Golden Tea Shop

Address: 901 Franklin St # 128, Oakland, CA 94607, United States
Phone: +1 510-251-9368
Services: Service options: No-contact delivery, Delivery, Takeaway, Dine-in,
Highlights: Great tea selection,
Popular for: Solo dining,
Accessibility: Wheelchair-accessible entrance,
Offerings: Coffee, Quick bite,
Dining options: Dessert,
Amenities: Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi,
Atmosphere: Casual, Cosy, Trendy,
Crowd: University students,
Planning:
Payments: Credit cards, Debit cards, NFC mobile payments, Credit cards,
Children: Good for kids,

Category: Tea house, Bubble tea store
Rating: 4.7
Site: https://goldenteashop.business.site/
Worktime:
DayTime
Monday11 AM–6 PM
TuesdayClosed
Wednesday11 AM–6 PM
Thursday11 AM–6 PM
Friday11 AM–6 PM
Saturday11 AM–6 PM
Sunday11 AM–6 PM



Name: T**** C***
Date: 2024-05-11 22:28:16
Rating: 3
Comment: Took them 30 minutes to make 2 drinks when there’s only 3 drinks to be made ahead of us that came out. The ginger pomelo winter melon tea was really good though.
Name: K**** S**
Date: 2024-04-22 01:39:13
Rating: 5
Comment: Love this place! The service is really great and I really enjoyed my rose milk tea with boba. Pricing is super reasonable and they have Taiyaki!
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Name: O***** B******
Date: 2024-02-18 20:52:19
Rating: 5
Comment: Their boba tea was really tasty! I loved my creme brûlée flavor.
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Name: N****
Date: 2024-02-18 00:08:16
Rating: 5
Comment: Price is great for the quality the service is very slow but worth the wait
Name: E H***
Date: 2023-11-24 23:17:05
Rating: 4
Comment: Its one of the best milk teas 🧋shop
Name: 2**** M
Date: 2023-11-08 04:39:38
Rating: 5
Comment: Very good teas, lots of varieties to choose from, one of my only go to tea shops in all of chinatown, this place beats all!
Name: J****** Y***
Date: 2023-11-02 00:00:42
Rating: 5
Comment: I have been to pretty much every boba shop in this area and have drank close to 1000 boba drinks in my life… and this is BY FAR the best place!!! They have such an extensive menu and everything tastes AMAZING! Their boba is sweet and chewy, their crema is fresh and perfectly salted, and all their teas are brewed perfectly. They also have the best prices I have ever seen. Since my first golden tea shop drink, I have been hooked. I literally refuse to go anywhere else now. Also, they are mom and pop shop which I love!! If you’re in the area, and even if you’re not, you should definitely come. This is the place I would walk through a hurricane to get to 😍Pictured: Cake Crème Brûlée milk tea
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Name: T**** N*****
Date: 2023-08-26 20:13:47
Rating: 5
Comment: Really friendly staff. Good mango smoothie. 50% sugar is still too sweet
Name: J** R*****
Date: 2023-08-13 21:53:37
Rating: 5
Comment: Nice little Tea Shop with delicious Milk Tea, with the perfect amount of sweetness!
Name: R** S*******
Date: 2023-07-30 01:00:55
Rating: 5
Comment: Fantastic taiyaki!
Name: M***** S***
Date: 2023-07-28 21:23:43
Rating: 5
Comment: The Dirty strawberry is great
Name: B** O***
Date: 2023-07-28 05:02:55
Rating: 5
Comment: This establishment had an outstanding variety of teas. My friend is a big tea drinker, and I sampled an exotic tea at his home and I just had to have it. It was called gateway to Fortune. While I was there, I also purchased a “ Be wild with joy” tea. The proprietors were very polite and took extra care to get our purchases correct. There was also a good Selection of tea pots and accessories. There were other Chinese curios and jewelry. The whole store had a “ Other culture” atmosphere to it which added to the purchase experience. Thank you!
Name: X* T*****
Date: 2023-07-21 19:03:56
Rating: 5
Comment: Fav milktea place at oakland， dragon well milktea is favvorite
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Name: M***** �***** Z*****
Date: 2023-07-20 22:50:47
Rating: 5
Comment: Delicious boba. I love their Brown Sugar Fresh Milk and Mango Slush. Prices are great.
Name: N*** T***
Date: 2023-05-30 23:26:29
Rating: 5
Comment: My favorite place!!! I’m in love with roasted oolong milktea here
Name: T**** P*******
Date: 2023-05-13 20:47:14
Rating: 5
Comment: There was fantastic experience with tea tasting and good talk. I have took 6 kinds of tea to taste 😁
Name: J*** W***
Date: 2023-04-23 23:05:58
Rating: 4
Comment: Large variety of boba drinks. Last time I was here was years ago and they seem to have updated their menu. I got the matcha brown sugar. I was pleasantly surprised the quality of the boba and matcha powder. I also tried their pandan waffle. It was alright def not as good as vietnamese shops. I will definitely come back when Im in Oakland Chinatown again.
Name: R**** L****
Date: 2023-04-14 21:07:27
Rating: 5
Comment: I love this place!!! Best place to get boba and taking. Highly recommend to anyone who has never had boba or just wants really good tea.
Name: Y***** M******
Date: 2023-04-11 22:59:42
Rating: 5
Comment: So many teas to pick from, great variety of black teas, pu er, and more.
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Name: X**** C
Date: 2023-04-09 22:14:35
Rating: 5
Comment: Got a Tieguanyin milk tea, and the tea flavor is strong. Im pretty sure they use real tea to make their mt drinks :) I want to try the Dragon well milk tea next time.
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Name: N** A****
Date: 2023-03-15 23:53:50
Rating: 5
Comment: Very old-school chinese tea shop with a wide variety of Chinese black and green teas as well as some floral teas. Much higher quality than i expected given how low key the place is. If you know exactly what you want and dont need extensive consultations on taste, this is it.
Name: Y* L*
Date: 2023-03-03 18:14:22
Rating: 5
Comment: The service attitude is really good. I am willing to make black sesame milk tea even if it is not on the menu, and the job is very good. It is worth trying👏👏
Name: I*** P****
Date: 2023-01-30 15:29:57
Rating: 4
Comment: They did not stamp my stamp card after getting boba and it was unclear to me why. I did bring my ADHD client to accompany me. Best Boba in Oakland Chinatown though.
Name: A******** B****
Date: 2023-01-22 23:29:31
Rating: 5
Comment: Best Boba Shop in Chinatown imo. They need more signs on the main road directing to their shop, they are fortunate to not be in the thick of all the competition on Webster st.
Name: S*** K**
Date: 2023-01-20 02:04:46
Rating: 5
Comment: Amazing boba tea shop!
Name: H***** A*****
Date: 2022-11-21 20:07:24
Rating: 5
Comment: My favorite boba place in the Bay - awesome variety and really wonderful flavors. I had a classic milk tea and a favorite pu-erh. They were even kind enough to make me and a couple of other people tea when there was an order mix-up on Tuesday, when they are normally closed! Highly recommend.
Name: S*** C****
Date: 2022-11-12 07:24:31
Rating: 5
Comment: This is my go-to boba shop in Oakland. They have a large and reasonably-priced menu, and everything is very well done: strong tea flavors, fresh chewy boba, quick service. My favorites are the matcha crema, Thai milk tea, and brown sugar boba.
Name: B**** V*
Date: 2022-09-15 03:12:59
Rating: 5
Comment: Golden Tea Shop is consistently my favorite boba shop in the Bay Area! I have tried most of their milk teas and a variety of their fruit teas and every single one has been good quality with strong tea flavors. The shop carries a wide variety of teas and even offers speciality medicinal teas that one rarely sees at most bubble tea shops. My go-tos happen to be the tieguanyin and dragonwell milk teas, but all of their teas are well made! Even though I dont usually order fruit teas at boba shops, I really enjoy Golden Teas fruit teas as they are really fresh (I once saw the owner cut & scoop out a whole fresh passion fruit into one of their special fruit teas!).I happen to be pretty passionate about tea and one of the reasons I enjoy this shop so much is that its owner truly cares about tea and is super knowledgeable about the field. The shop is split into two units (boba drink shop to the right and loose leaf teas & supplies to the left, I believe the loose leaf tea shop is over a decade old). At both shops, she has kindly given me recommendations and guidance based on my tastes and they were always delightful experiences. Furthermore, both the boba tea shop and loose leaf tea shop are very affordable, especially for the quality! Thank you Golden Tea Shop!
Name: W* C***
Date: 2022-09-04 17:03:17
Rating: 5
Comment: Great place to buy whole loose leaf tea! They charge by weight, so you can choose to get however much you like. They have a nice selections of oolong, pu-ers and tieguanyin. The prices are very fair!
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Name: J***** S*****
Date: 2022-08-28 20:25:37
Rating: 5
Comment: Definitely one of the best boba Ive had in Oakland. I got the brown sugar boba for $5.50, and the amount and flavor is perfect. Theres a cute tea shop right next door too!
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Name: R G
Date: 2022-08-24 19:33:08
Rating: 4
Comment: Their tea by itself is the highest quality tea in chinatown imo, though the quality of their additions and service can vary. pricewise they’re probably the best value for boba in the area. try the adjoining tea shop next door for looseleaf chinese tea.
Name: J***** J******
Date: 2022-07-11 22:07:33
Rating: 5
Comment: My taro milk tea was very good, plus service was fast with minimal interaction. You order from an ipad kiosk basically and it texts your order ETA. Masks are required to go inside to order.
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Name: F*****
Date: 2022-05-30 07:57:18
Rating: 5
Comment: My SO is a fervent tea enthusiast so weve been here a handful of times thus far and its definitely worth at least one visit if you like tea as well! (Much as we love boba, this review is for the left side of the store where they sell loose-leaf tea! Weve never made it to the other side yet, but maybe one day, Ill be able to update about the boba as well!)This is still the only place Ive found thus far that offers quality loose-leaf Chinese tea in the bay. SO likes for me to be there with him because I speak Cantonese and its a lot easier to ask questions (Never have I felt more powerful than when I walk in here with you.). Oakland Chinatown businesses have been hurting, especially over the last couple years, so I like to support whenever I can + I happen to also love tea (my tastebuds are much less cultured though) -- win-win!Weve asked the staff for recommendations and theyve been great about giving us a variety of different tea recommendations that fit the bill. This can get to be a pretty expensive habit, so thankfully, you can choose to purchase these by weight (e.g. we sometimes do 2oz of a higher-end tea and 4oz of a more budget-friendly tea). Prices are very fair considering the quality of the teas they offer. (Please dont waste it and only steep it once! The taste often changes with every infusion!)They have a pretty giant selection of Pu-erh + Iron Goddess/tieguanyin (Im sure there are other types but those are the ones weve focused on so far. Will update as time goes on!) There are also some flowers (e.g. rose petals, chrysanthemum -- Ive also seen osmanthus + lavender), tea sets, teapots, tea accessories and other little gifts available. The teas come in loose leaf, pearls/balls, and cakes.Most recently (aka yesterday) when we came in, one of the owners relatives was helping out at the store and we inadvertently disrupted his late lunch. He waved aside our apologies and asked if wed like to have tea with him, and what was originally a well just stop by for 5 minutes to pick up more chrysanthemum turned into a lovely 1.5 hour chat where we learned all about different types of pu-erh, what to look for in a good tea, the differences between raw (un-fermented) vs aged (fermented) pu-erh. SO was absolutely thrilled (he has been to 1 tearoom in Montreal where he got to do something like this and has been searching for a similar experience/place ever since). We had a really great time! :]I dont think Ive quite settled on a favorite yet, but right now, I am partial to the pu-erh + the milk oolong (if youve never tried it, its super cool--tastes milky + reminds of a unsweetened milk tea despite there being no milk in it!). I also really like getting the chrysanthemum flowers here to make my chrysanthemum/goji berry/date tea for nighttime (I am super sensitive to caffeine).They do accept credit card, but due to the service charge fees, if you can do cash or Venmo, theyd appreciate those forms of payment more.Sooo, in short, if you are a fellow tea enthusiast, youll be super happy here! Stop by and check it out sometime!P.S. The aisles are narrow so if youre wearing a backpack, please be mindful of where that may go in space when you turn around, especially if you usually lack spatial awareness. Please dont knock out an entire aisle of tea!
Name: M***** M********
Date: 2022-05-20 13:49:35
Rating: 5
Comment: Orders ready to go when you pick up.
Name: m**
Date: 2022-03-06 01:45:08
Rating: 5
Comment: Omg love this place, would def recommend
Name: D***** L*
Date: 2022-02-26 21:43:33
Rating: 5
Comment: The tonic tea is amazing!
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Name: h******* k*** c*****
Date: 2022-01-30 06:37:20
Rating: 5
Comment: I got the oolong creama and it was so good, i enjoyed the sweet and savory combo. the cream was topped with salt and the sweetness of the tea was just right. this has become one of my favorite places to get boba. the prices are perfect too. highly recommend!
Name: T*** L
Date: 2022-01-29 23:55:33
Rating: 1
Comment: It took them 35 min to make passion fruit oolong tea and 1 scoop of strawberry ice cream. If your willing to wait hours for such a small order
Name: A****
Date: 2022-01-20 18:39:37
Rating: 5
Comment: A great place to get tea or other drinks. Owners are really friendly and helpful if you need recommendations. A lot of choices to please anyone. Ive gotten the milk teas with red bean and tofu. Red bean smoothie was great too. Non dairy milk options available. Come support small Chinese shops in Oakland Chinatown!
Name: S*** S****
Date: 2021-12-27 21:00:54
Rating: 5
Comment: Excellent hot flavored teas. Low priced too!
Name: I**** Y**
Date: 2021-11-25 22:05:09
Rating: 4
Comment: Update dont know how they come up with the recipes for there smoothies or other drinks but hard to beat and the flavor is very good. Love the strawberry or red bean smoothies.Update must try this place if you want a tea drink, slushier or a salted syrup drink. Today we actually got a waffle ice cream desert item which my daughter loved.Owners own both store right next to each other. One tea shop the other is a smoothie and iced drink place. Very good in my mind with reasonably good prices but Im not a boba tea expert. Highly recommend.
Name: J******* d*******
Date: 2021-10-25 05:20:45
Rating: 5
Comment: Great milk tea here, they also have a great selection of loose leaf tea. The staff was very helpful picking teas.
Name: J**** P****
Date: 2021-09-28 21:11:30
Rating: 4
Comment: Pretty Pretty Pretty good.
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Name: Y**** L*****
Date: 2021-09-19 21:31:19
Rating: 5
Comment: Very lovely shop, and so many flavors to choose there’s no excuse, you have to try one. Mine was a coffee smoothie with boba. Love the tiny heart in the cup. Very tasty smoothie
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Name: R****** P***
Date: 2021-09-12 19:33:17
Rating: 5
Comment: This is a great tucked away gem of a boba and snacks store. The prices are quite fair for the variety they offer and Ive enjoyed every drink from them. Its a great local favorite of mine.
Name: R**** J******
Date: 2021-06-04 20:42:56
Rating: 5
Comment: Good boba, amazing value for money
Name: V****** C
Date: 2021-06-02 01:26:03
Rating: 5
Comment: Great drinks my daily shop tea
Name: J**** G****
Date: 2021-04-17 22:24:29
Rating: 5
Comment: This is my favorite boba shop in Oakland. High quality and wide variety of tea, option for nondairy (almond or coconut) milk, generous boba portion with consistently good texture (not too chewy or too soft).They use fresh taro and fruit in their smoothies and teas! 💕Boba is cooked in brown syrup so I usually order 0% sugar and the drink is still sweet enough for me (just slightly sweet).
Name: R**** N*****
Date: 2020-07-28 05:00:52
Rating: 5
Comment: Got the pina colada slushy. Could taste the sweetness of the pineapple. Will definitely come back.
Name: J*** J**
Date: 2020-07-16 19:11:06
Rating: 5
Comment: I come to Golden Tea Shop frequently. At least once a week when Im in the office during the shelter in place, but before March, I came here 2-3 times a week sometimes. The main woman is very nice and friendly. She answers my questions and is willing to work with me to create new drinks. Ive gotten a few items from here, but I mainly get the milk coffee. Two days ago, I decided I wanted to really treat myself and asked for the Oreo smoothie but with coffee in it. The main woman and I talked a bit and they did it! The coffee/Oreo shake was yummy!! I just went there again today and ordered the same thing but with a little more coffee. The shake tastes even better! Ive never been disappointed here.
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Name: Z**** P***
Date: 2020-07-07 19:53:44
Rating: 5
Comment: The place itself is small but the tea is amazing! My favorite place to go when I need my tea fix! Their passion fruit oolong fruit tea is my favorite in the summer time! Their house fruit tea is amazing and always has fresh fruit. Their regular earl grey milk tea is another favorite. Staff is super friendly
Name: J******* S***
Date: 2020-05-26 16:40:42
Rating: 5
Comment: They actually sell tea next door. Authentic, inexpensive, pretty much no line. I love it. I grew up in Taiwan. This is legit good store.
Name: A****** A****
Date: 2020-05-06 20:55:54
Rating: 5
Comment: GREAT DRINKS
Name: C*** P
Date: 2020-02-16 00:14:01
Rating: 5
Comment: Really glad we finally found this place from the JoyRun app - very good teas, huge selection (they also run the bulk tea shop next door), perfectly cooked boba, reasonable prices and friendly shop keepers. Keep it up, we’ll be back ;)Forget long waits and paying more at T4 or iTea for inconsistent boba (sometimes too hard or too soft).
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Name: D***** G***
Date: 2020-01-17 00:13:25
Rating: 5
Comment: If you like tofu try the tieguanyin drink! It has red bean and dau foo faa type tofu in it!
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Name: A***** T***
Date: 2019-12-31 07:01:32
Rating: 5
Comment: 5/5, a solid, no-nonsense boba place. FINALLY. This place hits my sweet spot when Im looking to pick up some bubble tea with a friend and dont need somewhere to hang out and dont want to pay $10 for a drink.They have all your normal fruit and flavored teas and most of the typical offerings in toppings. The drinks are reasonably priced, about $3.50 for most offerings, and most importantly the service is amazing. The nicest ladies behind the counter were super interested in whether or not I liked the drink and willing to make any adjustments I needed. Theres also wifi here if you find yourself hanging out for a little bit. You can bet Ill be here again if Im in the area!
Name: K** F***
Date: 2019-12-24 18:58:25
Rating: 5
Comment: Tasty milk tea, can customize per your request.
Name: J**** T***
Date: 2019-09-02 21:48:56
Rating: 5
Comment: Great place.creme brulee fresh milk was good. Good cream and burnt sugar and boba has brown sugar in it
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Name: J**** X***
Date: 2019-09-01 10:03:20
Rating: 4
Comment: Love their signature fruit tea! lots of fresh fruits😋
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Name: R** b******
Date: 2019-08-20 21:00:45
Rating: 4
Comment: Boba, boba, boba for everyone. milky, fruity, sweet, icy, with jelly or just big pile of fish eyes at the bottom of your drink. Its fine.
Name: M****
Date: 2019-07-22 20:10:40
Rating: 5
Comment: Great
Name: A*** T***
Date: 2019-06-13 20:15:04
Rating: 5
Comment: Thanks to
Name: J**** C******
Date: 2019-05-24 08:15:32
Rating: 5
Comment: Legitimately tasty bobba with a good variety of choices. Pretty low key, good prices.
Name: D**** T******
Date: 2019-05-11 21:56:12
Rating: 5
Comment: Great, personal, service. Helped me pick a wonderful pu-ehr.
Name: S** S********
Date: 2019-04-13 17:13:34
Rating: 2
Comment: Wasnt open at 10am like it said on the door.
Name: B**** W
Date: 2019-04-04 04:32:58
Rating: 1
Comment: Asked for a certain black tea which I am very familiar with and she gave me something totally different. Whereas I could buy it online for about $15/pound she wanted $120/pound for her black tea. I bought $5 of it to try which was a few cups worth but threw it out after 1 cup as it was not very good.
Name: P****** W*****
Date: 2019-04-02 21:17:07
Rating: 5
Comment: Great test
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Name: E**** P*****
Date: 2019-03-19 02:22:21
Rating: 4
Comment: Very good tea eggs, bubble waffles smell and look good, variety of deserts with ice cream, tasty boba. Not very fast, good for locals.
Name: T**** D*
Date: 2019-02-15 20:24:02
Rating: 4
Comment: Service was nice, a little slow but the drinks are good. I asked for half sugar for my strawberry crema and it was still pretty sweet but the drink was blended well and the crema had good flavor. When other places make smoothies theres sometimes chunks of ice or the liquid already separates when you get your drink. Tax isnt included so my drink was 4.10 which isnt bad.
Name: R*** S****
Date: 2018-12-01 18:14:21
Rating: 5
Comment: Great tea and great service!
Name: L**** L
Date: 2018-10-09 20:36:26
Rating: 5
Comment: Delicious.
Name: D***** L*
Date: 2018-08-11 22:11:45
Rating: 4
Comment: Long wait, hot in the shop, but good drinks. Recommend waiting outside!
Name: P**** X* G**
Date: 2018-06-02 02:34:17
Rating: 5
Comment: Durian icecream is the best. It only costs 6.99! The shop is a little hard to find but it totally worth to explore. I did my undergrads in Hong Kong and I would like to say this is the most authentic Hong Kong dessert nearby! Btw, the shop actually closes at 7pm in summer. Not 6pm
Name: M******* F**
Date: 2018-03-03 07:30:33
Rating: 5
Comment: So helpful even though I was clearly flustered. Excellent tea and great prices. Im never buying tea anywhere else again.
Name: K****** L**
Date: 2018-01-01 01:29:36
Rating: 4
Comment: Honest homemade teas and desserts. Its not the fastest place, but they definitely put the effort in and the quality is good. Especially the black sesame drink was rich and not too sweet..and good value!Will come to try their other desserts and drinks.
Name: A******** M*
Date: 2017-11-19 05:18:44
Rating: 4
Comment: This shop isnt new despite the grand opening sign. It was a few doors down for at least seven years and just recently replace former space of Juice A-GO-GO. Its family run and service is excellent. They even have a separate shop for DIY home brewing kit, but most people will want it on the go. Menu is somewhat confusing due to a two page separate menu. One is for milk tea and other for scented/flower tea (non-milk) used. Currently theres a ongoing special from Nov 18-30th for all drinks $2.50. Best attribute to this shop is the owners experience cultivating the best loose tea to make their drinks. Also starting next year I was told there will be DIY desserts. So, if you find yourself in Chinatown you may want to give it a try. Its not your run-of-the-mill boba shop that utilize artificial flavors. Marketing rep Albie would like a green tea creama please?
Name: R***** M***
Date: 2017-02-06 18:57:50
Rating: 5
Comment: Large selection of great loose leaf tea.
Name: T** B**********
Date: 2015-08-24 12:16:49
Rating: 5
Comment: Unassuming shop with a great collection of delicious rare teas, master crafted yixing clay pots, and more everyday fare as well. I will be coming back as often as I can afford.
Name: A**** D***
Date: 2015-05-08 22:44:39
Rating: 5
Comment: I cant go to the mall tea shops anymore. I dont really want any of that artificially flavoring anymore. I want that real good stuff that doesnt only taste good, but heals me. Customer service here is not always the greatest, but I dont care, because the tea here makes me forget about that. These are the teas that I personally like:Supreme Orchid People (Ginseng Oolong) - Yummy and slightly sweet.Jia Gu Lan (Gynostemma) - Tons of healing properties.Super Iron Goddess (Oolong) - Really fragrant, adding to a satisfying drinking experience.And a tea I wouldnt buy again is the Crusted Pu Er. I mean if you like it cool.. but its just not for me. To me, it felt like it has a bit of a fishy smell and taste. And its closer to a black tea, so it was too much caffeine for my low caffeine tolerance. I need less caffeine in my life =/