Kung Fu Tea

*Closed*
Prices were pretty good and I liked how they had a non-​dairy option for those who are lactose intolerant.
Recommend: Strawberry Milk Boba, Passionfruit Tea, Kung Fu Strike Milk Tea, Kung Fu Green Milk Tea
Service was on and off. It was off-​putting that the staff or the friends would smoke right out the door. Sometimes they weren’t sure what was on their own menu but it was by and by.

Biggest. Dissapointment. Ever!
I have been anticipating coming here for awhile after seeing some of my Unilocal friends praise this place as possibly the best in town! Based on the drinks and service I received today, I’ll go with 1-​star «Eek! Methings not». Maybe its just the day I came… or the time… or the worker. but I won’t be returning to find out.
1. Sunday afternoon. Empty Kung Fu Tea shop. One worker working. Still, it took me a total of 20 minutes to order and get my drinks.
2. Advertised Coffee Milk Tea on the menu but worker says they don’t have it and he doesn’t know why «she» (the manager?) doesn’t order more… apparently its been awhile since they’ve had it.
3. Doesn’t tell me until AFTER making the order and paying that bubbles are going to take 10 minutes. I agree with the other Unilocalers– shouldn’t this stuff be ready before opening? Or at LEAST let me know when you hear me order it.
4. Total was $ 10 for 2 drinks. Which leads me to #5…
5. I ended up ordering the regular milk tea with bubbles and a green milk tea with bubbles. It basically tastes like milk and bubbles– bland bland bland. And the bubbles? I was so excited to taste the bubbles and all its sweetness but it was capital B.L.E.H. Soooo many other and BETTER boba/​pearls/​bubbles available.
This place isn’t conveniently located what with the traffic and all… plus the parking can suck. No wonder every time I drive by its empty… won’t be back.

I would probably give this place a 3.5stars. I do have mixed feelings about this place. On the one hand, love the tea (signature milk tea only). That tastes pretty good. But the boba is harder and sweeter than most other places.
They have the standard and fruit flavored tea. They have their signature milk tea, which has a distinct taste. I would say closer to the tea found in Hong Kong rather than Taiwan. I wouldn’t deter people to come to this place. I would come back, but I would just stick with their signature milk tea without boba. Then you’ll sure get a good drink. The other flavors are just a 3stars.
Also gotta give them props for a fun name to this boba tea place.
Note: they don’t have a frequent visitor card. This is pretty different than most other boba places I’ve visited. One thing I was disappointed in is that they didn’t offer aloe in their drinks. Only boba and different types of jelly.

Anybody who knows me, knows that when it comes to bubble tea I’m all about that BASS, I mean BALLS. If the Balls aren’t good, I don’t care how good your tea is, my THIRST will not be QUENCHED.
Kung Fu Tea came highly recommended from a friend and I went the first time and thought the Balls had the right texture and a decent taste. Then when i went back for a second time, the BALLS were not plump and supple, they were more like chewing marbles. NOT CUTE
Location is not IDEAL and parking can be tough at times with all the other merchants in the area, but its certainly not WAIKIKI bad.
After my first visit I felt like «it was going to be forever», unfortunately now «we’re going down in flames»
BALLS ARE EVERYTHING. THIRST IS STILL REAL, NOT QUENCHED.

Coming back from my Hong Kong trip, I was going thru milk tea withdrawal. Milk tea was pretty much a staple in Hong Kong. The equivalent to Coke soda in the U.S.
Luckily for me, there have been quite a few milk tea places popping up on Oahu! Kung Fu Tea was definitely on my radar to visit. Made my first visit here and found my coffee milk tea! Added bonus: you even had the ability to customize ice and sweetness ratio for your drink! There prices were also very decent, in comparison to it’s other contenders. Will definitely be back!

Kung Fu Tea is just another new milk tea place. When I first heard this place was opening, especially with a «buy one, get one free» deal, of course I had to go! The only fine print was that certain bobas were part of that «deal». They are located near Ichiriki, however parking is hard to find. We just parked at Ala Moana and walked across the street since it is not too far.
Although milk tea is good, I love my fruity drinks, so I tried the Passionfruit Green Tea (not sure with boba or with jelly. I can’t remember what type of milk tea my friend got, but she sure knows her milk tea and said it wasn’t that good. I tried a sip of hers and it had a strange essence to it. I’m not sure if it was just a different style of milk tea but I think I’ll just stick to my fruity drinks here. Don’t think I’ll be back here anytime soon especially with all the other milk tea options available.
Also, I think when my friend tried to order in Chinese to one of the workers who (she was pretty sure could speak), looked at her with confusion… so she had to order in English… thought it was kind of funny lol…

Everybody’s Kung Fu Fighting!!! Ok, so that’s the song that came to mind when friend suggested we go check out Kung Fu Tea… I mean, come on, how can you not?!
I digress.
With so many tea spots popping up across our fair city, it’s hard to decide which is your favorite. Needless to say, it can be overwhelming. Well, Kung Fu Tea offers a pretty good option that I have to say impresses.
Whether you start with a simple iced green jasmine tea that showcases a well-​brewed product or something more complex with milk and bubbles, it definitely didn’t disappoint. You select the sweetness and might I suggest that you test your first batch to make sure you get something that is not to sweet, not bland… but just right!
It’s location can be a bit of a challenge, but paid parking is available in the back or wait for an opening on Kapiolani. Tables open up pretty quickly and I’ve never seen it really get overwhelmed. It was a casual and cool place to escape and catch up with friends. However it’s not the largest, so don’t have your confidential merger meetings here!

«Argh, is that milk powder in my milk tea?»
This is the phrase that was the nail in the coffin for me. I came in here several times when they opened and when they had a promotional, «Buy one get one free» offer. The first impression of the place was that it was spacious, new, and interesting. After trying their regular milk tea with bubbles, the first impression of the drinks were good: sweet and milky with strong tea flavor and fragrant and chewy bubbles. Seriously, can I just buy the bubbles and only the bubbles? Anyway, I had a good chuckle when I saw the shaking machines because I thought they don’t need it! …But they do. They do.
Every time I have ordered, I’ve noticed that the milk powder is not quite mixed, despite using those shaking machines! You don’t quite taste the powdery-​ness of it but it is quite distracting sometimes just for me to look at. Presentation matters! I am tempted to give them 4 stars because of the awesome bubbles and creaminess/​milkiness of their drinks (but at the same time, it is also their undoing because I always see specks of milk powder).
With many locations around the United States, I had high hopes because I thought they must be good and successful in order to expand to so many places. While heightened expectations are unfair, Kung Fu Tea is worth a visit to compare which bubble tea place is good for your own palette.

Ok I’ve been here twice and I think I’ve just been striking out with tea flavors. As a disclaimer, I love boba, but am not a big fan of MILK teas ANYWHERE because they tend to be too sweet or creamy and I end up feeling sick after. Even with adjusted sweetness, it’s either the milk or something! So I only order regular teas with my boba.
The Honey Black Tea was honestly a little gross. There was too much honey in it. I asked to have it 50% sweetness and the girl told me they can’t adjust the sweetness of honey black tea because they «just use honey…» Uhhh can you change the AMOUNT of honey? I understand you can’t change the actual honey composition itself… It’s concentration, omg. I was NOT feeling it, it tasted like a Lipton’s iced tea jacked up with honey.
Second time, I tried the «Sunshine Pineapple» Tea. This was slightly better, like a green jasmine tea sweetened with Pineapple jam or something. But again, same concept, you can’t adjust the sugar level in it apparently. I was also a little turned off by the chunks of pineapple. I guess I just enjoy my boba as boba… with a purely soft but chewy boba texture, not tainted with bits of fruit.
Parking is okay, you can park in the back for free from 9AM-​5PM. There’s also a 10% student discount with ID upon check in.
I will say one thing though, the boba here was really good. The balls are perfect sweetness and chewiness. I like the actual boba more than Taste Tea’s! It’s also way less crowded than Taste Tea (lately there’s been NO PARKING THERE UGH), so although I don’t like the teas as much, I will go here out of convenience. I probably just have to find the tea that I like and then I’ll be able to update my review.

Sunshine pineapple tea gets 10% off with student ID, too bad i’m not a student anymore.
They said they use better ingredient and better taste tea, they use some herbs to spicy up their tea and other drinks,
Its little different then other tea shop which i think it’s a good idea but it doesn’t quite meet my taste bud, not to judge for everyone but i think it’s ok flavor.
I would go back again to see if i like other flavor tea or even smoothie because they have quite different drinks.
pricing seem same to other place but some of the drinks are already pre-​made where you can’t make it less sugar. just asked them and they be kindly to tell you what they can’t do.

While I am no Boba Queen like my friend Krysten I., I like to think that the 4 years I spent in L.A. and the many Asian friends I acquired during that time provided me with a fine appreciation for boba! Kung Fu Tea, located on Piikoi Street next to Ichiriki, comes very close to the boba I enjoyed during college!
With an extensive menu of teas, coffees, slushes, juices, boba, and jellies, Kung Fu Tea has something for everyone. Leaning toward the conservative for my first visit, I ordered the Kung Fu Bubble Milk Tea. The boba was the perfect texture — chewy, gooey, and delicious! While the milk tea was on the sweeter side, Kung Fu Tea offers Less Sugar (70%), Half Sugar (50%), Little Sugar (30%), and No Sugar option! On my next visit, I am definitely being a bit more adventurous with my boba order!
Parking in the area is limited, but if you do not mind parking at Ala Moana and walking over, you may have more luck finding a free stall.

Bubble drinks are like bad boys in high school. You know that they’re probably not good for you but they’re so yummy that you just can keep your hands off of them. You know you should probably choose something healthy and practical like a green smoothie, but man, that’s so booooooring and square. You want to live on the edge, you want to ride motorcycles, make out in the shadows and drink things that add fat to your stomach and thighs! As someone who is way beyond high school, I swore myself off of bubble teas after my friend Olivia told me that there are ten calories in every bubble. I’m not sure if this is really true, but the thought of drinking something that has more calories than a big mac, was really more than I could stomach.
Enter the newest bad boy on the block: Kung Fu Tea. Oh yeah, even the name screams danger! I couldn’t resist! I entered this little shop underneath Power Yoga Hawaii after eating a hearty lunch, so I wasn’t terribly thirsty or hungry. After reading John N’s review, we both decided to get their signature Kung Fu milk green tea with bubbles. I usually get the oolong milk tea at other spots and loved the thought that green tea at the very least has antioxidants. It was $ 3.75 for medium milk green tea with bubbles. What I love about Kung Fu Tea is you have the option of 70%, 50% & 30% of the sugar of a normal drink. This is AMAZING and I wish that every restaurant could offer you this option. I’ve been making a conscious effort to eat healthier while still enjoying «naughty» food in moderation. We got our teas quickly, paid with a credit card and walked out merrily sipping.
The verdict? This just might be my new favorite milk tea bubble spot! They have excellent bubbles which are just the right consistency and very tasty. Some places either have bubbles that are too hard or soft, these are juuuuuuuust right! The reduced sugar option is enough to bring me back and the prices are decent. I feel like I found a bad boy who at last has brains and knows how to open doors like a gentleman. This won’t be an everyday dalliance, but certainly a quick fling for those days when I feel like walking on the wild side.

I was casually checking in on the Unilocal app and John N’s check-​in popped up saying that he checked into Kung Fu Tea. The first thought that came to my mind was «What is this mystical place?» Do they have kung fu fighting there? Do they do some tricky maneuvers on the way to making you tea? Is it a half martial arts studio and half tea place?
All my questions were answered when fellow Unilocaler and awesome friend, Lindsey M, invited me to try this place. I just couldn’t say no because I had to find out what the deal was with this place!
We arrived on the first official opening day and they had grand opening specials! It was a buy one, get one free extravaganza! I spent the rest of the weekend trying the teas and Wow Milks.
Milk tea here is your standard fair and Wow Milk are flavored milks without tea! Tapioca pearls can be added to any drink and they have all sorts of flavors like strawberry, ginger, and so much more.
A word of caution to those that are picky with their teas: Their teas come prepared pretty sweet. I advise asking for a sample before finalizing your tea or milk. My first Red Bean Wow Milk was very sweet. You are able to request less sweet versions of most drinks.
There are several tables to enjoy your tea and a restroom is located right by them. Parking is located in the private lot in the back and on the street. Parking after 5 pm on most days is $ 1 in the private lot.

New milk tea shop! Walking distance from Taste Tea, near Ala Moana.
Personally I don’t care for their milk tea, as I find it has an odd aftertaste similar to citrus? or bergamot oil? Not exactly sure. But I do enjoy the other drinks, especially the yogurt milk tea! Made with Yakult and green tea, it may sound like a weirdo combo, but somehow it works.
Workers are mainly all Chinese. My friend had a hard time understanding one of the cashier, so another worker had to come and translate or repeat the question. Overall, I’ll probably come back since I want to try their other drinks!

New tea place in town? Of course I’m there :). After hearing what innovative things this place is dishing out I knew I had to try! They don’t really have parking but at least it’s an easy walk from Ala Moana. These were the two drinks we tried:
~ Ginger Milk w/​Boba: WARNING: GINGER GALORE!!! Ok if you love love love ginger candy, you’ll love this drink. But honestly for me, it was way too much of a ginger overload and I love ginger. I think if it was more of a natural ginger taste I would have liked it but it was more of a ginger candy kind of taste and made my throat burn a little lol. But still a pretty good drink, maybe I just need to get it less sweet next time to tone down the candy-​like flavor.
~ «Wow Milk» Red Bean w/​Boba: The wow milk is described as «Special blends of Home-​made Bubble and Lactose-​free milk»…hmm not too sure what that means but it was pretty darn tasty. This is good because a lot of Asians are lactose intolerant so no worries, they got us Asians covered: P. You get to choose between regular, red bean, mung bean, and herbal jelly (which are just additions to your boba– not the flavor of the milk just fyi). She told us red bean was most popular so we went with that which turned out to be a great choice :).
Service was friendly and helpful. I really liked this place and can’t wait to try other things on the menu. For example they have interesting things like White Gourd Milk Tea, Longan Honey Tea, Yogurt Green Tea, Taro Milk Tea and so much other cool stuff! Excited to try them all!

Kung fu fighting! Hands down, my fave milk tea place as of today. My gosh, its my second visit and I’m hooked.
They don’t ask how sweet you like your drink. There’s an endless selection of tea. The staff is smiling all the time. Yes, I’ll be there again later on this week. I’ve only tried the milk tea so far. I’m a milk tea addict. I love love love milk tea and Kung Fu tea has the best. They know how to shake up some good tea.
If you have gone yet, what are you waiting for. Let’s go. I’ll meet ya there.

I’m glad there is a another Taiwanese-​style drink shop to chose from. I would visit a drink shop daily when I was in Taiwan so maybe it’s unfair that I compare Kung Fu to the drink shops there.
Like other drink shops, Kung Fu allows you to customize your ice, add-​ins, and sweetness, but even though we chose 30% sweetness for all 3 drinks, they were all still pretty up there on the sugar level. The add-​ins were also inconsistent. I like my boba on the chewy-​softer side, in one drink the boba was pretty good, in another drink the boba was still hard. Besides being too sweet, the flavors of the drinks were pretty good – Kung Fu Milk Tea had a floral finish, Pineapple Tea had bits of sweetened pineapple inside, and the lemon flavor came through in the Honey Lemonade.
If you’re in the mood for an Asian-​style drink, give them a try.

GO BIG OR GO HOME!

I love the variety of drinks on their menu!
Definitely better then Taste Tea! I would also say this is pretty good competition for Coffee or Tea since they also offer a variety of drinks. The prices here are really reasonable too. $ 3.50 for milk tea :3
One thing to keep in mine is that this establishment is CASH ONLY. I’m not sure if they plan to get a credit card system or not. Something that I thought was cool about Kung Fu Tea was the shakers!
Its much cooler to see it in person, rather then the picture lol. Then again, I guess I’m just easily amused =_​_​_​=
Overall I thought this place was good. I played it safe this time by going with the regular milk tea drink. I definitely wouldn’t mind coming back to trying new stuff! :D

I’m so glad Taste Tea is getting competition. Both bubble tea places are within walking distance of Ala Moana. Not that I get boba often, but I think I’m going to be coming here more.
My Pros:
— They had a grand opening promotion 4÷4−4÷6, where it was buy 1, get 1 drink free.
— THEY HAVE A RESTROOM. (Important note: the light switch is OUTSIDE THE DOOR. Only reason why I mention this is that me and my friend saw a poor girl walk in, and then walk back out… which either means she pees in a second… or she couldn’t pee in the dark LOL)
— THEY PLAY AWESOME MUSIC. (I swear I loved all the songs I heard, from pop to edm to rap to hip hop. it was great)
— They have a variety of drinks, PLUS espresso.
My Cons:
— Not many tables or seats compared to Taste Tea. I saw a couple of people studying, but I don’t think that’ll be possible for larger groups… or if it ever gets super busy.
— It gets super dark depending on time of day… the sun casts a shadow inside because of their location so if you’re hanging out with friends, you might not be able to see their face. lol jk.
That’s all I can think of for now. I tried out the kung fu bubble milk tea and my friend got the passionfruit green tea. To be honest, I really like the passionfruit green tea more and I HATE GREEN TEA. The milk tea was good too, but it was a bit subtle. The passionfruit green tea though… it was bursting with this amazing sweet flavor. Just like Taste Tea, you could choose your sweetness level. I think the drinks are best with 70% (less sugar). You can also customize your drinks further by choosing the ice levels and toppings. I got less ice but I think for the next time, I’ll try the drinks with no ice.
When I went to the last day of their grand opening… they ran out of the large size, which went varies between $ 3.50-$ 5.00, depending on the drinks. The medium sizes range from $ 2.75-$ 4.00. I had a hard time getting to the boba at the end when I finished my drink, so I had to poke a huge hole in my drink to get to them lol. But their big boba balls are very chewy and I liked biting them a lot: D They don’t have tiny ones like Taste Tea does, but I don’t mind. I guess it’ll depend on my mood and what I’m feeling like but I’ll be back here for sure to try out their espressos, and maybe the slush and/​or punch.

They already have a couple of stores in San Fran, and they’re super popular :)
Prior to their grand opening on April Fools Day, I had a nice chat with the owners and learned that they actually spent more money on their ingredients and downgraded Taste Tea. (Yikes, competition!)
I tried their 冬瓜錄茶 and it was SO good. Their bubbles are slightly firm, which is something I like, compared to the slimy, soft bubbles that other bubble drink shops serve.
They’re having a BOGO free from the 4^th to the 6^th so don’t miss out:) the workers are rather friendly as well. They’re Taiwanese, and their menu offers more of a variety than that of Taste Tea.
Will definitely be coming back for more!~