Ten Ren Tea & Ginseng Co

First time I came to this specific ten ren. The one on Mott was fine. But this one… I ordered a Thai Iced Tea. You can’t possibly go wrong with a Thai iced tea. Drank it. Tasted fine. Shared it with girlfriend. One day later, I was constipated. Stomach cramps ensued for 2 more days. Same condition with girlfriend. It’s been a week now. My stomach has never been the same again.(aka i havn’t had a solid shit come out from my ass… and no its not from lack of vegetables)

Hey walked all the way here and can’t find it.

My favorite place for tapioca drinks in the city. The boba here is made fresh and is the perfect amount of chewiness.

The BEST Bubble tea in NYC. I have tried many places and no one can even come close. Their drinks taste fresh, especially the boba. My favorite is the Taro tea with boba. Yummyyyy… and I normally hate Taro.

I’ve gone to Ten Ren twice, and here’s my overall review.
First time: My drink was made wrong– it was a honeydew shaved ice instead of milk tea but I let it slide because I enjoy both. The atmosphere was nice. I did notice the bubbles were a bit chewy though.
Second time: I got a honeydew milk tea with bubbles (of course). This time the bubbles were so chewy it made me sick.
Overall the service was alright, friendly enough. The tea itself was quite good, but the bubbles were so disappointing. I won’t be coming back.

I first tried Ten Ren Tea in MD. College Park. Yeah. Very different from this place. While it lacks the college ambiance, board games and food menu, this place is still good.
The tapioca is still good. I call it them yucca bubbles. For any Latino person reading, yes I learned that tapioca is made from yucca starch. So that’s why I call them. Tea is pretty good here.
The lady there during the day is a bit upfront with you. «You going to leave me tip? Oh you know tip is good.» lol. You can sit on the little table inside with the dark brown wooden stools on it, just DON’T YOU DARE PUT YOUR FEET ON THE FOOT RESTS ON THEM! She will call you out! Multiple times. lol.
Tea is awesome. I’ve tried honeydew there for the first time. And Chai. Its good!

Ten Ren sells tea leaves and makes tea beverages. They have basically every type of tea available on the market, as displayed on their floor to ceiling shelves that line the store. They do not have many flavors of bubble tea and they do not do combination flavors, but they make their milk teas with many different types of tea leaves such as oolong. The staff is friendly and the store provides many areas to sit and enjoy. It’s very clean any quiet, so it’s a nice place to come relax.

The lady here is really nice and friendly, unlike other Asian establishments — tried the Passionfruit and the Coffee Milk Tea.
I wasn’t too much a fan of the Coffee, but the Passionfruit was nice.

Good:
The ladies who run the shop are very friendly, always asking us to take a seat or if we had any questions about tea. Their milk boba teas are pretty good. You can enjoy the tea with a mix of boba, milk, and ice in which none dominate. They also have an immense variety and knowledge of teas.
Meh:
I didn’t see any ginseng, as their name implies, but then I wasn’t looking.
Summary:
Friendly and knowledgeable staff, great milk boba teas.

I’ve been craving bubble tea like crazy lately — no clue why. I therefore went to two separate Ten Ren locations in as many days for taro bubble tea. I love this place — they measure everything and they take my request for the drink to be not too cold with very little ice with a smile. How are they so NICE, even to weirdos who want non-​iced iced drinks?! I’ll be back soon…

Ten Ren does what I wish all milk tea joints would do – they measure their ingredients (like syrup & ice) to ensure they’re serving consistently tasty, not-​watered-​down drinks.
On both visits, my iced almond milk tea with caramel jelly was delicious. Not too sweet, perfect amount of chewy jelly & not overly iced.
$ 4 small
$ 6 large
I love that between bargain shopping on Canal St & boutique shopping in Soho, there’s a place to rest your aching feet while you sip some quality milk tea.

Yay for second Ten Ren location in Chinatown that is much closer to the train station!
Interestingly, this location has seats by the bar where you order your drinks, so you can chat it up with the barista if you want. I actually got out of my comfort zone and tried the longan bubble tea. Although the barista recommended I get it hot, I decided to get it iced. Maybe I should’ve listened to her. It was still sweet, but it had an herbal taste to it, and there were also dried longan bits in the drink that threw off the chewiness of the tapioca balls. I’ll just stick to what I know next time, but I will be back!

This is just like the one in San Francisco.
Great teas, I got a box of 50 Jasmine Green teas for $ 6.50. You can sample some teas before you purchase them as well, but not ALL of them.
Come here to pick up teas to brew, bag, and add to a gift basket.

When I want to switch off the Starbucks addiction, bubble tea is a nice distraction.
There are two locations (that I know of) in the Chinatown area for Ten Ren. It is one of my favorite places because it’s consistently awesome!
Not only is this place clean, the bubble tea delicious, the service always good, this place never really has too much of a long line– perfect for busy New Yorkers like myself!
Try the Passionfruit Tea (iced in the summer and hot in the winter) and instead of the regular tapioca, ask for lychee jellies! This drink is a bit on the sweeter side, but is one of my favorites!
FYI: cash only unless you are buying drinks for everyone… aka over $ 10 can be charged

Although this TenRen is much less frequented compared to the stand on Mott, this location is more spacious and much, much cleaner. The menu is exactly the same, but it seems that this place is more suitable for an older crowd whereas the Mott St location is constantly packed with high school kids and tourists alike. Fine by me, I’d rather get in and out without having to cram into a narrow line.
While the milk teas and flavored teas with boba are obviously popular, I cannot rave more about the buckwheat green milk tea served hot on their winter menu. Imagine if a matcha green tea latte and milk tea with wheat germ got busy and made a baby. Oh what a beautiful little baby it is… The matcha lends a subtle bitterness to the creamy milk tea, while a heaping scoop of crunchy buckwheat grains offer a punch of nuttiness and texture. I’d like to think that this surprisingly filling drink is healthy as well, maybe fulfilling a serving of my daily intake of whole grains? The baristas also kindly makes my drink without any added sugar, so I can avoid the nausea I often get after ingesting sugary milk tea.
TenRen certainly blends traditional Chinese teas with more modern, palatable renditions — and this buckwheat milk tea perfectly exemplifies that. I guess that’s why the brand has been able to so flourish in the U.S., even though boba milk tea has become quite a commodity.

I personally like this Ten Ren place, specifically. There are barely any lines because no one really knows this place exists. I always come here when I feel for a Jasmine Milk Tea or Jasmine Tea with Honey. It’s quick and simple and I love it when they do it really quick and hand me the drink before I can even get my money out.
This location sells tea also within the bubble making joint. It has a more homey feeling which definitely is a win. And it’s closer to the train station, I like that.

I recently discovered this Lafayette St location (I usually go to Mott St). Conveniently located on the border of Chinatown and Soho, it’s a 2-​minute walk from the Canal St. subway stop and a 5 minute walk from the Soho shops on Broadway.
I love Ten Ren tea. I recommend the Jasmine Milk Tea, definitely the best in NYC. The secret ingredient to their teas is the condensed milk! They add tea, sugar, ice, and condensed milk into a cocktail shaker and serve it right in front of you at a bar-​like counter. The tapioca is a bit sloppy at this location, it’s soggy and soft.
If you have time and you’re in the mood to walk, I would trek out to the Mott Street Ten Ren location (
). The tapioca is perfectly cooked and is chewier. If you’re just looking for tea, this location will suffice.
$ 3.00 for regular size
$ 4.50 for large

YUUUUUUUMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYY !
I am so glad to have found this place. I got the M7, which is the green tea milk bubble tea. mmm mmm mmm. It tasted like melted green tea ice cream (which is my favorite kind of ice cream) with tapioca balls mixed in. This orgasm of a drink only cost $ 3!
The big straws come in bright colors, which are always fun.
Note: They have several places to sit.

This place used to just have the bulk tea for sale, at least that’s the way I remember it. Now they have the bubble tea too! It’s a bit of a quirky mix, stylistically. I mean sure you’re getting first rate teas, and I don’t know a lot of other places to get them except chinese + japanese grocery stores. But the place also seems like it wants to be a café too…
Anyway, I had to meet a client in the neighborhood, so I stopped in. Had a kings tea, hot this time as I usually get it cold. It’s amazing how really good green tea tastes mildly sweet even though there’s no sugar in it! Of course I also had tapioca too. Yum.
taste & tea quality — 4 stars
café aspect — 2 stars

Oh Ten Ren, you exist in New York too?
I’m used to hearing rumors about you in Virginia and Maryland…
I traveled to find you after I saw someone in SoHo Pinkberry with a cup filled with delicious-​looking bubble tea that had your name on it.
The inside of you is clean and aesthetically appealing. I was surprised, since you are so close to the corners where people hawk handbags. The people that work here are nice and eager to help and answer questions.
I’m not sure I will go back to visit you, but I’m glad I went this one time to quench my bubble tea thirst!