Twinkle Brown Sugar

One of my favorite places to grab boba. Today I tried the Sea Salt Thai Tea with boba (listed as one of their most popular drinks) and I couldn’t have chosen a better drink – tasted just like the Thai tea I fell in love with during my travels in Thailand.

Our friend suggested Twinkle Brown Sugar which is next door to her apartment complex. On our way, we noticed there was a giant line for the Boba Truck parked on the street in the Little Tokyo area. Why wait in that line when there’s a shop around the corner? I like the idea of the fluffy tea and they make a decent peach black tea. Quick and efficient, there was plenty of space to sit down and chill.

³⁄₅ because each basic tea drink without boba/​condiments costs almost $ 4. Most drinks and the tea quality are really good but I just can’t justify the cost because they only serve one size, «large». Their specialty drinks cost more than $ 4. I still come here every once in a while because its one of the best boba places outside of the SGV. This location no longer has the sturdy reusable plastic cups with each drink.

I’ve been a big fan of Twinkle Brown Sugar for a while. I was a regular customer back when they were named Ozero, and consistently recommended it to people looking for some of the best boba in LA. I never failed to stop by when I found myself in Little Tokyo, and the fact that they use FiveStars rewards system means not having to deal with those annoying stamp cards.
HOWEVER, recently I’ve noticed a decline in quality – the sturdy cups they once had are gone, replaced by these thinner, flimsier cups you might find at boba time. That’s fine, but the real problem I’ve noticed is how they use significantly more ice.
Using ice to fill out the cup is standard practice among boba places, but my most recent order – which me and a couple friends brought back boba – was more than 60% ice in each cup. These were cups that had been sitting for 20 minutes or so before consumption, yet they were still clearly filled with ice.
I really enjoy the tea at twinkle brown sugar, but I think I’ll be looking for another boba place to frequent.

The girl behind the counter needs to work on her customer service skills. Not helpful what so ever & if we asked her a questions she was super dry & short. We were having our monthly sister time & as always we try to go local & somewhere new. Read the reviews so we decided to give it a try. I got The Jasmin something it was awful… I have no other description. My sister’s got idk what & they also said it was awful. My brother goes there a lot but he doesn’t like to join us. lol! Anyway, I wanted to give their teas another try before leaving there w/​the decision of not going back. I got the Thai Tea w/​Boba & Vanilla Ice cream it was soooooo good. that alone changed my whole review however when I was asking the girl a question she still showed the same unsatisfactory service.
A few days later my brother got me the Thai Tea w/​Sea Salt it was really good. If I’m in the area & I’m craving some Thai Tea I will stop by but for another sister time we will definitely not.
My review is for the service if it wasn’t for both Thai Teas being so good I would’ve given them 2 stars instead of 3.5
(This was last month)

My friends love coming to this place whenever they go to SoCal. I ordered their regular brown sugar milk tea. You can’t go wrong with the classics. I thought it would be sweeter since it was brown sugar, but it tasted like any other classic milk tea which isn’t bad. I tried my friend’s grass jelly drink and I thought it was pretty good. I might get that next time. My boyfriend ordered some strawberry slushy drink, but it wasn’t mixed very well, so it tasted bland. Sharetea’s is way better. A comment on their boba: I don’t know if the pearls were too big for the straw, but it was hard to suck them up at times.
There’s a lot of seating inside. It’s nicely airconditioned. Not a bad boba place.

I have been here about 3 – 4 times now and I have been satisfied with my orders. I have gotten the the fluffy oolong milk tea, brown sugar milk tea and green tea mango. I even signed up for their FiveStar app program so I can take advantage of the extra 10% off and free drink after 8 visits. Location is convenient in Little Tokyo also it’s roomy enough to sit and hang for a bit or study with WiFi. I think I’ll most likely be a regular since I have been satisfied with my previous orders. I haven’t tried there Boba since I usually prefer my drink without it so I can’t judge whether those are good but the drink wise it’s good!!! I was definitely able to taste the brown sugar in my milk tea which I haven’t had before. I must say it’s not as sweet as I thought it would be since I am not a sweet tooth person which I like!

I’ve been here a dozen times and it’s still one of my favorite go to spots for boba. My drink is the brown sugar milk tea with boba and a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Super fattening but oh so good!

Nothing to write home about for me. I feel it’s just like your average everyday boba place. They have tea, milk tea and smoothies (but no taro, WHAT?).
Some teas have «snow», which is flavored shave ice topping. Then there are the toppings. Boba, pudding, grass jelly, aloe jelly and other various toppings.
The place is quaint and when I was there not too busy so the orders went in quick and came out quick too! That’s a plus for sure! Overall its a place to drop in if you’re in the area.

Fruity Tea with Tapioca, NO WAY!
It was a bit harder trying to find them before their name outside changed so my friends and I walked around thinking we went tot the wrong place but as soon as we saw everyone else with their tapioca drinks, we figured, let’s go in and check.
We ordered:
— 2 Jasmine Green Milk Tea Fluffies with Tapioca (fluffy is just milk foam, so for jasmine green milk tea lovers, this is the drink for you. it is also not overly sweet)
— Twinkle Fruit Tea (this drink sounds «fruity» doesn’t it? that’s cause IT IS! This is like fruit punch in a cup with real fruit pieces, super refreshing!)
Verdict: Will Come Back!

Still scratching my head on the name change/​meaning of Ozero to Twinkle Brown Sugar but nevertheless, this place is definitely one of my go-​to boba places in LA.
Since this boba shop is sandwiched between the Arts District and Little Tokyo, meter street parking might be a little tricky to find depending on the time of day you stop by in the area.
I’ve been satisfied with all the drinks I’ve tried here because they aren’t overly sweet, have a refreshing taste and are all priced under $ 5.00 for a large (their only size). The boba prepared here is chewy and also has the right amount of sugar. The wintermelon oolong fluff tea is a perfect balance of sweet and nutty flavors. The milk cream froth that tops the drink adds a good mouth feel and can be shaken to turn the drink into a milk tea. I am also a fan of the green milk tea due to the fact that I can still identify the fragrant green tea flavor from the sugar. If you want a blended drink, choose any of the fruit slushs/​teazers. They are blended well to ensure a smooth texture.
Twinkle Brown Sugar hits spot after grabbing a meal from any of the nearby restaurants or serve as a treat during a hot day. If you see yourself coming here often enough, you can start utilizing their rewards program that is setup with the register. Either way, a check-​in with Unilocal guarantees you 10% off your order. Everyone is a winner. Whoo!

Milk tea with bubbles is good. Large serving cups. Nice outdoor seating w/​tables that are kind of dirty with dust and sticky drips of bubble tea and not cleaned often enough. I like how there’s wifi. Would come back if I’m in the area again but I’m more interested in exploring new bubble tea places. Tea was sweet and creamy, really sweet — I got brown sugar.

This place is too yummy! What stands out most are their flavors choices!!!
I’m a huge tea lover and a little bit of a snob about it, so artificial flavoring a that don’t taste authentic really bug me (if that makes sense). I say this because their rose water flavoring is SO good and tastes basically just like a batch I’d make at home.
I went with a friend of mine, and he got a Brown Sugar milk tea with boba while I ordered a Jasmine Green milk tea with added rose water and mango jelly. Honestly amazing! Their flavoring isn’t overpowering at all and tastes fresh, if it’s possibly for artificial flavoring to even taste that way lol.
The workers are really nice and the guy that was at the register when I went was very sweet. If you’re a first timer, their menu is easy to follow and they have a small list of their most popular drinks and flavor combos inside! While I was in I also saw that they catered. So cool!!! I’ll definitely be back when I’m in the area to grab another tea :)

This boba place is great!
i ordered an oolong milk tea with chocolate and boba, i was skeptical to order the chocolate being my first time here but it turn out great! nice sweet flavor, smooth and refreshing! the boba was warm to start also and soft and chewy
it’s cool they give a 10% discount for the 5star app rewards thing which i don’t even use anymore but still have my information registered so cool!
nice cozy place id like to return to if I’m in the area

Not bad for bubble tea, but nothing really stands out. Given the location at little Tokyo, parking was very difficult and painful.
twinkle fruit tea– a light drink, perfect for a hot summer day. Not too sweet, with slight tartness. There are ‘toppings’ of fruit bits, and jelly inside, giving it some chewiness and texture. Really refreshing!
Rose milk tea– a solid rose milk tea, tasted like any rose milk tea at other bubble tea place though, nothing too special about it
An average bubble tea place, but given the convenience of the location, it is a great place to stop by and grab a drink if you are spending the day at little Tokyo!

This place has been my favorite besides half and half milk tea that’s located far away from downtown! I always come here whenever I’m around DTLA.
I’ve come here three times and it hasn’t disappointed me!
They give a good amount and you can choose to make your own. Im not one to know which flavor goes best with which but this time I ordered a jasmine green milk tea as the base + rose + pearls.
I thought the pearls were great! One of the better places since I like how they’re chewy and also honey flavored.
I would recommend trying this place out!

I came here at opening (…don’t judge me) and the boba was super fresh, warm, and chewy. The portion of boba in my drink was neither generous nor stingy. The topping options are displayed in jars in the refrigerated case near the register, so you can see what you’re getting into.
The Thai tea with sea salt had a really good flavor. It was sweet but not too sweet; the sea salt kept everything in balance although I couldn’t really taste it directly. If you want more of a sugar rush, go for the brown sugar milk tea.
Drinks here are pretty expensive – prices hover around $ 5 – but the serving is what would be a large at most places. I kind of wish they offered a smaller size for less money, because nobody truly needs 16+ oz of milk tea.
It’s a little confusing walking into this place because there’s no menu on the wall, just chalkboard lists of their most popular items. Grab a laminated menu from the stand by the register and you’ll be on your way to a delicious drink!

This is proably one of the most consistent tea places that I have ever been to. I’m not that crazy about milk tea but all the drinks here have always left me leaving satisfied. I usually get their popular sellers such as the brown sugar milk tea, rose milk tea, and twinkle fruit tea. My personal favorite is probably the rose milk tea, its light, refreshing, and doesn’t feel too heavy in comparison to other milk teas. The only bad thing is that sometimes they run out of rose, so you won’t be able try this delicious drink!
For those seeking a more fruity alternative, their twinkle fruit tea is amazing and contains small chunks of fruits that add more character to the drink. I’ve gotten it several times before everytime the amount of fruit inside is different. Lastly, you can’t go wrong with a classic brown sugar milk tea. The milk tea tastes freshly made and not the powder stuff that you get at other boba shops. They only have one size for all the drinks but it’s enough for you to enjoy throughout your day.
The only bad thing is parking; parking in this area is just horrible, really horrible. You will either have to pay for parking or find street parking and even that that may take a while. Overall, I would recommend Ozero to anyone looking to enjoy some nice milk tea that won’t mind finding parking in this busy area!

I guess this place is also called «Twinkle Brown Sugar»? Regardless, I came here after a quick meal at Spitz and Snociety. (Yes, 2 places…)
This place was bustling on a Wednesday afternoon! Why are these students not in school?! (Hey-don’t look at me. I’m done with finals!)
I ordered:
–1 original brown sugar milk tea + pearl boba /​/​YUM! Perfect sweetness. You gotta shake it up a bit, but YUM YUM!!! Only complaint is that boba was a bit too firm for my liking.
Pros:
–Good service. Guys were super nice and fast, despite the long wait.
–Great ambiance. Great place to chill with friends! Not a lot of space though, so definitely grab and go unless you manage to get a table!
–Nice selection. Yum! Everything on their menu looked awesome! I am excited to try their sea salt thai tea next time!
–Awesome quality. For the quantity, I like it! And price too! Huzzah! One size option only, so no need to be indecisive here.
Cons:
–Too much ice? My drink had a bit too much ice and within 30 minutes, it started melting into my drink so the ending of it was too watery. Definitely ask for no ice if possible!
–Terrible parking. Meter parking it is!
Tips/​Observations:
–Sign in with 5stars rewards to get 10% off immediately and an additional 1 point!
–These cups are hella sturdy and definitely reusable… so bring it home, wash it, bring it back and get 10% off!
–Can’t change sweetness level but sweetness level is definitely on par.
Definitely coming back here again! Stop by if you’re in Little Tokyo!

Love the staff really nice :) and the jasmine tea soo good :))) I got 2 jasmine milk tea with boba and the 3^rd with pudding, I really love the taste.

With a warm afternoon, friends and I decided to grab some drinks or smoothies to cool down our bodies. Search Unilocal right away then we got this tea shop: p
I liked the decoration inside a lot, felt cozy and comfortable. Soon, we started to order our desires on the menu. They offered so many kinds of drinks, such as smoothies, coffees, boba tea and also juices. My friend chose the snowie, which mainly made by milk and puddings. And I ordered the green tea smoothies.
We felt normal for our drinks as the matter of the fact. However, it’s still a place to spend a relaxed afternoon. Hahaha

Been here a few times and pretty solid boba here. The main criteria for me when going into boba places are the ability to customize drinks and the quality of the boba itself.
The structure of creating the drink is great. From selecting the tea base, whether it’s assam milk tea or green tea, to the flavor, and to selecting the add-​ons with boba or jellies, the method to making the drink is solid. Now the question is to both the consumer and the drink maker, can you make the drink properly.
On a recent visit, I ordered a straight hot almond milk tea with boba. My fiancée ordered a mango green tea with boba. The boba was nice and chewy with the hot drink and kept it’s consistency throughout the lifetime of the drink. It was a bit sweet for me and I should have gotten it down to probably 50% the normal sugar amount. The mango green tea was good and mellow. The hint of mango was a good flavor in this drink.
This is a good standby place to grab a drink when in the Little Tokyo area.

I came here a couple times when visiting Little Tokyo. First time was ok, but second time was terrible. The Assam milk tea tasted not terrible, but the boba was terrible. We came here around noon… but boba was not good. It had no chewyness to it. It was too soft and felt like it was overcooked or something. They also messed up our orders when we came here. Too bad, we didn’t start drinking until we left. I ordered the assam milk tea with boba 75% sugar and my girlfriend ordered the almond assam milk tea with boba. Mine was sweet and my girlfriend’s was like 25% sugar or something. and it had like no almond taste…
I dunno how they messed up our orders. when we were the only customers in there.Whatever. I wouldn’t be coming back. Not really worthy of 4 star review in my opinion. Boba texture was not good, nor was the service. At that point, I would have rather have Kung Fu Tea back in Minnesota.

Loved it here! I had the green milk tea with brown sugar 50% and boba.
I was wary going in because I read other reviews that the drinks were far too sweet. Maybe they’ve corrected it this since then or maybe because I got 50% sweetness, but I thought the sweetness was exactly what I expected and hoped for for that sweetness level.
I really enjoyed the brown sugar taste — a sweet molasses/​syrup-​ee flavor. However, I think the brown sugar does somewhat mask the other flavor. In my case, I felt the Jasmine flavor wasn’t as distinct as usual (which I didn’t mind). If the purity of the other flavor is very important to you, you may not like the brown sugar addition.
Service was a little slow with the crowds but there was ample space to sit and wait in a nice, clean environment.
I would definitely go here again and wish there was one back home.

There’s not very many tea shops that meet up to my high 626 boba standards in downtown LA, but Ozero and Coco’s are two places that I will come to satisfy my boba cravings when I’m in the downtown area. Located across the street from shin-​sen-​gumi in the heart of little Tokyo it can sometimes be hard to find street parking, but we were pretty lucky on a busy Saturday afternoon to find meter parking nearby.
Grass jelly is my fave and I had the brown sugar grass jelly drink here and it’s really good! My bf ordered the green milk tea slush with pudding and boba and it was delicious as well! They have a small little outdoor area with a few tables and chairs where we were able to enjoy the perfect weather with our two dogs.

The go-​to place in Little Tokyo when you thirst for decent bubble tea. I came here for a refresher after strolling around the Arts District. Parking is a pain, there are a couple parking lots nearby charging $ 8 for a day (worth it if you’re planning staying longer in this area).
Ozera is kinda hip, has some funky decorations on the wall and a couple outdoor seatings for milder evenings (unless you like the heat during the day). Service was attentive but could have used a smile, at least a half-​smile. As for the refresher, I had the Jasmine Green Tea: it was strong in flavor but was way to sweet for my taste-​buds. To counter the sweet, I’ve ordered a sea-​salt coffee afterwards: this time my taste buds did a little dance. The added salt reduced the bitterness and underlined the rest of the coffee notes.
Anyhow, I’d come back to give OZERA another shot.

If your craving for boba in little Tokyo, I think, this is the only legit restaurant that serves yummy boba drinks. Opted for the almond milk tea with boba… Way too sweet. My friend opted for the brown sugar milk tea with boba… Way too sweet. We had to ask if they can dilute it a little with water. They remade our drinks instead and was a little better.
I’m going to have to try another drink in order for me to change my 3 out of 5 stars rating. Will be going for a second challenge.

OK but nothing to rave about. It may be the best boba you can find in Little Tokyo, but it falls a bit short when compared to places in the San Gabriel Valley.
Got the Assam Milk Tea with Vanilla Ice Cream. The ice cream is a nice touch; it gives the tea a very creamy texture/​flavor to it. I wouldn’t go out of my way to try this place out, especially when over half of your drink consists of ice. Parking is also a major deterrence since parking in Little Tokyo is utter hell. I would recommend parking in the lot that houses Starbucks and Yogurtland, go into either of them, buy something, get your ticket validated, and then stroll on over to Ozero.
10% off your purchase with a Unilocal check-​in. They also participate in FiveStars loyalty program.