Chatime

Service was slow when I was there. The drinks were over-​priced and average-​tasting. I am not sure what’s up with the hype and the obnoxious line-​up that goes right through the entrance, blocking my way whenever I head to the liquor store. Such a pretentious place to be!

Good bubble tea place that is open late. It is busy and it would be better if they paid more attention/​cleaned the seating area tables more but the bubble tea here earns them atleast 4 stars.
If you can’t choose from their many options then I would recommend the Roasted Milk Tea with pearls. It has a different aroma because the leaves have been roasted first but it is very good.
The drinks are also fully customizable with many options listed at the register for no extra cost.
I would not get the matcha milk tea however as it was very grainy.

Bad service, never come again, the order person was no patience at all. VERY BAD! She was nice to English speaker customer. (I speak mandarin anyway)

This is the McDonald’s of bubble tea. Everything is systemized. You can choose amount of sugar and ice. Cups are then labeled and off they go making it… ever so slowly. (Perhaps that’s the only part not like McD’s). But people are quite willing to line up, and then wait.
I’ve tried a few, and it’s been hit and miss. The first time was a miss. The yogurty drinks taste funny. Nobody in the family liked it. Tried the matcha red bean — that was a hit, although that is one of the more expensive drinks. They are generous with the pearl, or any additions you order.
Go for the large for just a bit more money. The small is too small.
It’s a young crowd, and the place sure is packed for a late evening after dinner time. Will keep trying other flavours. Just hope their service can be friendlier. A smile and less mechanical order taking (also like McD’s?) would be nice.

The busiest locations I’ve been to. There was actually a line-​up which surprised me because it was average to dead in both Broadway and Surrey location. The wait wasn’t extremely long but my friend told me that we wait for about 25 mins in total just to get to the till to getting our drinks. I usually get their roasted milk tea with grass jelly but this time I tried the Thai milk tea and it’s just as good or maybe better. I did find it a bit on the sweet side so I’d probably adjust the sweetness level next time. Lots of seats at the back for friends to chill over bbt.

Solid 3.5 stars, it’s not as Asian as Alexandra’s row of endless bbt, but make no mistake about it, still 80% Asian lol. I did see 4 non-​Asian here, nice for a change.
Quite spacious actually, good seating area in the back. Modern looking, clean, and very efficient with the amount of workers behind the counter.
Ordered supposingly their signature drink, roasted milk tea with grass jelly, well, I’m no bbt connossieur, it’s alright. Next time, I’ll add coconut jelly instead, easier to chomp on.
You have the option of adding extra sugar, needless to say, a bit aghast lol.
Just a great location considering in this massive plaza, so competition-​wise, they’re probably raking it in.

It’s your normal bubble tea, nothing special
I was there to meet up with friends and had a drink off their «featured» menu. It was honestly just OK, and it is a bit on the sweet side although I have asked for half sweet already. For the price that they offer, Richmond has a lot more other places that you can go to, I wouldn’t really recommend this place unless you are near by and is looking for a place to sit and chat with friends.

Talk about line up for late night! Tons of people here so expect to wait (what was it… 10 minuets to order and 20 – 30 minutes to get our drinks?)
When all is said and done, the bubble tea is solid (though a bit on the sweet side if you don’t get reduced sweetness) and there’s lots of space to sit. Background music can be a bit ridiculous so if you’re in a chit-​chat mood, get the bubble tea to go :)

A close friend invited me for ‘very good bubble tea’ so I came to Chatime on Sunday afternoon. The red bean milk tea would be a good litmus test… chose hot serve, no additions, and 50% sugar.
Okay, I’m confused on whether I understood the options wrong but it was ridiculously sweet. I cannot imagine the diabetes tsunami of ordering regular sugar… maybe 50% means additional 50%? I shudder to think of all the elementary and high school kids that make up the local market consuming such absurd sugar contents… I have a sweet tooth… it’s not like I don’t eat cake…
Tl;dr 50% sugar way too sweet… will try 0% if I ever return.

Alright… another BBT review. Seems to be a trend of mine right now. Whenever I’m in Richmond, I hit up this joint. One major reason is because it’s so close to my parents place that I don’t have to drive into the city centre to get some real good bubble tea. I have to admit… Chatime has bomb Pearl Milk Tea. I love the options of adjusting the sugar and ice level since drinking bbt in general is like a diabetics nightmare. Their pearls are super yummy too. So why am I giving this place such a low rating? Purely because of my experience last night.
Knowing that this place is getting the buzz and the only bbt around the neighbourhood, I knew it was going to be hella busy. So I called ahead of time to place my order and pick up after I got dinner. They asked how long I would be and I said I would be 5 – 10 minutes since I’m really close by that they said I could just come to the front to pick up and pay and leave. Awesome. To me it didn’t sound busy when I called, but when I got there… Holy Eff… line up was disgusting. They called out order numbers and I realize they are 3 orders ahead of mine, so I just went to the front and have the dude my number. I had my debit card ready and before I even handed it to him, he cuts me off and says, if you’re paying by debit or credit… you have to wait in line. WTF!!! Wait in line just to pay for my order? You serious with me man??? Why would I wait 10 people, just to pay, while my bbt order (I ordered 6 for me and my family) sits there and water down and go room temperature. This totally defeated the purpose of calling ahead the order. So I said to the guy (he usually wears a cap and had thick rimmed glasses) that it’s ridiculous that I had to wait in line… JUST TO PAY. He said, «We are busy and only have one machine.» Well moron, get management to get another debit machine.
Luckily, I had barely enough cash to cover for my order. Get this, the guys actually rudely said, «Next time, if you want to pick up, give us cash.»
Look buddy, I get that you are busy. I get it, you have your team seriously busting their ass making drinks after drinks and the line is circling around the store. HOWEVER… DON’T GIVE ME SASS. You give me sass, I put it back up your ass. You guys are in the food and customer service industry. Don’t give me attitude just because your thick head is fogged by endless bbt orders. The principle of calling in and placing a pick up order is simple. I call, I order, I come in, I pick up, and I leave. I shouldn’t have to wait for more than 5 minutes for a pick up. But having to wait in line… just to pay when I called ahead… uh no. BIG NO. Doesn’t matter if I pay by cash or debit… it doesn’t take forever to put a payment through. I’m starting to rethink about coming to this place if I have to go through another ordeal like this again. I find that they are pricey but again it beats driving into the city centre to get bbt. So morale of the story folks… if you call in, pick up and don’t have cash… be prepared to wait in line.

Be warned that Chatime gets addicting!
Good variety of flavours, good quality. Everything I‘ve ordered has always been delicious. Could improve on the seating area, but it‘s not bad. I‘m surprised students are studying there since it‘s a bit loud, but since there‘s a table a free wifi… why not.
Be sure to ask for the loyalty program! You get a card that scans; 1 free bubble tea on your birthday, and 1 free bubble tea for every 10 that you order.
The only downside is that it can get expensive. But in the end I go back because it‘s so delicious!

Good BBT for Vancouver. Consistent here, and they have the largest variety of flavors in Vancouver. Drinks are fully customizable for your liking as far as ice, sweetness, etc.
The pearls are better at Dragon Ball though…

*3.5 Stars
I only ever come to Chatime for their Roasted Milk Tea. It’s such a warm and different taste that I cannot get anywhere else. I get mine half sweet and less ice so then the roasted flavour really comes out and the ice doesn’t dilute the flavour. They have a lot of different types of bubble tea, slushes, and smoothies as well.
I enjoy the fact that you can choose the amount of ice and sweetness for your drink. A little pricier bubble tea than other places (average price $ 5.50). Service can be slow at times. This location has a really nice seating area, I see a lot of students studying. Plenty of parking. They have a points card as well where you can collect points towards a free drink.

Typical chatime similar to the Toronto ones. Been to this location mostly every time I come visit the area.
The drinks are overall pretty standard to the chatime drinks that they offer in Toronto not too much of a difference. They don’t have tier drinks here like they had on the east coast. (those were the fizzy carbonated drinks) maybe it was only a limited summer drink?
The sitting area is pretty large. Has a decent amount of sitting space. Chatimes popularity is still in the infancy stage on the west coast since there’s still crazy line ups for drinks. Friday and Saturday nights are probably the busiest and lines are out the door. It’s better to go during the afternoon or later at night when lines kinda die down.
Still beats a lot of other bubble tea shops out there. And location is pretty decent and easy to get to. Plenty of parking since its in a mini plaza. Always a good go to place once in awhile.

I heard this bubble tea chain is popular in Toronto, so I was curious to give their teas a try when I heard from friends that the chain arrived to Vancouver.
We came here for the first time tonight, and arrived in when it was closing hour, a little after 11pm. The guy working at the counter was very friendly, helpful, and cheerful when he greeted us. He explained that they were closed, so when we apologized and were about to leave, he said it was okay and he will squeeze us in. There were a few other patrons at the tables having their teas, I think 3 tables of late night drinkers. The place was clean and cozy, and there were more tables in another room in the back.
At Chatime, the guy showed us that we could customize our drinks with the amount of sweetness, eg) 30% sugar, 50% sugar, 80% sugar, amount of ice, diced ice, regular ice. They also add on pearls on top of the drinks as toppings, not at the bottom of the drink, which was interesting.
I ordered the Brown Rice Green Milk Tea, hot, 50% sugar with no toppings. The cup was sticker labeled with my drink customizations which I liked, so that you know they made you the right beverage. The guy at the front nicely tested my hot cup’s lid to make sure it was secured on in front of me before handing it to me, which I never have seen staff at other venues do before. I liked the flavor, but found the tea part a little weaker so the milk was on the stronger side. My friend ordered Passionfruit Green tea, cold, shaved ice, 50% sugar. He said the tea part was too strong and overrode the passionfruit flavor in his beverage. The place seemed new so maybe they are still working out the kinks in their recipes. Overall, we liked the great customer service we received, the teas were still alright, and we will return to try out their many other teas.

Pretty good bubble tea, same as what I’ve tried at Toronto locations.
They had a BOGO special during their grand opening; sadly I did not get a chance to go.
The last few times I went, it was really hot. They need air conditioning here… it wasn’t even that hot outside. Maybe this is a Chatime thing… as I recall the ones in Toronto were also hot and stuffy.
I would highly recommend starting a loyalty card with them. You can get a free drink every 10 drinks. Also, if you forget to bring the card, you can just tell them your phone number and they can add the points to that account (a feature that is not available in Toronto!!!).
I noticed small bugs crawling on the side of the counter… ew. Oh well!
Service can get a little slow when it gets super busy. Both for the line up, ordering process, and waiting for the drink to be picked up.
Drinks are about $ 4 – 4.50 for the regular size and about $ 5ish for a large.
Their roasted milk tea with grass jelly is pretty good. I have also tried their Mango QQ (because it comes with both pearls and coconut jelly) and their Oolong tea mousse. Both were good too. The large size is of good value, I think. I always get 30% sweet and no ice. Again, as I mentioned in a previous Chatime review in Toronto, 30% sweet is perfect. I don’t want to know what 100% sweet is. Diabetes alert.
There is usually good seating space available. Hours could be later, but I’ll be back!

I was looking for a good bubble tea place and Chatime was recommended. I really like how they have small and regular size options. I often feel that bubble teas are so big they can be a meal in itself! So I was happy to see the different size options. They also had choices for sugar level and ice level! I liked the idea of being able to control the sweetness of my bubble tea since I don’t like things too sweet. I had the green tea latte with pearls and coconut jelly! I would highly recommend that. I will definitely go again to try some of their other flavours.

I really like what they’ve done to the space here and the bubble tea is pretty decent. I had the roasted tea with grass jelly that night and it was very yummy. However I wouldn’t call it over the top amazing. For those that can’t handle their sweets, I’d recommend getting a half sweet if possible.
This is a great addition to the neighborhood and really gives me more incentive to not cook really…

Came here on a Monday afternoon after having phở. Wasn’t too busy at the time thankfully. There was maybe 1 or 2 orders ahead of me. I ordered a jasmine green tea with pearls. The drink came out at a reasonable time (around 4 minutes). Their Robson location is still much faster. Pearls are decent and chewy just like the last time I was here. Will up my rating now to 4 stars. Although, I am still skeptical how they will keep up their orders during peak periods.

Been hearing a lot about this bbt shop for a while now, apparently they’re pretty big on the east coast. So when I heard they were opening up 3 locations in Vancouver all at once I thought to myself «dang they’re ambitious, must be selling legit bbt!»
So last week after work I decided to give them a try and the closest one to me at the time was the Broadway location I decided to go there. This being said, I really should’ve given them a call before hand. Given my track record, I often find myself visiting places when they’re closed and lo and behold they were closed. To be more specific, still under construction, lol.
Regardless, I was craving me some «bo ba nai chaaaa» and made the executive decision to head to the Richmond location; because one way or another I was going to be drinking Chatime that night.
I arrived and to my surprise, there wasn’t much of a line up which was strange given their BOGO promotion they had. *I do realize I’m writing this post after the promotions over and doesn’t really apply, but whatever… Sue me *
I decided to get their famous Roasted Milk Tea with grass jelly.
Even though I asked for half sugar, I found their drinks to be on the sweeter side. Not sure if they made the order wrong being a new place or what, but overall it was good. The roasted flavours within the drink weren’t as pronounced as I would’ve liked but then again just my personal preference.
Whereas the grass jelly was one I haven’t had anywhere else. It was VERY gelatinous and didn’t have much flavour. Though one may argue, grass jelly typically doesn’t, I believe you can taste a distinct difference from a fresh made one as opposed to ones you buy in a can.
Came back the day after *yes I like my bbt… Don’t judge me* and got a speciality drink the Taiwan Mango QQ strictly because of it’s name. It was quite disappointing… to say the least. This is a drink you expect to get from a restaurant with an identify crisis, claiming to serve bubble tea. It was a mix of pearls with coconut jelly sitting in what I can only imagine as mango extract and syrup. It felt like I grew cavities as I drank not, haha.
I can honestly say I understand why people are ecstatic over their drinks and what the buzz has been about. They serve a variety number of drinks, smoothies, and lattes, but I still have a soft spot for the drinks served at Shiny Tea; I feel the beverages they serve are more simplistic and refined. This way you can truly appreciate the tea flavour.
When it comes to bbt, for me anyway, less is always more.
(+) Huge selection of drinks!
(+) Can choose the sweetness and ice for each drink.
(+) Takes credit cards and interac
(+) Lots of parking!
(-) Was not able to customize my order with a specific drink. =/​
(-) Some drinks are a hit and miss.
(-) Tea flavour in drinks aren’t as pronounced *but that can just be me*