Teaspoon San Mateo

Teaspoon San Mateo is a great place to order boba for house parties & gatherings! Their tea quality & ingredients are consistently good, and they have a variety of flavors that is sure to please everyone!
I ordered 15 T-boxes for our Easter Gathering, I ordered first thing in the morning for the same day by calling. The owner Tony was very responsive & accommodating of our order. The staff Leah, Jack and their night crew was so friendly and helped us carry the 15 Tboxes to our parked car, made sure everything was accounted for and gave us extra boba when we nicely asked them for more!
Our community church enjoyed the boba T-boxes, super worth it because of quality & price!
Definitely one of our top/favorite boba spots in the area! Will for sure keep coming back for more!

The space is clean, and the service was both fast and nice.

The drink itself was great BUT I get a strawberry sangria 9 times out of 10 from Teaspoon and this is the first location where the strawberry marmalade was not good. The strawberries didn't taste good, there was so much grainy-ness from the seeds, and the color was not the nice reddish pink, it was a darker color that almost blended in with the tea itself which again from all other locations I've been to (about 5 other locations) I've never seen.

We came on a Sunday at 4 PM to try this place out. It wasn't too busy the shop has very limited seating but it's located in downtown San Mateo so it's the perfect area to walk around and sip on some boba. Their drinks are so good and they have cute heart-shaped boba that I would like to add into my drinks next time I'm there! Staff is super friendly and drinks were out quickly!

Guava Sunset - 9/10
Silky Mango - 8/10
Liquid Gold - 9/10

Even though my first, and, previously, only, visit to Teaspoon came quite a while ago, I distinctly remember being fairly impressed with my drink, even despite it being "just" their House (Black) Milk Tea. A close second? The menu, which featured a whole array of interesting options that I'd never really seen anywhere else. So, when I found myself here at this Teaspoon, you'd be correct to assume I was going to check out some of those more unique offerings!

At a glance, Teaspoon probably doesn't stand out a ton from the many other boba shops in the area. Inside, there are only a half dozen or so seats, the menu isn't the most extensive one out there (though, it's displayed on a huge TV), and they're definitely more of a chain than some of their nearby competitors. However, chain boba shop or not, there's no doubt that the diverse collection of drinks here is eye catching. While many may not be all that traditional, the majority of them sound so enticing! Between their various fruit teas, milk, and smoothie concoctions, I almost felt compelled to come back to try something else before writing this!

-- GUAVA SUNSET - Freshly Blended Guava and Pineapple Marmalade with a Splash of Lemon Juice...$7
(https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/teaspoon-san-mateo-san-mateo-2?select=8sfmMShFCffQe3wJRS3E3Q)
As annoying as it was to get little bits of guava stuck in my teeth, it was well worth it to know they use real guava. Not only was the taste delicious (I love guava juice), but it was also pretty refreshing and not overly sweet.

-- STRAWBERRY COLADA - Pineapple and Coconut Smoothie with Signature Strawberry Jam...$7
(https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/teaspoon-san-mateo-san-mateo-2?select=C-nuACzexdyAJUiojgOLaw)
This was fantastic! In a lot of ways, it reminded me of the lava flow cocktails I had in Hawaii (sans alcohol, of course). The mix of pineapple and coconut, in particular, gave this a decidedly tropical twist that was complemented well by the strawberry jam. So good!

With so many options to choose from around 3rd Ave, it's easy for Teaspoon to get overshadowed, especially by some of the newer and/or trendier shops that are around or spots that simply have more to offer. However, I don't necessarily mind that the crowds don't flock here as heavily as the likes of TP Tea or Sweet Moment, for example. Personally, I actually think Teaspoon is one of the better places that I've tried in the neighborhood, so I certainly don't mind not seeing a crowd ahead of me when I stop in. Especially when I still have so many more interesting drinks of theirs to try!

FOUR AND A HALF STARS rounded up.

Fast and friendly. The matcha was absolutely delicious. There was plenty of parking available. They have order ahead/pickup which was an added plus. Seating inside was pretty limited but the vibe was fun and relaxing.

Teaspoon has become my favorite tea & boba shop in downtown San Mateo. I appreciate that they offer traditional Chinese teas that you can customize with toppings. They offer plenty of other fancy flavored drinks too that are tasty & pretty. Easy to order, short wait for the drinks to be ready, pleasant interior and conveniently located.

I will never cheat on this teaspoon location as I've learned my lesson. Teaspoon in San Mateo is the best location in the peninsula!


Usual go to order:

Liquid gold: I love the creaminess of this drink. The honey oolong tea infused with cream and you have the choice of doing non-dairy options.

Creamy jasmine 50% sweet with grass jelly: 50% is the perfect amount of sweetness for this drink with the cream they use.


It was really busy on a Sunday night with two barista working but they definitely did a great job on the drinks

Don't sleep on this location!!

This place is so nice! I definitely love the drinks and I love how the boba tastes as well!
I enjoy coming here a lot. My favorite topping is the Oreos I really like the fact they have that here! I really like the strawberry popping boba as well.
They have very good customer service and they are very quick.

I go here often for reliable boba! They're quick and pretty reasonably priced, with so many boba spots in the area this is one I've been to many times because I just love the grasshopper so much!

Ordered the house milk tea, half sweet. Boba was chewy and the milk was flavorful!

Fast service