Each boba tea place has a variety of different flavors. They also have their own style and authenticity in the way they display their stores, food, and most importantly, their drinks.
Since Taiwanese immigrants made their way over to America in the 1980’s, boba began to become more popular in the U.S. As boba places popped up all over the U.S, it eventually reached the San Marcos community. There is now a diversity of boba places that the San Marcos community can choose from and only the best boba places have been broken down for anyone willingly to look for yummy tea with chewy tapioca pearls.

Kung Fu Tea
Located across the street from GameStop and WinCo foods, Kung Fu Tea is one of the most popular boba places in San Marcos. Since Kung Fu Tea added their location in San Marcos as the only place they were located in was Kearny Mesa, the location has been convenient as boba drinkers don’t have to drive 45 minutes from San Marcos to drink Kung Fu Tea. Besides their suitable location, their milk teas are flavorful as Kung Fu Tea makes their drinks creamy which adds to the distinctive taste that they have.
“Kung Fu Tea gives you regular boba [and they give] you more boba. Mango slush tastes way better than at Ding Tea,” junior Jared Diaz said.
Ding Tea
Another popular boba place in San Marcos is Ding Tea, which is located next to Kung Fu Tea.
Ding Tea serves their drinks in small sizes that have a round bottom, instead of the normal square-edged cup which makes their small sized drinks look cute. Their boba is golden and they serve high quality tea. They also have popular snacks like bubble waffles, which can be served with oreos or golden boba.
“My favorite [boba] place is Ding Tea, mostly because they have the best drinks (like the strawberry milk tea) and their shop has a nice environment to hang out in. Their boba is so tasty too!” said junior Kelly Amador.
Tea Amo
Tea Amo is not as popular as Kung Fu Tea or Ding Tea, but they serve excellent boba drinks that makes them one of the best boba places in San Marcos. The excellent boba drinks that they provide are different from the other boba shops. One of the unique drinks that they have is the Milky Way, served with egg pudding, or the Uji Matcha Frappe, topped with creme brulee. More people should go here for their unique drinks and it’s also a great place to study because the environment at Tea Amo is quiet and nice.
Serenitea
Like Tea Amo, Serenitea is another boba place that’s underrated. However, they serve the most delicious boba tea. Their teas are delicious because they make their teas fresh, so that the milk and powder mixed in the drinks aren’t that differentiating. Along with their teas being fresh, Serenitea makes their tapioca pearls warm and soft, which makes the boba easier to chew.
“They have a flavor that’s called papaya coconut which is really good. Serenitea is also cute and small,” junior Elana Ramos said.
Kung Fu Tea, Ding Tea, Tea Amo, and Serenitea are the top boba places in San Marcos. Even though the most popular places are Kung Fu Tea and Ding Tea, there are other boba shops that are diamonds in the rough. There are hundreds of different flavors that will make the taste buds go crazy.