STEAP Tea Bar [Chinatown]

STEAP Tea Bar in Chinatown San Francisco

STEAP Tea Bar has been around for a couple of years and is still considered a fairly new boba place on the border of Chinatown and Financial District. This boba place, while famous for its Green Queen drink that combines cannabis with boba, also values quality as well as customization. In a fight to break the "one size fits all" assumption, they offer customization for all drinks at no extra charge; this includes customizing flavors, toppings, milk, sweetness level, etc. However, all of their toppings are extra (but we'll let that one slide as they are a "tea bar" and no one should expect free toppings in such places).

And now, for the breakdown:

Tapioca Balls:

Their boba was one of the best bobas I've tried so far and I was unsure if it's handcrafted or just a pre-made but very well-done. It was the perfect texture - not too hard or too soft. It also had a hint of sweet flavor to it, which I was only ever tasted in places that make boba from scratch in-house.

Overall Taste:

I loved the taste of this drink - the slightly bitter jasmine tea persuaded me that their teas are truly high-quality (something they promise on the website). Mixed with the lowest level of sweetness, my drink was the perfect combination of bitter and sweet that I would have a Jasmine Milk Tea would taste like. The only one drawback is that the drink felt a bit watered down as I'd hoped that the taste would be a bit more prominent but I know a lot of people don't like strong tea blends.

Sugar Levels:

Being able to customize my drink feels like I'm actually in control of what I drink and can make sure I fully enjoy my drink. Getting very light sweetness level allows me to taste the tea blend used and evaluate the quality of it. Like mentioned above, getting the lowest sweetness level still made my drink sweet enough to enjoy a balanced sweet and bitter combination.

Ice Levels:

I didn't customize my ice levels (maybe I should start doing that if I consistently think my drink is watered down) but it was still a good level of not too much or too little ice. However, like I said, having a "regular" amount of ice forces my drink to lose some of its strong flavor that I value.

Boba:Drink Ratio:

The ratio was perfect - I finished my drink together with my boba and didn't have to fish out the boba too much to ensure this ratio was perfected by the end.

Overall Rating: 9/10

Go visit STEAP Tea Bar at 827 Sacramento Street and let me know your thoughts in the comments!