Tea Alley (San Jose, CA) – I told myself I would not go out of my way to seek out food trends, but I really like the light bulb boba bottles. I knew there were a couple of places in San Jose with them, so when I was in the area I did a quick search, and found Tea Alley, which recently opened in Downtown San Jose.
It’s a small shop right near one of the VTA stops. It’s pretty small, but really clean and cute inside. There’s a few tables and wifi available if someone wants to get some work done. The drinks were the average pricey ($4-5) and to get one of the light bulb bottles, it is an extra $2.50 – but you get to keep the bottle. It is plastic, but reusable. I ordered a Nutella Milk Tea and splurged on the bottle.
Tea Alley lets you pick the sticker and the little tag around the bottle – allowing for customization. It’s a really cute, fun idea! They also stick a light at the bottom for the full “light bulb” theme, but mine wasn’t sticking for some reason lol. The girl behind the counter was really nice and took her time putting everything together and it came out great!
The tea itself was really good – it was of course sweet because of the Nutella, but you also get that strong tea flavor mixed into it. The boba was soft and chewy, which made it more addicting to eat. If you aren’t satisfied with your drink, they’re more than welcome to remake it for you on the house. I think next time I would likely go for a more traditional flavor and skip the bottle – just because it does add to the price and they can’t put ice into the bulbs (which I don’t care about, personally). But, it’s a really cute boba shop (that’s open late on the weekends!) and I would come back if I’m in the area.
bay-food.com 