This is just my personal rankings of boba shops in the socal area.

S-tier: Sharetea, Tastea

A-tier: Omomo, Cha for Tea, Roasting Water, Boba Guys

B-tier: Dolphin Bay, 7 Leaves Cafe, Tiger Sugar, 3Catea, Ding Tea

C-tier: Half & Half Tea, Class 302, Quickly

D-tier: Boba Time, Lollicup, Tapioca Express

F-tier: Gong Cha, Cha2o

Explanation

S-tier: Sharetea really depends on the location and who is making your drinks. If its the dream team then its by far some of the best boba I have had. If the allstars aren't working then it's like a high B-tier. Same goes for Tastea, except the highs are lower but the lows are higher. Drink recommendations: Sharetea: Black Milk Tea with boba and ice-cream (can skimp on the ice-cream but I would try it once) if the allstars are working. If not, then Green Milk Tea with Lychee Jelly is always a solid choice and is my favorite drink at the moment. (can get Green Tea if you don't like fruity toppings in your milk teas) Tastea: Their Strawberry Milk Tea is my favorite, go to drink. Otherwise, their Peach Me Sweet Tea is very popular and everyone loves it, but I think its okay; try it once for yourself.

A-tier: Omomo would be S-tier if not for the 40+ minute waits, at all times of day. If there is an Omomo near you that has a short wait, with similar quality drinks, it'd probably be my go to boba store. But just know, they are more known for their special drinks not their boba. (Basically, I rarely get boba with my drinks here anymore) I used to dislike Cha for Tea 2 years ago, but they have really improved their drink quality moving them from a low C, high D-tier to A-tier. Also if you're in Irvine, and have the Retail Therapy App, they usually have a buy a drink and popcorn chicken, get one free. (Its comes out to be like $10 cash for 2 popcorn chickens and 2 drinks; it's a steal) Roasting Water is just good and rarely ever disappoints. Honestly not too sure about Boba Guys yet, as i've only been there twice but it was good. I also bought their book, I don't know why, but it has some aesthetic boba shots.

B-tier: Dolphin Bay's milk tea isn't A-tier quality, but it was pretty freaking good, combined with their $3 for 2 Boba Milk Tea special just makes it the king of B-tier. Sadly, they closed or sold the store, so the place is just a relic of the past. But just trust me their drinks were too cheap for its quality. 7 Leaves is only B-tier because of their Matcha Soy Tea, otherwise i'd probably put them high C, low-low B. Tiger Sugar's Black Sugar Boba Milk Tea, was good but I think it's too hype. If you want an aesthetic picture of Boba for the gram, then this is the drink. The location was pretty garbage and was hard to find parking; this was pre-covid so idk now. 3Catea, the drinks were above average, but the place is very cute and aesthetic if you are looking for the gram pics. I went when there were Christmas decorations (also before covid), so i'm not sure how it looks now but the place is modern looking. Ding Tea, I want to rate it higher because I've heard so many good things about them but I just havn't found the drink I love here yet. When I do, maybe it will be A-tier; otherwise all the drinks are decent.

C-tier: Half & Half should honestly probably be mid B-tier, but their cups are just abysmal; they are too big and don't fit in cup holders. Class 302 also suffers from having too big of a cup, but their boba quality is actually just C-tier. Quickly is D-tier boba quality but its so cheap that I bumped it up to C-tier. Basically you get what you pay for here.

D-tier: Not much to say about the D-tier. They all are pretty similar in quality and I would probably only come here if there was nowhere else to go.

F-tier: Don't get me started on Gong Cha, I truly don't understand where all the hype and high-praise for this chain comes from. Not once, have I gotten a drink here and actually really liked it, maybe it was okay, but for the most part it was just bad. And i've been there atleast 10+ times, each time with a new drink and the hope that I would actually like it, but the place just never fails to disappoint me. I also can't describe how weird of an after taste I get after drinking/finishing their boba and it's consistent with every drink. Would not recommend going here. Cha2o, I don't really know how to describe them. The last time I ordered here, I got an Almond Milk Tea and it was probably the worst boba milk tea drink I have ever had, like ever. It was like if you walked into a Bed, Bath, & Beyond, took every scent in there and mixed it into a drink, and then added cleaning supplies to it. This drink actually gave me a massive headache; I didn't even know this was possible as I only took a small sip of the drink and it was like an instant headache. And no, I wasn't dehydrated. Like I said, if you ever walked into a candle aisle or Bed, Bath, & Beyond and got a headache from the overwhelming scents, this is what it felt like, except in drink form. I also think this was the only Boba Milk Tea drink I have ever straight up threw away after taking a couple sips. Basically, I havn't been here in 3 year and probably will never go again; definitely DO NOT recommend. But hey, if its like 1-2 a.m. in the morning and you really want Boba, this will probably be one of, if not the only place open. And if you decide to go here, I pray your drink isn't even half as bad as mine.