Cup of Blooms (San Mateo, CA)

Cup of Blooms (San Mateo, CA) – Cup of Blooms is the cutest boba and coffee shop in downtown San Mateo. I remember seeing it on a friend’s Instagram a couple months back and when a fellow food blogger invited me to come try it, I said yes right away. I’ll admit, the aesthetics are what initially got me. There’s this really cute floral wall that’s the focal point of the shop, and yes, it’s perfect for the ‘gram.

Be sure to check out my experience visiting Cup of Blooms in my vlog below and read through this blog post for all of the details of what I ate!

It’s a small shop located on the corner of the street in downtown San Mateo – but a block or two away from the bustle, which is nice since it’s a little easier to find parking. It’s actually smaller than I thought on the inside, but there’s a decent amount of seating room. You walk right up to the counter and order, and there’s a few seats at the counter to your left, but to the right is where the floral wall is.

Cup of Blooms has a variety of teas, coffees, and small bites – both sweet and savory. They have fruity and creamy boba drinks, a variety of lattes, and they even have blooming tea! I was excited to try that since I’d seen it on the internet but never had the opportunity to try it in person.

On their menu, it’s called the Blooms Fruit Tea, and it comes in a clear teapot so you can see the bloom unfurl as it starts to steep – like a blooming flower! I’m not sure what combination of tea leaves were used here, but the flavor I got was similar to a jasmine tea. There’s also a little candle underneath the teapot to keep it heated as it starts to steep, so you have nicely brewed hot tea. The set up is so cute! I really liked the tea (though I needed sugar, but I just like my tea and coffee to be sweet), but our bloom didn’t blossom unfortunately, haha.

They also have other drinks like matcha lattes and fruit/dairy based boba teas. They looked really refreshing, but I had already ordered my latte and I can only handle so much caffeine haha.

I chose to order a hazelnut latte because even though I was intrigued by the rose latte, I wasn’t sure if I would like the taste. I’m not a big fan of rose and if there’s just a little too much, it can be too strong and overpowering. While my hazelnut latte was decent, I wish I had gotten this one instead! The rose latte was sweet, but not cloyingly so, and had a hint of rose without it overpowering everything else. It was the perfect balance.

Along with your drinks, you can order light bites like their toasts, taiyaki, or chia pudding, to list a few. The Chia pudding was refreshing and sweet – it reminded me of a flavored yogurt. The toasts come in a nice variety, such as the honey garlic, strawberry matcha, and boba nutella! Boba is an interesting choice to put on toast – I’m not sure if I’d want to consume it on a snack food. The honey garlic was great – but how can you say no to garlic toast? Exactly.

I appreciate how much thought the owner put into everything – from her menu creations to the pretty decor inside. It was a nice way to brighten a rainy day (like the one we had when we visited) or have a break from the bustle of downtown. Looking forward to what Cup of Blooms will do next – can’t wait to come back soon. 🙂