I grew up on boba. I remember getting milk tea all the time, and it’s always been a staple in the Bay Area. Coming over to Amherst, I didn’t know if it would still be popular around here, but luckily, there are three common places to get it from, and I was super excited about being able to continue on with my personal boba experience. I already have an idea of what my ranking would look like in the three milk tea places, but I want to go over what the strengths and weaknesses are of each one before I let you know where I personally think is the best place to get boba in Amherst.
Let’s start with ViVi Bubble Tea. I recently got a ViVi Bubble Milk Tea, and out of personal preference, I ended up getting it with green tea, 70% sugar, and less ice. Even after the first sip, I noticed that it was on the watery side. I was able to taste a hint of the green tea, but I wasn’t able to taste that much of the sweetness at all. I thought that if I was able to drink it a bit more, I would be able to get more taste or flavor, but it was basically consistent throughout the entire drink.
Usually, when I get boba, I would want to notice the tea; I wouldn’t even mind if it was on the milkier side either, but the drink wasn’t a part of either of those two categories. However, I would say that the best part of the drink was the boba pearls. Even though it didn’t taste sweetened at all, it was a good chewy consistency. Eventually, I thought that maybe the drink would be good if I paired it with something else, so I got some of their popcorn chicken as well.
One thing that ViVi Bubble Tea has that makes them stand out amongst the other boba shops in the area is that they have food options on its menu. Of course, I chose their popcorn chicken, because that has always been my favorite option to get from boba places. Immediately, I thought that the popcorn chicken had some good seasoning. It wasn’t overly salty, and the chicken pieces were cooked just right. I would have preferred if it was a bit on the crunchier side, but overall, it was some pretty decent popcorn chicken.
I went back and forth with having some chicken and then the milk tea, but to be honest, it didn’t change anything about the milk tea at all. However, I would definitely come back to the boba shop just for their popcorn chicken whenever I am craving it.
Even though I know that ViVi Bubble Tea is a favorite for a good number of people I know, I wouldn’t say it would be on the top of my list. Maybe, they specialize in specific teas other than their regular milk tea, but from what I got, it wouldn’t satisfy my milk tea cravings at all. However, if we looked past the milk tea, their popcorn chicken is something I would definitely come back for. I am excited to see how ViVi Bubble Tea compares to the two other boba places in the Amherst area.
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