RareTea
Bubble tea · Berkeley
About RareTea
At RareTea, we're delighted to share our passion for Taiwanese bubble tea with you. We serve a range of flavors in a bright counter serve shop where you can relax and enjoy your drink. Our boba milk teas have been a staple in Berkeley for years, and customers rave about the rich flavor profiles and...
At RareTea, we're delighted to share our passion for Taiwanese bubble tea with you. We serve a range of flavors in a bright counter serve shop where you can relax and enjoy your drink. Our boba milk teas have been a staple in Berkeley for years, and customers rave about the rich flavor profiles and generous portion sizes. In particular, our Salted Cream Milk Tea has become a fan favorite, with its velvety texture and subtle sweetness. We take pride in creating a warm and inviting atmosphere that makes you feel right at home, making RareTea the perfect spot to unwind with friends or enjoy some solo time.
What Customers Say About RareTea
RareTea (formerly ShareTea) is a popular boba spot known for fast service and a wide selection of flavors. Customers praise the quality of the tapioca pearls and drinks, especially the handmade taro milk tea and Thai Milk Tea. Some complain about inconsistent sweetness levels and running out of flavors.
Popular Dishes
Best For
Tip: Specify your sweetness level clearly when ordering, as some customers have experienced inconsistencies. Check Snackpass for deals.
Features
What to see nearby
Data from Wikidata
Explore the area around RareTea
RareTea is located in Berkeley, surrounded by cultural and historical points of interest. Here are some of the most notable places nearby.
Historical Heritage
- First Unitarian Church (A 37m) — church building in Berkeley, California, United States of America Lugar inscrito en el Registro Nacional de Lugares Históricos
Religious Buildings
- St. Mark's Episcopal Church (A 230m) — church building in Berkeley, California, United States of America
Parks & Gardens
- Union Field (A 102m) — park in Alameda County, California, United States of America
- Hearst Field (A 253m) — park in Alameda County, California, United States of America
Other Points of Interest
- Haas Pavilion (A 177m) — building in California, United States
- Q119397263 (A 188m) — building in Berkeley, United States of America
- Old Art Gallery (UC Berkeley) (A 228m) — On-campus building at UC Berkeley, California, US
- Dwinelle Hall (A 252m) — building in Berkeley, California, United States
- Q119397547 (A 314m) — building in Berkeley, United States of America
- Moses Hall (A 347m) — Educational Building, UC Berkeley
Data from Wikidata
Frequently asked questions about RareTea
RareTea Berkeley Reviews
honestly I liked this place better than the one in San Rafael it tasted good and the tapioca balls were softer also great friendly environment and they play korean music
Very refreshing!! Thai Milk Tea...A DEFINITE MUST TRY!
Great tea and fast service, had orders on a table by the door for pickup.
honestly I liked this place better than the one in San Rafael it tasted good and the tapioca balls were softer also great friendly environment and they play korean music
Very refreshing!! Thai Milk Tea...A DEFINITE MUST TRY!
Great tea and fast service, had orders on a table by the door for pickup.
Fast service. Clean. And delicious. Probably the best boba place I’ve ever been too. Their cups are good quality and the drinks and amazing. Couldn’t be happier with what I got.
I don't know if it's the whole East Coast that can't cook their tapioca pearls right or just Pittsburgh, but coming back to Sharetea after drinking milk tea with undercooked pearls was a magical experience. Get the handmade taro milk tea. It's the best.
Fast service. Clean. And delicious. Probably the best boba place I’ve ever been too. Their cups are good quality and the drinks and amazing. Couldn’t be happier with what I got.
I don't know if it's the whole East Coast that can't cook their tapioca pearls right or just Pittsburgh, but coming back to Sharetea after drinking milk tea with undercooked pearls was a magical experience. Get the handmade taro milk tea. It's the best.
Boba was great, I got this slushee thing? I did it when there was a buy one get one free deal. However, it would normally be ~$8 bucks which is simply insane. They also have inaccurate times on Snackpass, and instead of simply jacking up their times they let the notification go off that my order was ready while I waited inside. I almost missed a class T-T
I'm so glad this location let me use my own boba cup and straw. I'm always trying to reduce my waste and plastic consumption.
Boba was great, I got this slushee thing? I did it when there was a buy one get one free deal. However, it would normally be ~$8 bucks which is simply insane. They also have inaccurate times on Snackpass, and instead of simply jacking up their times they let the notification go off that my order was ready while I waited inside. I almost missed a class T-T
I'm so glad this location let me use my own boba cup and straw. I'm always trying to reduce my waste and plastic consumption.
This place is pretty solid. I have definitely had better boba, but since this place has good deals on snackpass pretty often, I end up getting boba here pretty frequently. My go to is the mango green tea with lychee jelly, which is really good if you like fruit teas. The wait time can be pretty long if its crowded, but you can usually order ahead.
ShareTea is one of my go-to spots to get my boba cravings fulfilled. Their milk tea is pretty solid; what keeps me coming back for more is their Okinawa (roasted brown sugar )and Hokkaido (caramel toffee) milk teas which is a little bit stronger in flavor. You get to pick out your sweetness ( 30, 50, 80, or 100% ) and how much ice you want (regular, light, and no ice [additional $0.25]). There is so many choices, at times it can be hard to try a new flavor since they're all good. ShareTea was shared to me by a friend and today I share ShareTea with others. Pretty solid milk teas and FYI they only have one size (large) for a little over $4 which is aight.
I've been coming here for boba since my college days (back when it was still called ShareTea), and it's good to see that the quality hasn't dropped since then. Years ago, you'd see a line out the door for ShareTea, partly because it was the new kid on the block, but largely because it set a new benchmark for what boba should be on Southside. They've got solid options all around. You can't go wrong with a classic Milk Tea w/ Boba, but my go to is the Ice Cream Milk Tea w/ Boba. Order it with less ice & less sugar, but once in a while, it's a nice mix up from a standard Milk Tea. Since my time in Undergrad, Berkeley has seen so many Boba shops come and go that it's easy to get lost in the deluge. More internationally renowned chains have set up shop in Berkeley, and options abound...that said, if you want quality Boba without making a fuss and waiting in line for 30 min, absolutely stop by RareTea.
Would get 5 stars from me if they posted what they make their tapioca balls from. Huge selection of flavors, custom sugar levels and super tasty, there's a reason why this place always has a (quick moving) line
I've been coming here for boba since my college days (back when it was still called ShareTea), and it's good to see that the quality hasn't dropped since then. Years ago, you'd see a line out the door for ShareTea, partly because it was the new kid on the block, but largely because it set a new benchmark for what boba should be on Southside. They've got solid options all around. You can't go wrong with a classic Milk Tea w/ Boba, but my go to is the Ice Cream Milk Tea w/ Boba. Order it with less ice & less sugar, but once in a while, it's a nice mix up from a standard Milk Tea. Since my time in Undergrad, Berkeley has seen so many Boba shops come and go that it's easy to get lost in the deluge. More internationally renowned chains have set up shop in Berkeley, and options abound...that said, if you want quality Boba without making a fuss and waiting in line for 30 min, absolutely stop by RareTea.
This place is pretty solid. I have definitely had better boba, but since this place has good deals on snackpass pretty often, I end up getting boba here pretty frequently. My go to is the mango green tea with lychee jelly, which is really good if you like fruit teas. The wait time can be pretty long if its crowded, but you can usually order ahead.
ShareTea is one of my go-to spots to get my boba cravings fulfilled. Their milk tea is pretty solid; what keeps me coming back for more is their Okinawa (roasted brown sugar )and Hokkaido (caramel toffee) milk teas which is a little bit stronger in flavor. You get to pick out your sweetness ( 30, 50, 80, or 100% ) and how much ice you want (regular, light, and no ice [additional $0.25]). There is so many choices, at times it can be hard to try a new flavor since they're all good. ShareTea was shared to me by a friend and today I share ShareTea with others. Pretty solid milk teas and FYI they only have one size (large) for a little over $4 which is aight.
Would get 5 stars from me if they posted what they make their tapioca balls from. Huge selection of flavors, custom sugar levels and super tasty, there's a reason why this place always has a (quick moving) line
Beautiful store, could be cleaner. Tea was fast, ice and sweetness options are to be expected. Staff was overworked and over appreciated. Tea was watered down. I now fully support automation.
Beautiful store, could be cleaner. Tea was fast, ice and sweetness options are to be expected. Staff was overworked and over appreciated. Tea was watered down. I now fully support automation.
Good place for boba when it's available. They're always running out of fruit flavors when I come at night. I usually end up not getting anything with friends because of that.
Pretty alright tea, good location, friendly employees. It's nothing too special, but it's an alright place to sit for a few minutes and have a tea. Quickly on the north side of campus is definitely superior though, and only a short walk or drive away though, so I'd see no reason to pick this over that any time (provided Quickly's open).
This was my first time having RareTea, and to me, it was just alright. There’s nothing too special about it in comparison to other boba places, at least to me. They had a few fruit teas, but I was pretty disappointed they didn’t have any strawberry fruit teas. In general, their selection was a bit limited. They had some other strawberry drink that was more like a smoothie, with a lot of blended strawberries in it. I ordered that with boba, and it was just okay. I’m not sure if I would order it again, I couldn’t finish it. At least it wasn’t busy, and it was easy using the self-serve kiosks. Overall, 3/5.
This was my first time having RareTea, and to me, it was just alright. There’s nothing too special about it in comparison to other boba places, at least to me. They had a few fruit teas, but I was pretty disappointed they didn’t have any strawberry fruit teas. In general, their selection was a bit limited. They had some other strawberry drink that was more like a smoothie, with a lot of blended strawberries in it. I ordered that with boba, and it was just okay. I’m not sure if I would order it again, I couldn’t finish it. At least it wasn’t busy, and it was easy using the self-serve kiosks. Overall, 3/5.
Good place for boba when it's available. They're always running out of fruit flavors when I come at night. I usually end up not getting anything with friends because of that.
Pretty alright tea, good location, friendly employees. It's nothing too special, but it's an alright place to sit for a few minutes and have a tea. Quickly on the north side of campus is definitely superior though, and only a short walk or drive away though, so I'd see no reason to pick this over that any time (provided Quickly's open).
2.5 stars! This is a boba shop on the UC Berkeley campus, so parking is a pain. The ordering system is through SnackPass and the service is very quick. The staff are friendly and give free water too if you ask! There's lots of seating inside for students to mingle and study too. I ordered a Grapefruit Green Tea, since I wanted something refreshing to drink while walking around campus. To my surprise, it was very honeyed and tasted like syrup - even though I ordered 50% sweet. It wasn't fresh grapefruit unfortunately. The green tea taste was a bit watered down too.
2.5 stars! This is a boba shop on the UC Berkeley campus, so parking is a pain. The ordering system is through SnackPass and the service is very quick. The staff are friendly and give free water too if you ask! There's lots of seating inside for students to mingle and study too. I ordered a Grapefruit Green Tea, since I wanted something refreshing to drink while walking around campus. To my surprise, it was very honeyed and tasted like syrup - even though I ordered 50% sweet. It wasn't fresh grapefruit unfortunately. The green tea taste was a bit watered down too.
staff was rude, plus long wait at the counter with no attending
Waited 20 mins for a single boba tea. There were only 10 numbers before me and 4 people were working in the kitchen, but 20 mins for a drink? Worse still, the taste had nothing special and more than 2/3 of the cup was ice after I finish drinking it. Never come back.
Ordered a passion fruit green tea at 30% sweetness and got a drink that tasted like it was 100% sweet.. very frustrating bc why is low sweetness even an option if it's not going to be made less sweet I was actually very excited to try this place because the location is great, was planning on coming regularly if the drinks were good but the sweetness is enough to make me sick
Rushed to get here before they close at 10:00PM. I arrive at 9:40PM, the chairs are put up and the female employee tells me they are closed… with the lights on and doors open. Then I ask what time they close, and she says “well, we close at 10:00, but like ,we are sold out of all of our inventory”. Wow, that is unheard of, I thought. They should close up if they are all out!??
staff was rude, plus long wait at the counter with no attending
Rushed to get here before they close at 10:00PM. I arrive at 9:40PM, the chairs are put up and the female employee tells me they are closed… with the lights on and doors open. Then I ask what time they close, and she says “well, we close at 10:00, but like ,we are sold out of all of our inventory”. Wow, that is unheard of, I thought. They should close up if they are all out!??
Ordered a passion fruit green tea at 30% sweetness and got a drink that tasted like it was 100% sweet.. very frustrating bc why is low sweetness even an option if it's not going to be made less sweet I was actually very excited to try this place because the location is great, was planning on coming regularly if the drinks were good but the sweetness is enough to make me sick
Waited 20 mins for a single boba tea. There were only 10 numbers before me and 4 people were working in the kitchen, but 20 mins for a drink? Worse still, the taste had nothing special and more than 2/3 of the cup was ice after I finish drinking it. Never come back.
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2440 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
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2440 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
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