Brand new area code friends! I want to introduce to you the boba/drink spots I have visited here in the Inland Empire. I’ll be starting a quick series on the spots I have visited here in the Riverside area code along with some in Redlands! Honestly there’s not many great food options here, but I wanted to give my initial thoughts and reviews! I’ll be doing more posts for Riverside, specifically on coffee shops and then restaurants! Let me know of any recommendations you may have or if you want to hear more about any particular location!
- Ding Tea Loma Linda (24950 Redlands Blvd Loma Linda, CA)
- Coming to a new location I had to look for the best boba spots. Living in the 626 I was blessed with a variety of boba shops literally just a few miles away from me. In the Riverside area, sad to say but boba is a rare commodity and basically irrelevant in the area code. Nonetheless, Ding Tea arises just before I moved to Riverside and I’m pretty pleased.
- My favorite drink out of the menu would have to be their Signature Milk Tea with boba. The simplicity of the drink is what I love most, as their milk tea is simply not too sweet but has a hint of the tea flavor mixed in. The boba is soft and chewy. (PSA: if you leave your drink in the fridge, by the next day, the boba still remains the same texture and chewiness). I hate when I leave boba for the next day and the boba gets all stiff and hard from sitting in the fridge.
- Price: Milk Teas are $3.25 with toppings (such as boba for $0.55). If you’re not a fan of their milk teas, there’s lattes, hot drinks, coffee, fruit juice, fresh and flavored tea, and yakult drinks.
- Location: It’s located in a small plaza so parking may be a bit difficult at times. But there’s a lot next door, so if necessary parking can be found there.
- FYI: They are closed on Sundays!
- Studying tip: Great place for studying as the atmosphere isn’t too loud as well as the music level. There’s a lot of tables and booths available. There aren’t too many outlets available however, so I would come with my laptop fully charged.
- Ding Tea Loma Linda
- Boba Fiend Tea House (3375 Iowa Ave Ste L Riverside, CA 92507)
- Yes my boba loving friends, I have another boba spot listed don’t worry! Just in case Ding Tea wasn’t your cup of tea, I was also introduced to Boba Fiend Tea House in Riverside.
- My favorite drink from the shop would have to be the caramel milk icee with boba. It is on the sweeter side, as in my opinion, it resembles the popular iced caramel milk drink from Half & Half. Although it’s not the same, it’s somewhat close? lol. Honestly I heard some folks from Riverside really don’t like Boba Fiend but for the milk icee drink, it definitely satisfied my craving (especially considering your choices ARE limited here at Riverside).
- Price: For the milk icee, it’s $3.70 and with honey boba, it’s an additional $0.50
- Location: Average sized plaza. Parking can be a bit difficult at times as two new shops just opened in the plaza. There’s also a great poke place in the plaza too! You can find parking on the streets too though, if all else fails.
- FYI: On Mondays they have a $2 drink (only a specific drink each week). You have to pay cash and you have to buy a boba topping.
- Studying tip: There’s a lot of tables available for studying. There are a few outlets around the side. Music level isn’t too loud, and whenever I went, there’s never a crazy large crowd.
- Boba Fiend Tea House
- Tim Boba (1450 University Ave Riverside, CA)
- New boba shop alert! Come one come all to Tim Boba. Yes I typed it right lol. It’s not Tim’s, it’s just Tim haha. I believe the shop was once a pho restaurant and honestly, my initial thought was it looked just like one.
- I don’t have a favorite drink here yet honestly. I tried their Mt. Evermilk with boba (which was their brown sugar milk drink). It really isn’t my favorite drink and for the overall price of $5.93. I personally would have loved to spend the money on my favorite drink at Half & Half instead. I felt like they tried recreating the drink, but the sweetness just wasn’t there and it was lacking flavor. The boba had a nice chewy texture to it, but again, it really lacked any flavor. In the end, we were just drinking the drink just to finish it since we paid for it.
- Price: Mt. Evermilk with boba total cost was $5.93. It was $5.45 for the drink and $0.50 extra for the boba.
- Location: There’s a few spots right in front. But there are more parking spaces all around. This spot is very close to UC Riverside so I do think it can fill up once school resumes again.
- FYI: There is FREE printing available here, but I have yet to try it. I feel like they will eventually remove this feature, especially once UC Riverside resumes.
- They also sell drinks in a light-up lightbulb drink and a reuse-able bottle for a dollar extra. I personally stuck with the standard free cup because I thought the design was rather cute!
- Studying tip: There are quite a few tables available! I don’t recall about outlets but I’m sure there are a few along the sides of the wall. There’s also a hightop table with pens and pencils provided for use.
- Tim Boba
- Zero X (1889 University Ave Riverside, CA)
- Finally the last boba shop on my list is the lovely and popular Zero X. I’m sure you’ve heard of it before but just in case, let me share my thoughts on the shop!
- My favorite drink that I love is their House Coffee. It’s the best pick-me-up and study buddy for those long all-nighter days. It’s the perfect blend of having a kick of coffee and espresso but with a mixture of sweetness.
- Price: It is $3.75 for a 16oz and $4.50 for the 24oz. They also have the option to purchase “the travel bottle” which includes a drink for $12.99. Some drinks on the menu also provide a “split cup” option which allows for the option if you can’t choose just one drink, you can get two different drinks in one cup for $5.50
- Location: It’s on University Ave which is super close to UCR. It’s in a decent sized plaza so parking isn’t too difficult. However I mostly went at night times, which is why parking was pretty free. It could get more difficult once UCR resumes.
- FYI: A new location will be opening up soon! Zero X will be opening up in Loma Linda! It’ll actually be in the same plaza as Ding Tea Loma Linda. I feel like parking will be pretty difficult considering that it’s such a small plaza, but I’m excited to have Ding and Zero so close to school!
- Studying tip: The Riverside shop location is rather small so I don’t know if I would recommend studying here. However, I believe the Loma Linda location will be a lot larger, which would make it more ideal for studying.
- Zero X Full Menu
tldr; long description posts for just four locations lol but I hope y’all enjoyed! And please let me know if there’s more boba locations in the area that I could try out. As always, you can reach me through any of my social media accounts. xoxo
♡, candiceocheung
candiceocheung 