Hi Tea

I liked sitting there drinking green milk bubble tea and flipping through Korean magazines. That was a good way to kill time. Highly recommended.

I will not be returning here. I’ve been here more than enough to get two free reward cards for a free tea and I had a ridiculous experience the last 3 – 4 visits.
1. They have been cheaping out on the teas where it’s only 75% full because it’s all foam at the top.
2. They are supposed to give you two stamps for large drinks but tried to get away by giving only one
3. When I wanted to pay for my regular drink with the free reward card, they told me I had to pay extra because I had a flavour (grapefruit green tea) apparently, the free drink is only if you get plain green or black tea (this seemed odd because the first time I got it, it was free regular any tea with topping or large without topping). So essentially, they are cheaping out for a couple of cents and now losing a customer.
It’s just too bad this is how they are running a business; why bother having a loyalty program to piss off loyal customer?

I really hate giving bad reviews, but boy, has this place gone down the drain.
Where do I start?
Despite not being fully at capacity, it literally took 50 minutes for them to serve what seemed like a pre-​packaged, overcooked meal.
Upon waiting 30 minutes, we cordially asked the server how much longer it was going to take. They replied «5 minutes». Another 10 minutes went by and the food was still not there. Already late for our other engagement, we asked whether we could just pay for our tea and leave.
This then devolved into the server launching into a tirade about how we didn’t actually wait that long and we couldn’t just leave after ordering food.
My friend left the place and I stayed until the food came a few minutes later.
The food was so bland and tasteless. I could have been eating plastic for all I know.
This whole episode left me feeling extremely upset. I have a strong allegiance to Taiwanese food and its really disappointing that my favorite cuisine could be served so badly.
Worst service I have ever had in Toronto, no exaggeration.

Their original location is near Yonge and finch, and this is their first downtown location. I’ve come here a couple of times during my last year in Toronto and found their bubble tea to be delicious every time I’ve ordered.
What I found disappointing was how they had fresh taro bubble tea on their menu but I was never able to order it because they didn’t have fresh taro. I had this drink once at their original location and fell in love with it, so I was excited to try it in downtown, only to find that they’re not offering it because they don’t have any. I’ve visited numerous times over a few months to check whether they had fresh taro, and they never did. Why keep it on the menu when you aren’t able to make it? I was getting angry at that point.
Anyway, the bubble tea are quite good, especially their smoothies and the ones with ice cream in it. It’s a good place to get a quick bubble tea fix or lounge with your friends with some board games.
I hope they removed their fresh taro bubble tea off the menu now, if they still don’t offer it.

The place was super dead during our whole lunch on a Thursday from around 12:30 to 1:30pm something. The atmosphere was strange when there were only my colleague and myself there. The service was nothing intimate. I was thinking to try their Taiwanese beef noodles but the service staff told me this was sold out. Then she kept on telling us there were more sold out at least another two to three items. Since my colleague recommended this place, I would give it a try no matter what.
We finally ordered a 3-​item appetizer (curry fish balls, popcorn chickens and deep fried squid balls). They were pretty ok. We both ordered the Taiwanese minced pork rice lunch set (came with a soup and a fruity iced tea of our preferred flavor). It was of good value and portion for only $ 6.99 each set. Food and the iced tea tasted good.
I didn’t get a chance to try their bubble tea dessert. My colleague said it was good. I guess the place might be more busy later in the afternoon, at night or during weekends.

The seating area is a little bit small but other than that they have a good variety of foods to choose from (meals, snacks and desserts). I’ve been there around 3 – 4 times and I like it so far.

Amazing dessert shop combined with a bubble tea menu, what more could you want? This place is great, with ample seating, friendly and capable staff, with HUGE drink and snack menu. If you play your cards right, this is a good backup if your reservation elsewhere fell through.
The only issue is that there are times when tasty treats are completely sold out or unavailable. I don’t know if it’s a marketing stunt, or they genuinely aren’t stocked, but I will definitely be going again.
Recommendations:
–Bubble Tea
–Rice Pudding
–Waffle Snacks

Good location with great snacks and drinks!
It’s a bit too expensive though
Also they don’t take credit cards

HiTea is located just outside wellesley station, so going their was super easy for me and my cousin. We walked in on a wednesday afternoon (opens at 11:30) and the place slowly filled up with mainly students.
The waiter was extremley nice/​polite to us, though our food took normal than longer waiting time. I ordered the chicken cutlet meal (8.99) a honey lemon ice tea (4.00) and we shared a herbal honey tea which came in a large pot (7.00). My cousin had a honeydew ice tea and ordered a salmon meal (8.99)
The food was really yummy and the drinks were super good/​soothing on a cold winter day. Its interior was super neat and was very spacious to accomodate large groups of people.
HiTea is a good way to avoid the other overcrowded bubble tea shops downtown and their menu is quite diverse compared to others.

Bubble Teas in downtown Toronto are very popular, on every other block you will find a Bubble Tea place. This is one of the best I have found.
They know what they do, how to make a good Bubble Tea.
You can choose either black or green tea, with or without milk (milk powder).
My favorites have always been Honeydew Green Tea (both with or without milk), Green Apple Green Tea and Plum Tea.
I have also tried but wasn’t a big fan of Taro Bubble Tea and Almond Milk Tea (black tea). I have never been the fan of actual tapioca balls, so I order without.
You have to let them know if you want tapioca in your tea.
But they have all kinds of tapioca and jelly. Everyone else seem to love it.
Love the fact that you can select either you want 100%, 75% or 50% sweet. It comes 100% sugar but I think 75% sugar is sweet enough.
The cons:
— They charge $ 0.50 more if you pay by credit card.
— The prices are pretty high. $ 5 for a tea is too much.
They also sell Asian dishes that unfortunately I haven’t tried. So this review is for teas only.

I would of given a 5 star if the price of their drinks are a little cheaper.
But this is my favourite bubble tea place downtown because their drinks are just that good. Every time I buy drinks for a friend, they are always surprised at just how good the drinks are.

Came in at 9pm on a Saturday night and they ran out of tapioca. Nooo!!! And for aloe vera it’s an additional $ 0.75? No thank you! It should be the same cost as tapioca. I do like that they had an electrical outlet at every table so you can charge your phone and laptop and use their free wifi. We ordered the popcorn chicken and fried chicken cutlet with rice which both chicken dishes tasted the same. They were lightly fried and tender. We also ordered a winter melon green tea and milk tea which you can customize with the amount of ice and sugar you’d like, which a lot of bubble tea shops are doing right now. It’s a cool hang out area, and nicely located in downtown Toronto and close to Wellsley subway station. I would definitely come back. Hopefully they won’t run out of tapioca this time.

Mediocre place really there is better bubble teas out there !!! The menus are quite extensive and good to have why the lower rating? Well this visit they ran out of tapioca how can you run out of tapioca when that’s the best seller? Well went ahead and ordered the passion fruit green tea well one word its too sweet I like how they put some seeds of the fruit in the drink but that’s all. The layout and décor of this place is nice the seating area is very small tho they can seat about 12 – 20 people max. They do let and provide games as I know lots of bbt places do not encourage games and allow seating hour limit 2 hours. I like how theres an outlet plug at every station and free WiFi you need to ask for the password tho. The food was OK a bit overpriced tho.

Really like this place! The flavours are typical for a bubble tea shop but their menu caters to more of a café scene with waffles, food and cakes. I feel like chatime is a huge trend and not much different from hitea. prices are similar too. Oh, hitea has white Tapioca, very good and pretty awesome looking in your bbt!

First experience was a disappointment. I ordered the pork cutlet meal and it didn’t match the picture that was in the menu. The pork cutlet was literally a pork chop with the bone still in. breaded in a batter rather than panko or breadcrumbs. It was only cut half way through so eating with only a spoon and chopsticks was– as you can imagine — quite difficult. They should have given me a fork and a knife. The rice that came with the meal had the consistency of rice that had cooled and been reheated in the microwave.
I also ordered the Oreo milk bubble tea. Again, false advertisement. The image in the menu gave the impression that the drink would come with an actually oreo cookie, or at least a generic kind but alas, no. My drink also didn’t have any tapioca in it. Was I suppose to specify that I wanted them? At the least the waitress should have asked me my preference. My friend also received the wrong order, but at least they didn’t charge her for it.
Overall the meal was mediocre. You can get better elsewhere. I have yet to try their desserts, hopefully they’re better.

The cashier was aggressive and the bubble tea was
Just so-so.Never be back, too pricing compared to the neighborhood like, beautea café or ten ren, or even probably worse than a waffle place’s casual grab.Done.Never back.

This business made an excellent choice with their food/​drink photographer for their ads — that’s what pulled me in.
Got buy 1 get 1 free promo deal — after liking their facebook page, get 1 drink then get the original milk tea with tapioca for free. The inside is nice, clean and new with similar atmosphere as other bubble tea places such as Teashop 168 etc. The drink selection is not as lengthy but includes a good variety.
I ordered green tea matcha slush with redbean (~$ 6), as that was the featured item in their ad. The staff was friendly but my drink took a little too long. It seemed like the staff was still trying to get used to the set up (ie. remembering where things are), and this seemed to contribute to the hold up at the bar.
A little more red bean would have been good in the slush but overall it was fine. I liked that the slush wasn’t too icy but rather remained smooth and flavourful till the last sip. Its consistency was thick like a green tea milkshake if there was such a thing.
If they keep the same excellent photographer for their next promo, I have a feeling I would be pulled in again…

This seems like any standard bubble tea shop downtown with standard offerings of simple meals and sweets. I didn’t see anything to differentiate on their menu, and that’s fine. Bubble tea & desserts are always welcome in my books, especially in the downtown core where late-​night non-​bar options are few and far between (though improving!).
However, opening weekend pains seem to be affecting this place. Of three orders, two were wrong, even when taking the time to point out and correct one item in question during the ordering process. The other drink came with un-​asked for tapioca and we were still charged for it when we pointed this out to the wait-​staff.
Given that there is so much competition for bubble tea in general and nothing to set this place apart, I’m not sure that I’d return after the less than stellar service and response. Their late-​night hours are a lure, but HiTea should take the time to train and educate their staff so that their staff — their front-​line — can effectively address issues that arise and be an effective ambassador for their brand. A less than grand opening, unfortunately.
After all the errors, I did chuckle when our waiter came by later to point out that we could like their Facebook page and get a free regular milk tea with tapioca.