Teahouse Tapioca & Tea

Worth driving accross town for, especially love their hours and selection very late at night.

Came here on a Sunday afternoon and the line was almost out the door. They seemed short-​handed on staff. The cashier was poorly trained in the fact that she charged me the full amount then told me that I have had a credit for one free drink the whole time. Then when waiting for my drinks, they were sitting on the counter for 5 minutes and were ready the whole time but no one bothered to put the plastic lid on it. Then some people that were before me got their drinks and it had no tapioca. Maybe it was just a bad day.

I got a Honeydew Cream Tea with Tapioca bubbles. It was really really good. I think the price of it was fair too, but then again where I am from, everything is overpriced. I would recommend the drink and the place. The only thing that threw me off, was the inside is completely different then all of the pictures listed. I think it looks way better than the pics. :)

Signed up for Unilocal just for this review. No one will give a shit because I’m an asshole, but I need to vent.
Horribly mismanaged place. Turnover is shit. Long lines all the time and drink tickets «don’t get printed». One register and 4 – 5 employees at a time with a line of 15 – 20 people at any given moment.
Came in today to grab a drink with some friends. Ordered a rooibos tea (ooh, fancy) and may have gotten a little too starbucksy (quarter sweet with stevia, hey i gotta watch my figure). Paid and waited off to the side. 10 minutes goes by, as my friends quickly get their drinks. Okay, that’s fine. I think you have to actually brew rooibos tea. No problem. Get on my phone for a bit and wait. Another 10 minutes goes by. Well damn. I’m not a tea expert but I don’t think it takes that long. I ask the barista, «Hey, I ordered a rooibos tea about 20 min ago, can you check on the status?» She looks at the queue. «Oh, it looks like it didn’t print. Let me make it for you.» Not happy at this point, because how does a printer not print one order, but prints the next 5? She goes to the register to re-​enter the order? Not sure, but somehow the register fucked up and something’s wrong. She goes to put out that fire because by then, the line is wrapped around the wall. At this point, I’m sure my friends have finished their drinks. It’s been 30 minutes. I’m fed up with the ineptitude of the printer and staff and just request a refund. «I’m sorry, we can’t do a refund.» Why the hell not? I paid for my drink and I have not gotten a drink. I WANT MY GODDAMN MONEY BACK. So I just said «forget it, I’m just going to leave.» I’ll deal with it later and charge my money back because I paid for a drink and did not get a drink.
Anyway, the root issue is that this place has shitty management because the turnover is shit. You put inexperienced people with shitty equipment and shit like this happens. One more register and one more hire (they’re cheap, like $ 10−12/hr or whatever minimum wage is) and you can reduce your turnover by 1,000%.
$ 4 is not a lot, but I’m still going to charge back because I very damn well want to.

1^st time going there, extremely packed a lot of younger grounds, pretty loud.

Menu: definitely 5 stars. Just look at the variety: hot, cold, cream, teas, boba, jelly. Everything is fully customizable as well.
Atmosphere: 5 stars. I’m assuming it was recently renovated. The huge mirrors really opened up the space and there is a good amount of workspace to go along with the free wifi. Last time I came was a couple years back to work on some grad school assignments.
Overall experience: 1 star. Now I’m no expert on boba-​ology or food science in regards to these drinks, but I’m hoping the kitchen is clean and the ingredients are kept in appropriate temperature and moisture levels. I say this because an hour after completing my drink, I was hit hard by emesis. Hard. Like The Exorcist.
Will I be back? Probably. But I hope the next drink doesn’t make me sick again. Teahouse has so much potential to be a frequent workspace when I’m on the go.

I can’t believe I haven’t thrown my 2 cents in about this place — truly a spot to hit if you are passing through Houston and want to get a glimpse inside a cultural institution. This tea house has been here for about 16 – 17 years now, but it keeps itself fresh and spacious with different remodeling projects (that usually don’t get in the way of enjoying the space) which makes coming back always a nice surprise. This was the first bubble tea place in montrose, and I might even be able to argue the inner loop which means that yes, maybe you can make the trek out to Chinatown or west Houston for cheaper and more variety, but tea house offers an oasis for those who want their boba fix before waiting time in the trose or meeting up friends for a board game. There is usually a line on Friday or Saturday, but if you need a place to be but don’t want to be at a bar, tea house offers that alternative.
Hot tip: they will adjust the sweetness for you. I find that if I don’t say «half sugar» it can be a bit overwhelming, so if you find the sugar rush too intense, dial it down when your order.

I am slightly obsessed with tapioca. I get cravings for it all of the time. Teahouse has been one of the top spots for me to get tapioca in Houston. They are consistent. I love that every time I order my drink it tastes the same. Also, I love the tea to tapioca ratio. They aren’t stingy with them at all. I can’t stand places that give you one row of tapioca. The tapioca balls are the best part.
You can ask them to put less sugar or no ice which I try to remember to ask for each time.
I’ve been working from home so this has been a great spot for me to be productive during the weekdays. It doesn’t get too crowded. I typically go to the back room and snag a couch.

I’m fully on board with Teahouse! Whether it be Bellaire, Westheimer, or Memorial I love all their locations!
Recently visited this location after being MIA from this portion of Houston for a while, and I have to say I love the renovation they’ve done here. I don’t know how long it’s been but props to Teahouse for revamping this place. I know a lot of customers go here to study and hang out. The renovations have made the place feel more open and less gloomy. I think I’d be more willing to come and hangout here more often, now.
Aside from the aesthetics of this place, I personally enjoy a refreshing Strawberry Green Tea with the addition of tapioca pearls when I make a visit to any of their locations. It always comes out with a consistent flavoring; never too syrup filled or too watered down like other boba joints. During hotter months, I like to enjoy the fruit tea they offer. I believe its a green tea with a medley of fruits inside that you can snack on after you finish slurping up your boba tea. Think of it as a snack you get inside of your drink, basically a 2 for 1 deal for me.
Love this place! Can’t wait to visit again!!!

I’m surprised at how highly rated this place is given how mediocre their drinks are.
Their tapioca is too mushy so it was probably cooked for too long. It’s also lacking in sweetness which means they didn’t put it in sugar water beforehand.
The tea is definitely watered down and of lower quality. And they left (possibly on purpose?) the tea bag in the cup which is absolutely ridiculous.
And I don’t understand this whole cream tea thing — what happened to good old fashioned milk tea?
If they’re going to call themselves Teahouse Tapioca and Tea, then their tea should be good.

Great place to study or just hang out. They have a back lounge. They also have board games for you and your friends to enjoy. The tapioca here is great. I usually get a leeche smoothie with tapioca.

Whoa they remodeled, and it looks amazing! As before, don’t be fooled by the small front area. If you go to the right, there’s a corridor that leads to another room with plenty more table space.
This is definitely a good spot to study if you’re nearby and don’t mind going through Shepherd construction. Or if you’re just wanting to chill with friends after a meal, they have a ton of board games.
I love that they give so many options, and they let you customize your drink however you want. The staff members are super friendly, especially Kiefer.
I had the fresh taro cream blend. It comes with real taro. I asked for no sugar, and it’s still slightly sweet, which was perfect for me. You can customize the sweetness level, which I recommend doing unless you like your drinks super sweet.
Be sure to sign up for their convenient rewards program for free drinks!

I’m very conflicted about this place. While Teahouse has recently renovated and created ample study spots, the actual drinks are subpar.
So it’s a trade off. You can study in so many spots with either less distractions in the back or the cliché busy café feel in the front. However, the drinks are just … Meh. Not even meh, whatever is below meh. Not disgusting just… Leaving you with the feeling of: Why did I even spend money on this?
I’ll answer you why you bought that drink. Because you felt bad for using space for studying.

This place is awesome. I’m still not sure if the frozen green tea could be considered «healthy» or not, but honestly, I’d rather not know. It is yummy, and I will keep coming back here for more regardless.
I brought books to study here once, and a lot of college students like myself were hanging out here. BUTTTT, they weren’t exactly quiet, so I wouldn’t really consider this a good place to study.
Regardless, they are always quick and consistent with my orders, and I would purposefully drive miles out of the way from my work last summer to come here to get a drink in the morning.
I am definitely a fan of this place– especially since they were open so early compared to other tapioca places.

This is probably the only place that offers tapioca after 10pm in the area. Thank goodness the quality is great, too!
Upon walking in, the common sight is a busy crowd of students studying or catching up with friends. Sometimes the environment can be a little distracting if you can’t work loud background noise. After all, there is music and a good selection of board games.
There’s a huge variety of drinks. Miraculously, the friendly staff are also really good about getting all the orders right. My favorites are blended vanilla latte (it tastes like blended coffee ice cream oh maaan), fresh grapefruit green tea, and fresh orange+carrot juice.
Recently they added some white/​translucent tapioca pearls. Maybe the darker ones are getting boring or throw boba newbies off.

Best boba you can get on this side of town. I can agree with some on how heavily dependent powder is in their drinks. For example, their Thai tea definitely has a strong aftertaste. I don’t recommend getting it here.
But I really enjoy their caramel milk tea along with a few TeaPress selections. However, without specifications… teas/​drinks will come out less sweet. So if you enjoy your drinks more on the sweeter side-don’t forget to put in your request!

I’m a huge original milk tea fanatic, and Teahouse was the first boba place in Houston I tried. My first impression involved a continuous rave about this place after trying Teahouse’s cream tea. (I come from a boba-​dry place.)
Now that I’ve sampled many a different boba places, Teahouse has dwindled in my rankings, unfortunately. It’s close, however, and it’s still boba… so I’ll definitely return, but it’s not my first choice. The tea tastes slightly artificial and weak, no strong notes of black tea or delicate additions of creamer. The taste is more powdery than natural, which is a big pet peeve for me.

I miss the good old days when boba was less than three dollars but alas, as the bubble tea craze continues to rage through America, I’ll just have to keep paying $ 4.00 for my delectable milk tea drink.
Love it or dislike it, Teahouse has definitely carved out its own niche in the bubble tea scene in Houston. Not the best boba I’ve had, but definitely acceptable within American standards. I’ve yet to encounter a tea place in the States that has tea with the aromatics and strength that I like it, but one has to make a little room for a culture that’s accepting another.
I’m a bit ashamed that I order my drinks with as many specifications as the stereotypic basic chick at Starbucks, but you gotta «no ice/​half sugar» otherwise my rating would be much lower than it is, hahaha. Can’t go wrong with any of the cream teas, although I opt for jasmine most times. Teahouse’s pearls are a little on the softer side, but that matches up to my preference so I have no qualms.
What also makes Teahouse good is that it opens to 1 AM! Asides from the main seating area, there is also an entire lounge area in the back for those who need to study and get some work done. Beware to those who are noise-​sensitive — Teahouse serves as a study spot just as much as a place for hangouts, otherwise it’s not a bad place. Just ALWAYS BUSY.
Anywho, last week I eyed out a mung bean cream slush that will be my target the next time I visit. In the meantime, check this place out.

Very impressed by the huge selection of bubble teas (bobas) offered here! They have creative flavours and all the basic ones as well. They have deals for special flavours — buy one get one for $ 1 or for free (sorry can’t remember exactly). And the best part is that you can choose the level of «sweetness» and the type of sweetener used! Viola!

I used to come here all the time for Thai tea and studying. They used to have this really neat tank with an arowana fish inside. Today the fish is not there. Just an empty tank.
I usually get Thai tea with baby tapioca and a little bit more sweet. Last few visits, they did not have the baby tapioca. And I forgot to ask for extra sweet today. So my drink was super milky.
I really like the atmosphere here to hang with friends. The store goes in deep revealing more areas in the back where you’ll find lots of people studying and taking over the tables and couches. The music is a tad too loud to study. So it’s more for the hanging out atmosphere.