Half and Half Tea House - Interrupt

Date of Dining: 4/1/2012
Price: $2.85-$3.85 + $0.50 extras
Locations:

• 141 N. Atlantic Blvd #112, 91754  (reviewed)
• 3007 E. Huntington Dr. #104, 91107
• 17575 Colima Rd. #C, 91748
• 18558 Gale Ave. Unit #152, 91748

The Quick Bit

+ great boba drinks

+ drinks are made to order

Δ waiting times can be shorter

Δ phone in orders could be finished upon arrival

When I was in high school and in the prime of my geekiness, a certain Chinese food trend swept through Southern California; boba. As a young man with knowledge of the food trend, I suddenly found myself being asked about food from my culture for the first time in my life. I also found that others seemed to enjoy my explanations.

Embracing the role of the avid boba junkie, I tried all the various boba shops that popped up around town and recommended certain ones which I thought were better than others; it was perhaps gastrobits R&d only I didn't know it at the time.

When I went to college, the boba craze was still strong and I even joined a club with the slogan "bobalicious." I found myself with like minded individuals who all loved boba. I was even told of a story where one of the club members was playing basketball at the gym wearing the shirt and he was playfully given the nickname bobalicious for the session. Ever since that time, I've tried to curtain my boba consumption - it more or less lined up with my metabolism slowing down as I aged. 

It was with some trepidation that I was thrown back into the boba world during a recent visit to LA. While certain fields seem to never advance, boba drinks have continued to evolve over the years. The current lead innovater is Half and Half Tea House. With four locations in the Los Angeles area, they serve the widely accepted best boba drinks.

Half and Half's innovation is that instead of sweetening the tea itself, the tapioca pearls (boba) are dipped into honey before being added to the cup. This form of sweetening gives a more natural and rich flavor to the entire drink.

milk tea with coffee jelly, and honey boba

For my experience at Half and Half, I went with the most popular drink - milk tea with coffee jelly and honey boba. From the first sip, I knew that this drink was extremely special. The flavors were purer than any other boba drink I had previously savored. I felt like I have a flavor explosion and complete re-discovery of the boba drink when I enjoyed this cup. The inclusion of the coffee jelly was key as it added a nice smoky depth to the drink. The tapiocas were prepared perfectly and I didn't feel that the drink was too sweet (the previous three boba drinks I've had I always felt were too sweet, even with less sugar).

Conclusion

Half and Half's boba teas are truly eye-opening and set the bar for all other boba drinks. Despite having plenty of boba in my time, Half and Half's tea was a flavor epiphany; it's like someone teaching you a completely new way to cook chicken better than anything you knew previously.

For the truly awesome product, Half and Half gets the bit award.