BenGong's Tea

There’s a note that says: we’re short staffed They did really good for a short staffed crew The gentleman was courteous, smiled, and took my order. It was ready in about 5 minutes. I ordered their jasmine milk tea 🧋 with boba No ice no sugar! It tasted lovey. Hopefully I’ll be able to sleep tonight (milk tea is high in caffeine) Will definitely come back Atmosphere was great! Mostly UCSD students and La Jolla visitors.

Been drinking this for last two years, at least twice a week, the best fruit tea in San Diego, no doubt. And a big thank you to my favorite store manager Han, she’s very very very nice, this will be my only Boba place if I could get chance to stay in San Diego for rest of my life.

Shelley Turner

I really enjoyed the special boba milk tea. 🧋 I went on a Sunday morning and there was no line and service was quick. Easy to customize and no up charge. The large was $6.70.

Jayson Chen

Tried the osmanthus rice milk tea, and I gotta say it’s pretty creative! Never had anything like it before, so if you’re feeling adventurous, definitely give it a shot. That said, it might not be everyone’s cup of tea (literally). Also had their special boba milk tea the other day. A solid choice. The boba was just right, not too soft but still perfectly chewy, and the tea had a nice, strong kick. No complaints there. Now, their fruit teas and green tea-based drinks? Ehh, could use some work. The green tea flavor was kinda weak, like it was afraid to show up to the party. Oh, and they have this wish tree where you can write down your hopes and dreams. It’s actually fun reading what other people wrote while waiting for your drink. Some are wholesome, some are hilarious, and a few make you wonder if they’re okay. *Update* Recently tried their new green grape sparkling tea and wow… it’s surprisingly good. I’ve also been coming here more often lately. Consistency could still use a little help some days the drinks hit perfectly, other days they’re just “okay” but overall, they’ve been solid. Definitely liking this place more now, especially with fun new drinks popping up.

Sydney Nitzel

I love this place and they have great drinks, however, they are very slow. The line was very long and moved extremely slow. They had one person on the register and three people on bar. We got in line right where the door was and waited about 10 minutes to order and another 10 minutes to receive our drinks. The boba is really good and recommend, just know it is worth the wait.

Jenny P

Omg!! The Pistachio milk slush is so good!!! I'm obsessed with it. Taste is smooth, not to sweet Han is the best barista I ever met, so nice and friendly. I appreciate the drinks she recommends, never disappoints. She makes me want to visit again and again whenever I want something to drink.

Nana Zhang

A perfect balance of taste and appearance! Highly recommend the Burnt Caramel Cheese Milk Tea!

Joe “JoeColor”

I’m always in the mood for boba tea and had to stop here while we were exploring. They didn’t have any boba that day which was sad but they had mango popping boba and that was exciting enough. I got the mango yakult drink as those aren’t as common where I normally get boba. We are circling back here and I’m stopping by again for more for sure

Andrew Jal

This is the best boba tea in San diego. Worth the way! Me and my family come here since soft opening still. We love Bengong’s tea and the manager - she’s really cool and professional. She helped us check out fast and correct 👍🏻 The atmosphere - it’s quite busy when we get inside, but the line is moving fast.

Hungry Forks

Psst, the best milk tea in San Diego is at BenGong in UTC. Han is a top notch barista with delicious milk tea mojo (that's her pictured in front of the store). For those who love a strong black tea, go for their Dai Hong Pao Milk Tea. It has a rich and fragrant tea flavor and is especially delicious hot! When I'm craving something cold, I go for the Tea Cube Special Milk Tea at half sugar and it's a perfect balance of tea and creaminess. Some milk tea places the creamer isn't very high quality--no scrimping here, it's satisfyingly creamy yet the milky-ness does not overpower the tea flavor. Their Peach Oolong Milk Tea with Cream Top is another tasty alternative when you're in a creamy fruit craving but still need that hit of good ole black tea. If you're not sure about a drink just ask and Han is happy to explain the drink's flavor profile. This December they started giving out these cute insulated bags when you order two drinks or more. Also be sure to follow their Instagram to get advance access to special edition drinks! There's often a line at peak times on weekends, but it's worth it!

Gus El khoury

There’s a note that says: we’re short staffed They did really good for a short staffed crew The gentleman was courteous, smiled, and took my order. It was ready in about 5 minutes. I ordered their jasmine milk tea 🧋 with boba No ice no sugar! It tasted lovey. Hopefully I’ll be able to sleep tonight (milk tea is high in caffeine) Will definitely come back Atmosphere was great! Mostly UCSD students and La Jolla visitors.

Nero zheng

Been drinking this for last two years, at least twice a week, the best fruit tea in San Diego, no doubt. And a big thank you to my favorite store manager Han, she’s very very very nice, this will be my only Boba place if I could get chance to stay in San Diego for rest of my life.

JUSTIN CHING

I came here not knowing what to expect. Drinks all looked really good. I saw the chest nut mochi milk tea at 75 percent sweetness less ice. I didn’t really like it. I added some extra sugar and didn’t really like it. So ended up getting a strawberry peach sparkling tea. Great service from Ozzie.

I really love this Black Gold Sesame Milk Slush drink from BenGong's Tea. With the first sip, a rich sesame aroma fills your mouth. Because it's a slush drink, there's no option to adjust the ice level, so it might be a bit chilly.

Drinks here range from overpriced and terrible to great! I’d recommend the cheese jasmine green tea if you’re generally a cheese top fan. At $5.45 it’s pretty well priced and if you’re a regular get the gift card to continuously reload for a perpetual 10% off.

On an errand at the mall, I noticed a new boba tea shop at the mall and had to try it! Normally I try the classic boba milk tea at a new place, but it was late in the day for caffeine, and they had a mango pomelo sago drink that’s been harder to find in San Diego until recently. The drink was nice, though I wish the sago would have been a little softer and the mango chunks more fresh tasting. Staff was awesome and super friendly. Looks like they still have to set up the inside space more, but I loved the wishing tree by the door. There was almost no line on a Tuesday evening. I‘ll be back to try the tea!

Definitely worth trying. The drinks look cool and aren't too sweet. The burnt brown sugar boba tea at regular sugar was better than the tiramisu milk tea. I would do regular ice next time so it's a little bit colder. It's at the mall so there is comfy seating right outside the shop.

The taste was good I got 25% sugar, it tasted a bit watered down i usually more dense Boba drinks maybe it was just the one I selected. I got the strawberry Yakult i would compare it to a strawberry lemonade without the lemon, less concentrated and with Yakult yogurt, you can't really taste the yogurt or the consistency of it which is good if you just want the probiotics in the drink but not the taste of the yogurt.

Momo Zhang

I really love this Black Gold Sesame Milk Slush drink from BenGong's Tea. With the first sip, a rich sesame aroma fills your mouth. Because it's a slush drink, there's no option to adjust the ice level, so it might be a bit chilly.

Trevor Kwan

Drinks here range from overpriced and terrible to great! I’d recommend the cheese jasmine green tea if you’re generally a cheese top fan. At $5.45 it’s pretty well priced and if you’re a regular get the gift card to continuously reload for a perpetual 10% off.

Tiffany Poon

On an errand at the mall, I noticed a new boba tea shop at the mall and had to try it! Normally I try the classic boba milk tea at a new place, but it was late in the day for caffeine, and they had a mango pomelo sago drink that’s been harder to find in San Diego until recently. The drink was nice, though I wish the sago would have been a little softer and the mango chunks more fresh tasting. Staff was awesome and super friendly. Looks like they still have to set up the inside space more, but I loved the wishing tree by the door. There was almost no line on a Tuesday evening. I‘ll be back to try the tea!

Jing

A great bubble tea spot with solid flavors! The only downside is how popular it is - expect a long wait to get in. Still worth it if you’ve got the time.

Ronald Dolsky

Definitely worth trying. The drinks look cool and aren't too sweet. The burnt brown sugar boba tea at regular sugar was better than the tiramisu milk tea. I would do regular ice next time so it's a little bit colder. It's at the mall so there is comfy seating right outside the shop.

Jose P.

The taste was good I got 25% sugar, it tasted a bit watered down i usually more dense Boba drinks maybe it was just the one I selected. I got the strawberry Yakult i would compare it to a strawberry lemonade without the lemon, less concentrated and with Yakult yogurt, you can't really taste the yogurt or the consistency of it which is good if you just want the probiotics in the drink but not the taste of the yogurt.

Very busy place, and long line. Interior is a bit confusing and cramped, and there is no seating area for customers to drink boba or wait for orders. Wait time was slightly long, so we were just waiting in the gallery area. There is a tree you can make wishes at which is a cute touch. In terms of the boba, it is very mid and watery. We ordered multiple drinks, all of which fell flat. The passionfruit soda was the best out of all, and it wasn’t anything special. Jasmine milk tea was watery and not very flavorful. Wished the boba had more chewiness/qq to it, as it was somewhat soft and warm. Overall, the place is cute, but the drinks aren’t anything special to come back for, especially when you have to wait so long.

Kirsten Nguyen

Very busy place, and long line. Interior is a bit confusing and cramped, and there is no seating area for customers to drink boba or wait for orders. Wait time was slightly long, so we were just waiting in the gallery area. There is a tree you can make wishes at which is a cute touch. In terms of the boba, it is very mid and watery. We ordered multiple drinks, all of which fell flat. The passionfruit soda was the best out of all, and it wasn’t anything special. Jasmine milk tea was watery and not very flavorful. Wished the boba had more chewiness/qq to it, as it was somewhat soft and warm. Overall, the place is cute, but the drinks aren’t anything special to come back for, especially when you have to wait so long.

Food: 2/5 Service and Setting: 3/5 Value: 2.5/5 Bengong’s Tea, located inside UTC, is always busy with notably Chinese customers. I caught them on a more relaxed day and went in. The interior is clean and modern, yet confusing. The layout has a corner set up like an art gallery but is not very practical for holding lines or giving people a comfortable place to drink. The cashier and staff were nice but did not mention things in the drink I ordered that I would have no idea of until I received it. The prices are a dollar or more higher than most boba shops but I feel like the quality of drink I received does not justify the premium. If you are craving boba, I would honestly say that Wushiland or Happy Lemon are better bets. Strawberry Peach Soda Tea: 2/5 I always tell myself that I am not going to get a sparkling drink and it always fails me, but this one had tea in its name so I took the chance. I did not ask if the tea drink had tea in it and that’s on me, but I did not want to be that guy. I am almost positive it does not have tea and in Chinese it just says bubbly rather than saying tea. The drink also comes with crystal boba, something the staff did not tell me. It was very fresh and not very sweet, but overall pretty meh. The drink was a bit lacking in the bubble department and gave me DIY soda vibes in a bad way. There was nothing very cohesive or special about it and I got that dreaded wasted money feeling after I finished it. Maybe their normal teas are better but I probably won’t be back.

Justin Fan

Food: 2/5 Service and Setting: 3/5 Value: 2.5/5 Bengong’s Tea, located inside UTC, is always busy with notably Chinese customers. I caught them on a more relaxed day and went in. The interior is clean and modern, yet confusing. The layout has a corner set up like an art gallery but is not very practical for holding lines or giving people a comfortable place to drink. The cashier and staff were nice but did not mention things in the drink I ordered that I would have no idea of until I received it. The prices are a dollar or more higher than most boba shops but I feel like the quality of drink I received does not justify the premium. If you are craving boba, I would honestly say that Wushiland or Happy Lemon are better bets. Strawberry Peach Soda Tea: 2/5 I always tell myself that I am not going to get a sparkling drink and it always fails me, but this one had tea in its name so I took the chance. I did not ask if the tea drink had tea in it and that’s on me, but I did not want to be that guy. I am almost positive it does not have tea and in Chinese it just says bubbly rather than saying tea. The drink also comes with crystal boba, something the staff did not tell me. It was very fresh and not very sweet, but overall pretty meh. The drink was a bit lacking in the bubble department and gave me DIY soda vibes in a bad way. There was nothing very cohesive or special about it and I got that dreaded wasted money feeling after I finished it. Maybe their normal teas are better but I probably won’t be back.

worker with the shaggy shoulder length red hair was INCREDIBLY rude. i ordered a tea that involved orange juice and 30 minutes after i made my drink i checked in for the second time and he told me he wasn’t making it cuz they didn’t have orange juice (totally fine!) but didn’t offer to make a different drink and was clearly angry that i was asking ???? a second worker had to come over and offer to make me something else 😅 it was a super rude experience - i didn’t make you run out of orange juice bro idk why you’re mad at me 😅 i asked for a refund and he was super rude and just walked away and made another rude remark didn’t offer to help in anyway. a supervisor had to come and apologize. i just simply would not go somewhere that allows people to treat customers like such. its not that hard to just be nice. wushiland is delicious btw 💖

Emma Schwartz

worker with the shaggy shoulder length red hair was INCREDIBLY rude. i ordered a tea that involved orange juice and 30 minutes after i made my drink i checked in for the second time and he told me he wasn’t making it cuz they didn’t have orange juice (totally fine!) but didn’t offer to make a different drink and was clearly angry that i was asking ???? a second worker had to come over and offer to make me something else 😅 it was a super rude experience - i didn’t make you run out of orange juice bro idk why you’re mad at me 😅 i asked for a refund and he was super rude and just walked away and made another rude remark didn’t offer to help in anyway. a supervisor had to come and apologize. i just simply would not go somewhere that allows people to treat customers like such. its not that hard to just be nice. wushiland is delicious btw 💖