I have to admit I didn’t want to try self-serve bubble tea when I first heard about Boba Up opening up in Seattle’s U-district. I’m a bit of a germaphobe and the image of something like a zillion people descending en masse upon a boba buffet (like we used to at a certain self-serve frozen yogurt chain) was a little too much for me to wrap my head around. But we love Sizzle and Crunch which is practically next door and my kids had a soccer class that brought us to the area once a week. So one day when my kids were craving bubble tea and I didn’t feel like driving to any of our regular places, I decided to let them try Boba Up and it was so fun and tasty that we’ve been back a few times since.
What is a self-serve bubble tea experience like?
My family has a lot of experience trying bubble tea, especially because I grew up in Coquitlam, BC Canada where bubble tea has been around for a very long time. But I’ve never heard of any place that has self-serve bubble tea and I was really curious at how the whole experience would feel.
It turns out that that self-serve bubble tea is actually quite delightful. You have so much control over your own drink. You choose the size of drink you want to purchase when you enter the store and then you get to make the bubble tea yourself. I think there is a small and a regular size and there are only two prices for these two drinks. I’m so used to being faces with a zillion different prices for different bubble tea options and bubble tea styles. I also often get overwhelmed and pick the same thing every time I go. At Boba Up, both sizes of drinks seemed pretty reasonably priced compared to what I’ve paid at other bubble tea places. I’ve let the kids get their own drinks each time we’ve visited.
And what is self-serve bubble tea like at Boba Up?
After we pay for our cups, the self-serve bubble tea experience begins. It starts at a topping station where the kids are faced with more puddings, tapioca bubbles, popping boba and other toppings than they will ever get anywhere else. You can fill your cup as full as you like with these toppings too. Then we decide what kind of tea we will try.
There are little tasting cups that help make the tea choice a little less of a mystery. Each time we visit we try a few new flavors. So far a favorite flavor has been brown sugar and we also always like classic milk tea. We’ve never had to add the sweetener which you can choose at a station after all the tea drinks. I have to remember to remind the kids to add ice-it’s right after the toppings.
A server at the end of the bubble tea assembly line seals the drink so it doesn’t spill. We always get our bubble tea to go, and we’ve never had any other food here so we need to come back one day and try these things too. The tapioca bubbles at Boba Up are chewy and fresh and the tea is good.
I am also quite pleased with the cleanliness I’ve witnessed at Boba Up when I’ve visited. I’ve seen employees cleaning up the stations so everything looks tidy and clean. There is also a hand sanitizer station that is comforting for germaphobes. I hope more places like Boba Up open in Seattle-self-serve bubble tea is such a fun experience with kids. The only thing I think that needs to be improved about bubble tea is that we need to make it more environmentally friendly. Have you ever been to bubble tea that uses biodegradable straws?
Other things to do near Boba Up bubble tea?
We typically pick up Sizzle and Crunch as a meal if we’re in the UW area- this is usually when we’re just passing through like we did when we had soccer camp at Magnusen Park. If we have more time and the weather is good, the UW campus is a short walk away. In cherry blossom season the UW campus is a definite must see. UW also has a bowling alley and the kids are always asking to stop by there and bowl. (The UW bowling alley is a great place to throw a kids’ birthday party.)
We also like visiting the University bookstore and always get great book recommendations there. I like the summer reading program at the University Bookstore too. If it’s lunch and we can wait a little longer to get a meal after we get bubble tea, I’m so thankful that Mr. West has opened a new location at UVillage because parking there is so much easier than the one downtown. And of course if we end up at Uvillage, we also might end up at Din Tai Fung…
(PS if you are looking for bubble tea without the tea you might try Tiger Sugar across from the Seattle Art Museum. I’ve had people ask me for bubble tea without the ‘tea’)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)