. Maybe I didn’t order the right drink.

Probably my favorite location. Their lines aren’t as long now that the other locations are open. They ALWAYS get my order right and it’s ALWAYS consistent here!!!
Milk foam green tea, 70% sweet, 25% ice, extra milk foam, white pearls
Ice cream black tea, 70% sweet, 25% ice, white pearls
The only con is that they only have 1 register :(
They make their drinks fairly quick though.
They say you can’t park in the small parking lot for the small businesses. They won’t know. Do it.

Very good tea with the ability to customize your drink… sugar level, ice, etc. We got the matcha foam green tea latte and a herbal jelly milk tea add pudding. Both were solid beverages. The «average 50%» sweetness was perfect. Every time we come here there is always a line so we decided to wait in it and see if the hype was worth it. Though good, there are plenty of other local boba joints that can do the same thing without standing in the cold. Feel free to give them a try…

I am SO in love with their winter melon ANYTHING!!!
Boba is BOMB! Perfectly chewy and tasteful every time!
Never a disappointment coming here!

A solid, authentically Asian boba chain from overseas known for the «white boba» as well as the crema. A convenient stop alongside 680/​880, they serve a variety of tea drinks that you can customize in terms of sweetness and toppings/​additions.
I’ve tried the green milk tea and oolong milk tea with crema and white boba and both were good. The green milk tea is refreshing and the crema adds a nice sweet flavor and creamy texture. The white boba is apparently made from seaweed so it’s healthier than normal tapioca, and is somewhat more aesthetically pleasing while mimicking the texture. It is a bit more gelatinous, but I couldn’t really taste seaweed so I would get it again. The oolong has a nice roasted component that also pairs well with crema. Basically you can’t go wrong with the crema addition here.

I absolutely love Gong Cha, it is my top place for milk tea and I’ll keep on coming back! I keep forgetting to check in because I could probs be a duchess here.
This location makes the best milk tea compared to the West Gate and Lundy location. I’ll make the drive to Fremont for the tea and it will be worth it. I had multiple stamp cards from here but I’m sad that I am not able to combine the cards… So I have 4 individual cards and I would have enough for 2 free drinks. Sigh.
My top 3 drinks to order would be the earl grey milk tea with grass jelly, ice cream black tea and the milk foam green tea! I always want to try a new drink but I keep going back to my precious earl grey milk tea. I guess it’s time to use all of my stamp cards to redeem my 4 free drinks. Cries.

this is my go to place for boba when I’m in the area! I would definitely recommend the qq passion green tea which includes half boba and half coconut jelly! I also like it 50% sweet since it tastes average for sweetness

Finally got to come here after hearing so much about it! There was a long line out the door, but the wait wasn’t too bad.
They have a good variety of drinks and toppings. You also get to choose the sweetness level and ice level, which I appreciate a lot since boba places in the States are usually way too sweet.
Milk Foam Earl Grey Tea — I got 25% ice 70% sweetness. I would suggest getting a cap instead of the seal, since the whole point of milk foam is to taste the milk foam first then the tea. NOT TO JUST MIX IT UP. It’s like watching people pour Sriracha into phở, painful. 25% ice was kind of unnecessary, would suggest getting no ice because the ice got in the way of drinking the foam. The sweetness of the tea is perfect!
Fresh Milk Tea with Herbal Jelly — I am a big fan of herbal jelly aka grass jelly. They did a good job with the grass jelly because it’s sooooo herb-​y! This drink is very similar to the most popular drink at Half n Half in LA, which is good. I just wished they soaked the boba in brown sugar water so it’s sweeter. The bounciness is good though. 50% sweetness is perfect for this drink!

Space here is very tiny so often times people are standing outside waiting, just to order. Wait time was about 10 – 15 minutes and there were probably about 7 people ahead of us?
Tried the peppermint milk tea with pudding. 50%ice and 75% sweet. Took a friend’s advice not to get 100%…but holy smokes that thing was ridiculously sweet. It tasted alright but kinda prefer peppermint not as milk tea, maybe something with a thicker consistency– like a smoothie/​snowbubble. Got the large and it was about $ 5? (I think. I got treated) Maybe will get something more «generic» in the future, but as of now, my impression of this place is that it is very average.
They must be doing something right because people keep going back, but personally I do not like standing in a huge line.

After seeing my friend check into this place so many times, I decided to give them a try to see what the hype was all about.
I ordered the iced green tea with basil seed in the large cup and young guy says «you don’t want the milk foam? It’s very popular!» I said «sure, I guess I’ll give it a try.»
Maybe I should’ve just left my order alone because the milk foam gave it a weird aftertaste. I liked the milk foam on my iced coffee, but with the green tea, it just didn’t pair well.
I guess I can only give it 3 stars since I couldn’t enjoy my drink to its full potential and had to toss it after only drinking a third of it.
The sweetness level was good, the place was clean and service was pretty quick so I would still come back again if I’m actually in the area. I’ll just stick to my regular…

It’s been two years since Gong Cha opened, and I am still so smitten.
Choose your drink, pick a size, choose your sugar and ice levels, and add your toppings. My suggestions?
— Milk Foam Green Tea: get that mustache!
— Earl Grey Milk Tea with 3J: for those that like a mouthful of pearls, pudding, and herbal jelly!
— Wintermelon Drink: simple tea drink
— Lemon Ai-​Yu: refreshing mix of lemon and sweet jelly
After cutting out sugars while doing the Whole 30 diet, 70% sweetness is perfect for me. I tend to get 25% ice too! (Even with «no ice,» the drink is still cold.) Definitely get the pearls because that ish is bomb diggity!
Buy 10 Get 1 Free! I have so many Gong Cha stamp cards… it’s a little embarrassing. Out of all the Gong Cha locations, the OG Fremont one is still the best one!

I remember back when it was still the cool kid in Fremont town. Lines would be out the door! It sometimes still is. I think that’s because the store is really small. AND, there’s only one cashier. I feel like it’s also part of their marketing. If other people see a line out the door, of course they’re going to think that store is either giving away gold or providing some off the hook food/​drinks. As far as the drinks go, they’re just alright. The milk foam green tea is indeed a popular drink and lives up to that hype. But, before all these new boba shops popped up with the same drink on their menu, gong cha would be the only place to actually get that milk foam green tea. And well now, it ain’t the only place to provide that. Sooo there’s really nothing else special about gong cha.
For the first timers, try the milk foam teas. Gong cha is known for those. Also, their panda milk tea is good too!
Another tip– you can adjust the sweetness and ice level. I don’t know about the other drinks but panda milk tea is actually pretty sweet with regular sweetness so maybe get 50% or 80% just to be on the safer side. However, if you are up for that sugar rush, by all means go for that 100% sweetness!

Okay, I’ve never really been that person who’s been about that boba life so believe me when I say this place is legit. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve tried T4, Sharetea, Purple Kow, etc… but Gong Cha has elevated to the top of my list. I’ve always passed by this place but never really thought much about coming in because there was always a line out the door. Luckily, when I came in when there was no wait (when does that ever happen)!
My friends recommended the earl grey with 3J (no ice, half sweet) and I can’t say they steered me wrong. Unlike most boba places, you can actually taste the quality of the tea and the light herbal jelly with pearls was a perfect blend to the drink.
There’s plenty of parking in the big lot (same parking lot as Boiling Point which is just a few doors down), and don’t forget to get their drink stamps (buy 10 get 1 free).

I used to love this place but during my most recent visit, I ordered an oolong tea with ice cream and their ice cream looked gross. I understand vanilla has a hint of yellow but their vanilla ice cream was straight up yellow. And it was so icey so I assumed their ice cream had been sitting there for awhile or they just scraped the sides of their ice cream for me. Not cool!

Large brown sugar milk tea with herbal jelly is pretty dam good here. I tried one of their teas with QQ jelly I forget what the exact name is and it was meh. So I only get the brown sugar milk tea and I found that this location makes it better than the San Mateo location. I haven’t found anywhere else that makes it better. I’ve been coming here after eating at boiling point, which isn’t that often.
Line here is typically out the door and it actually takes a long time to take orders idk why.
Parking lot during the day here is fine but came here around 7 and it was hell trying to find parking.

First time here and I ordered their Milk Foam Green Tea with white pearls and pudding, 50% sweet and 50% ice. It was super good! It was perfectly customized to my palette! Exactly how I like my drink!
I’ve had white pearls elsewhere before, but Gong Cha makes it extremely good!
I also got a to go milk tea without ice and 50% sweetness for next day to drink. It was good but not my favorite.
I’ll definitely come here again to try other drinks!

Pros: The drinks are actually very delicious with a good blend of milk and tea. They give you the options (like many Asian drink places) where you can choose the percentage of ice and sugar (e.g., half sugar, 75% ice). This is the only place I know that has white boba which is made with seaweed gelatin. The taste is kind of tasteless but the texture is similar to the fruit in lychee cups… not particularly my type of texture. Overall great selections of drinks with creative names like panda milk tea (white and black boba). It is in a plaza of other shops so parking is plentiful.
Cons: This place is really small so not a great place to hang out. It is a pick up and go.
Overall: Definitely worth checking out and getting their drinks if you are in the area!

The first time I tried Gong Cha was in Korea, and I had a decent experience. I decided to give Gong Cha another try in Fremont, since my boyfriend never had it before!
We came here on a Sunday afternoon around 12:30 PM after we finished eating at Boiling Point (yes, we love to food hop!). There is always a small line for this place, literally every single minute. But the line moves quickly because people who frequent here are regulars and know what they want!
We ordered:
–Medium Milk Tea (black pearls, 25% ice, 50% sugar)
-«Mustache Series»: Tea Foam Green Tea (black pearls, 25% ice, 50% sugar)//The «foam» can be enjoyed multiple ways and I like that it was a bit salty to contrast the sweetness of the tea!
Pros:
–Great service! The cashier was super nice in taking our order, and kindly explained things if we needed help. They are also very well staffed, so they get your drinks rolling out 10 minutes top!
–Nice variety! Upon entrance you see the flashy «Top Ten» drinks… but your options are not only limited to these 10! If you walk closer to the electronic menu (or grab a paper one at the front) you can pick and choose to your liking!
Cons:
–Boba pearls too stiff. Maybe because I’m spoiled with Half & Half (in LA!), but the boba here is definitely not sweet enough (surprisingly) and a bit too stiff. It takes a good chewing to be able to swallow! And sadly, this is the essence of the perfect «tea» drink… no boba, no life!
–Confusing management. I understand the space is small, but I feel like they can definitely do a better job managing the fluidity of the lines, especially for first timers here. The only complete menu you can find is on the TV screens behind the counter OR the paper menus at the cashier’s. What about putting them at the entrance? Or posting them on the front door? Just food for thought!
Tips/​Observations:
–No bills accepted over $ 20!
–Get a stamp card! Buy 10 drinks, get the 11^th free!
–Try the milk foam! I think it’s definitely a specialty here, and while other places try to replicate, but Gong Cha definitely has the upper hand here!
–Your drinks will only either come in Medium or Large!
Overall, I would probably try other boba shops before coming back to Gong Cha again. As renowned they are, but my boyfriend and I think it’s overhyped. And he doesn’t complain as much as I do (which says something)!