The Boba Suite Tea House located in the Marshall Street area prides itself in having a Taiwanese influence. While the “bubble tea” originated in Taiwan in the 1980’s, the popular drink has successfully made its way to the states. Syracuse University Alum, Glenda Nuñez, opened the tea house in March of 2012 in hopes of connecting more with the campus. “I want students to have a place to showcase their work and for kids to think of this place as a home base to chill. I want to create a more ‘homey’ feel,” she says.
The ambiance is definitely on its way. At almost any given time students stop by to hang out in small groups of friends or just to enjoy the relaxing music and environment. As far as what type of tea you can expect, the possibilities seem endless. While their seasonal drinks include milk tea, smoothies, nectar, green tea, and brewed tea they also offer a series of yogurt drinks and different flavored lemonades. Despite the extensive number of flavors they offer perhaps the most fun part is choosing your favorite topping. The original “big boba” tapioca, which includes sweet potato, cassava root and brown sugar, remains quite popular. However, Boba Suite offers a variety of toppings which include: egg pudding, coffee jelly, golden jade jelly, lychee jelly, konjac jelly, aloe, strawberry pop boba, lychee pop boba, mango pop, and whipped cream.
Nuñez plans to nurture the growth of the tea house and expand what it has to offer. Although the menu is currently limited to beverages, we can expect to see food on the menu in the future. It’ll be something small, not a sit-down dinner place but more so pastries and baked goods. Nuñez also wants to expand to parfaits and yogurts with a wide variety of toppings. For long-term, Boba Suite is experimenting with a Boba late-night menu in which we can expect drinks such as a Baileys mint chocolate chip milkshake.
The Boba Suite Tea House delivers in a 3 mile radius and if you order 10 drinks, you get one (16 oz.) free or no delivery charge.
Address: 713 S Crouse Ave, Syracuse, NY 13210
Phone:(315) 299-5084
Prices: $$