In a sequel to our tour of coffee shops around the Charleston area, we (Lillian & Peyton) set out one Sunday morning to tour four boba shops located in downtown Charleston. The boba shops we went to were Maccaro, Hạ Long Café, Vivi Bubble Tea, and King Street Foods. At each location we ordered a large strawberry fruit tea and some food when we became peckish. These are our opinions and recommendations for drinking downtown boba:
Our first stop at a bright and early 10 am was Maccaro. This was not my first time here, as during a College of Charleston tour, a current senior bought me a wonderful croffle (croissant-waffle portmanteau) and introduced me to the family that runs the restaurant. They also gave me another croffle for free so my review may be biased. The first reaction was that the tea tasted a bit bitter. This was to be expected from a caffeinated tea, but it was not the most welcoming to our taste buds. Unfortunately, the tea just became more bitter with each location, so this turned out to be the best in terms of taste. The tapioca was cooked all the way through. It was still chewy, but a nice and soft chew. Although we did not order a croffle this time, I must still talk about it as it was one of the most wonderful things I have ever eaten. Imagine the flakiness of a croissant and its sort of sweet tinge mixed with the melted sugar and crisp of a waffle. It melts in your mouth and makes you forget about the sticky sugar on your fingertips. I would certainly recommend this place as even if you do not like the boba, the croffle is, in fact, delicious.
Our second location, Hạ Long Café, is a sentimental area to both of us. It is the go-to meeting place for our friend group paired, usually, with a wonderful boba tea. We have not been going recently as senior year has taken a toll on us all and some of our usual companions have graduated and gone to college too far away. Despite being a shop held dear in my heart, I cannot lie, it has fallen off. The boba was even more bitter and the tapioca was barely cooked through. It took as long to chew a pearl as it would to chew a steak. My favorite part, in all honesty, was the straw. It was bamboo, meaning it would save the environment like a paper straw – but without the dissolution. This is not the only area where quality has faltered. While we usually had our hangouts partnered with a backdrop of goldfish swimming merrily in their tank, ever since a dreadful algae bloom no fish can be seen. The tank has cleared since then, but no fish have come back. It makes you a little gloomy staring in horror at the empty pool of water. Accidents do happen and fish are not the most hardy nor the most lasting animal, but it has been months and the tank has neither been removed or restocked. Luckily we did not have to stay staring for long before moving to our next location.
The third location we visited was Vivi’s Bubble Tea, located on King Street. The vibes of this place were immaculate, with pink-painted brick walls, sticky notes with messages and drawings from previous customers hanging all over the place, and most excitingly, a selection of claw machines. The shop had not been open for long by the time we arrived, which is something to be wary of when going out for boba downtown – most of the stores do not open until around 11:00 AM or noon.
However, the late opening meant we got first pick at the best treat Vivi’s has to offer – their delicious macarons. We were only able to purchase two, as they were priced at about $3.50 each, but they were truly a taste to behold. The strawberry smoothie macaron tasted exactly like the fruit that inspired it, while the birthday cake macaron brought back memories of childhood birthday parties with how accurate the taste was.
This is not a review of Charleston’s macarons, though – which is quite a shame, as I wish we had more to say about the quality of Vivi’s tea. It was, similarly to the other shops, bitter – something that should not come as a surprise to anyone by this point. Something that threw me off was the fact that the tapioca was warm. It wasn’t bad, by any means, simply unexpected, but it served for an interesting contrast with the iced tea.
The claw machines were frustrating, as well. The two of us must have contributed at least ten dollars in cash towards getting absolutely nothing, as somehow, the plushies always fell out of the claw right before reaching the drop point. At this point, I’m not convinced that this wasn’t meant to be a scam of some sort.
After leaving Vivi’s, the two of us hustled to the last stop on our list: King Street Foods. As opposed to our previous stops, this location is a full sit-down restaurant: they provided us with menus as we sat down, and there were waiters ready to provide service. The atmosphere also felt very classy compared to the other locations on our list, which is probably due to the fact that it was an actual restaurant rather than just a cafe.
As it was approaching noon, and we were hungry from a full day of walking around downtown, we purchased some food in addition to the drink: an order of gyoza, fried rice, and an avocado roll. The food was tasty, albeit hefty in price (who wants to pay $17 for an order of fried rice?), but the highlight of our afternoon was the drink. The bubble tea we had here was different than all of the other locations we visited – it tasted almost fizzy, similar to a strawberry soda, and the boba was cooked to perfection. Though the portion seemed smaller than the other shops, and the drink was overall more expensive, this tea was up there with Maccaro as some of the best of the day.
While overall there were some hits and some misses, the day was not wasted – it was fun getting to walk around downtown and see the sights while sipping on a drink with a friend. Though not all of these places are perfect, we recommend them wholeheartedly, as each shop has its respective strengths and deserves to be recognized for the quality of their service. If you’re ever in downtown Charleston and feel like having a cup of tea, stop by one of these stores – you’ll be in for a treat.
