Gong Cha

New Gong Cha on the block makes for a happy girl!
After Vivi’s on 14^th got a «C» health rating, I knew it was time to move on to a different post Trader Joe’s milk tea place and I am so pleased to find Gong Cha hits the spot!
The shop is clean and tidy, adjacent to what appears to be a hostel. There are some chairs and tables, but I would say this is more of a to-​go sort of venue.
I love the ability to customize my drink in terms of percent sweetness and iciness, as well as add extra toppings. I find 50% sweetness to be just perfect for a tad of sweet that brings out the tea flavor. Their specialty is the milk foam– it’s not my personal favorite, but fun to try if you haven’t had it before. My favorite is caramel milk tea, although the jasmine is also very tasty.

I’m really into the milk tea here. It’s sweet and creamy, and they always put just the right amount of sugar and ice when asking for light amounts of both. I also ask for less boba/​pudding in mine, and I’m always satisfied with the result. It won’t be long before I get a free drink with their rewards card!

Pros: choose your own ice and sugar percentage, nice selections, fresh, fast service, accepts credit cards (not sure if there is a minimum), courteous staff, and competitive price.
Cons: need to walk up a few steps to get into the shop to order. I only order when i go with somebody because its not easy to go up with a stroller.

I would consider myself somewhat of a boba connoisseur, and this place lives up to my requirements for a bubble tea place. I really like that they allow you to pick your preferred sugar and ice percentages, it lets you make your personal drink.
One of the most crucial things you look for in bubble tea is the bubbles themselves– are they chewy? Do they taste fresh? Are they soggy because they are old? I have to say that Gong Cha’s boba meets my standard of being just chewy enough, while not being soggy.
The tea itself is pretty good as well, but beware if you are lactose intolerant; the matcha powder has milk powder mixed in it, so soy milk is not really an option.
Overall, pretty good for the price. Knocked down one star for the health rating, though (B).

One of my favorite places in the city! I have already been here a couple times. Its located on 14^th street near the 3^rd Avenue corner. I think the best thing about the place is their quality and variety they have.
I got the Lemon Wintermelon with Basil seeds which I have never seen at any other place. The drink has candied lemon peels in the bottom which give it a little sour and sweet bite. The tea is refreshing and a little on the sweet side. I know other drinks let you customize the sweetness but not this one. It has little Basil seeds floating in it which are kind of like Chia seeds. Once soaked in liquid they have a soft jello like texture around the hard tiny seed in the middle.
I definitely recommend this place for people who want to try something different! I always want to try the other milk teas here but I can not get my Lemon WIntermelon!

I think I’ve visited this shop at least a dozen times by now, with enough stamps to have already obtained a couple of free drinks. If they sold memberships, I’d likely sign up for one!
Gong Cha has delicious quality teas and an assortment of options to customize your perfect boba experience. My go-​tos are the classic Earl Grey milk tea and Green milk tea, but I recommend no more than 30% sugar and light ice for your drinks for the perfect amount of flavor and sweetness without going into diabetes-​land.
The double milk foam topping is a kick of sweet and salty, so it’s a perfect addition to flavors like green tea but not for others – it’s up to experiment!

Got the Lychee Oolong tea, 50% sugar, a little cold. It was delicious and the taste of tea felt authentic. Didn’t feel artificial like other bubble tea places and it was well-​balanced blend of the lychee and tea. You usually can barely taste the tea because the flavored syrup and sugar overpowers it. This was really not the case.
I would even try 25% sugar next time.
What I liked about this place is that you can choose the amount of sugar, and the amount of ice in a scale from 0 to 5.

Really disappointed with the inconsistency I’ve experienced from this location in my last few visits. I need to learn when specific workers work because it seems that only a few can be trusted…

I just wanted to try this place because I love bubble tea. They greeted me well, made me 2 cool drinks which I loved. I will definitely go back if I’m in the area.

Ordered:
milk tea with the 3J’s. Half sugar and light ice. They did put less ice which I like cause a lot of Asian bubble tea places dilute it or don’t reduce ice. This order was originally early grey on the menu but they changed to regular milk tea for me 3Js consist of herbal jelly, pudding and tapioca. Herbal jelly was on point, and tapioca was chewy.
Green tea foam with tapioca. No sugar and light ice. I always loved the foam. I never stir to mix them just drink it directly from the border between foam and tea.
They don’t offer e-​stamps at this location but they did stamp their business card so I can redeem it at participating locations which was nice! Staff is courteous and considerate. Really enjoyed my first time in here!

Gong Cha is a very good place to go if you need a break from the typical bubble tea place. They have an amazing selection of bubble tea such as milk tea, fine milk tea, creative milk tea. One thing that stood out to me is their use of milk foam. The foam is an add on for both the hot and cold tea selection and what it does is that it adds a very savory taste palette and light texture to their sweet and silky tea. If you’re ever in the area, i highly recommend going to gong cha for a bubble tea and giving their foam a try! Word to the wise, the space is not big and at times can get uncomfortable but that’s not anyone’s fault.

This is probably my second ‘go-​to’ milk tea place if I can’t find anywhere else that’s as a good, I settle for this. Being from San Jose, CA with a bunch of milk tea places, this is the one to order MFGT (AKA Milk Foam Green Tea) 25% ice. Some other days the boba could be super chewy, other times it’s just completely like the texture where you drink your milk tea w/​pearls the next day. But what can you say? I choose this place than the rest! :D

Cute new bubbletea spot with a new veggie flavor of wintermelon tea served hot or cold which is slightly sweet& since I don’t like overly sweetened drinks this is perfect. so this place will be my Regular go to spot!

I’ve been looking for California quality bubble tea, and this place didn’t disappoint. You just got to know what to order:
Earl grey bubble tea
+White pearls (made from a seaweed extract)
+No sugar (pearls are sweet enough)
+Light ice (because who wants diluted tea)
= This counts as healthy right?

I had the Taiwanese lemonade and my friend had the matcha tea. Both were good! Service was very friendly. I also liked that you could order the drinks with no or low sugar!

So disappointing!!!
I’ve been in love with Gongcha since they first opened the store at Mid Manhattan couple years ago. Love their milk foam tea and normal milk tea as well. I was surprised when I found this location, and of course tried both milk foam tea and milk tea w/​tapioca. How can you make milk foam this bad? It tastes like american whipped cream! Tapioca condition was okay but then i asked hot tea but what I got was just no iced tea…
Not coming back for milk foam, but milk tea ill consider. However, this location is very cozy café like.

Yet another tapioca option in east village. I mean there is one across the street. So what is different about this one?
White pearls? And the promise of getting a mustache via milk «foam». But how does that work if the drink is sealed from the top and drunk with a straw?
The white pearls are similar to chewing on non-​flavored jellies.
They were so popular (buy one get one free) that the traditional pearls were done by the time I wandered in.
I also liked that I could opt for no sugar. Once I got my passion fruit green tea with pearls and coconut jelly (standard menu order but no black pearl!) I was blasted by my first sip with sucrose. And that’s no sugar!
No diabetes for me… this time.

Yah new bubble tea place near Union Square.
To be honest, I cannot really tell the differences between bubble tea shops. Surprisingly I visit Gong Cha often enough (midtown and Flushing) but I always manage to forget my punch card each time. I probably have a handful of punch cards now that have one stamp on them.
My go to choice is its caramel milk tea, which is comparable (if not better) with other bubble tea chains. Choose from size medium or large. You can adjust your sugar and ice levels here, as most shops accommodate that now.
The staff here were pleasant and friendly when I visited. (Midtown location staff can be hit or miss.) Personally this location is better than midtown because they have some tables and chairs.
Thanks to Cynthia’s FTR and Jessie’s check-​in. That’s how I found out about this new location.
Super small store front/​entrance like the one in midtown. It’s located right next to an apartment building.

Gong cha is now at Union Square too?! I often come down to 14^th street to have lunch whenever I have class and recently happen to see this new location across from vivis. They are currently doing their buy one get one grand opening promotion on their pearl milk tea and the milk foam drinks.
I myself have also followed gong cha from the beginning when they were at Lexington. Their staff members are really friendly and quick at making drinks.
I wasn’t feeling the milk drinks today and got the mango green tea with pearls instead. They allow you to choose the sugar and ice levels. I got mine at 30 percent sugar and less ice. The tea was strong in actual tea flavor and the mango flavoring wasn’t too overwhelming of sugar taste like most bubble tea place do.
I also really like how they are honest about how long their products have been there. They put the hours of when it was made to when it would expire.
I would def. Come back to this location more since it is a lot closer than the 32^nd and 38^th street locations

I literally just stepped out of this store front and on my train ride home.
I followed Gong Cha from their first stores in Upper East Side to Midtown to Flushing, Queens to Korea Town to now — Union Square! Not sure if they are connected but I love the drinks here. As a bubble tea lover, I would go out of my way for a cup. Gong Cha would be my choice of drink after work! Their biggest strength is their tea quality.
As always, Gong Cha’s Lychee Oolong Tea is my favorite. I loved that we can adjust the sugar level and ice level. I always ask for 30% sugar and ice. I loved the taste combinations of lychee fruit and oolong tea. I like to add the white pearl tapioca, too.
Until Sunday, November 22, Gong Cha is promoting their Buy One Get One for Milk Foam Tea or Pearl Milk Tea.
Gong Cha, would your next stop be Brooklyn?