Chamalyn

I hate to give such a low rating since the people working here have always been really nice, but I really can’t recommend their boba. My friends live around the corner from here, so I end up walking by Chamalyn a fair amount. I’ve tried a couple of drinks my friends have ordered (couldn’t bring myself to pay for subpar boba), but I can’t remember too much about their drinks aside from them not tasting very good. I remember one being a Mango Milk Tea, and you could still taste the powder they used for the mango flavor, so the tea was grainy. At least the bobas were decently chewy, and not soggy. They also sell Asian snacks, but they are pretty marked up. I would only suggest purchasing boba from here if you’re REALLY craving it! Street parking can be tough in this area, but at least there usually isn’t a line here.

The proprietor is a sweet lady and makes all the drinks as close to handmade as it gets. You can have them sweetened or… uh, not, but the latter’s the default. There’s also an array of snacks on the shelf by the counter. The place could use some fixing up and pearls/​boba are somewhat bland, though.
The info above says the store doesn’t take credit cards, but last time I went, I bought my drink using my card. The lady has one of those iPhone card readers.

Was around the area so I decided to try the boba here.
I ordered the Jasmine milk tea with tapioca and it was really quite nice. It was a bit on the sweeter side and had a sweet hint of Jasmine. My only qualm was the tapioca, they were very bland.

It’s 1pm on a Thursday. This place was closed. :“l

Not sure how I really stumbled into this little shop, but it’s neat! A very nice woman making bubble tea in an almost painstakingly hand crafted sort of way. What caught my eye though was the great selection of Japanese snacks and candies. Though it’s a little expensive.
What’s odd is when I walked in it was painstakingly quiet in here. Like library quiet. I felt, well, like I was disrupting. Maybe if she would play a little music or something to cut the silence… might help. Or maybe I walked in during quiet time. I should go back and see.

The girl that runs the place is really nice and sweet. But the inside of the store smells [and kind of looks] like it‘s being renovated. There are some cute decorations and furniture but it looked like they were sanding the place down or something. Anyway, that‘s a bit irrelevant, the drinks are $ 4 each — which is a little bit pricey but I was willing to try something new and got a Vietnamese Iced Coffee with boba. The coffee was okay but the boba was way too soft. I like chewy boba, and this was just too soft. Not in the way that it was kept overnight too long but just the way that it was made. Definitely not worth $ 4 in my book.

Sweetest lady running this boba joint, but sadly one of the worse milk teas I’ve ever laid lips on. You know when you talk to someone super nice and you feel more tolerant for whatever they’re going to hand you? Um, well… I got the Rose Milk Tea and almost gagged embarrassingly in front of the kind lady that made my drink. Overwhelmingly, my drink tasted like some kind of soapy syrup that masked any existence of milk or tea, although the milk and/​or tea were subtly there if you searched for them. My friend got the Guava Strawberry Tea and our taste buds did not detect any sign of tea. Neither drink worth $ 4.
Chamalyn also had a small selection of random Asian snacks, such as Pocky and the like. I’m from San Jose where we have a bunch of Asian markets that carry these at a third of the price… but I suppose Valencia Street has nothing like this so Chamalyn is marveling to an obscured population.

May is my boba bartender!
I was a regular Thai Iced Tea bubble drinker when I lived down the block. You can order custom drinks such as extra tapioca balls or no ice, not a problem. They also have the coolest selection of Japanese candies. Unique snacks that are super interesting and make great gifts. They import them from Japan!
The specialty of this little shop is the tiny models of foods and doll panoramas. Apparently there’s a big following for these special little toys and people come from all over to buy the latest sets and even order them from Japan.
A very cool store to walk into when strolling down Valencia!

So I got an apple boba tea and I was quite unimpressed. The drink consists of tap water (yes, he literally put the cup under the faucet and got some water), boba that tastes «ok» and some syrup. He barely even mixed the drink as he used the straw to stir it. If I knew that is how he would have made it, I would have gone some where else. So not worth $ 4.

I’m sad to say that my review for Chamalyn is falling to 2 stars for quality of their boba drinks. The Black Milk Tea with Pearls tastes homemade and not in a good way — like I made it with Lipton black tea and reduced fat milk. I am afraid to try any of their food items, which include sandwiches and other bites.
The Vietnamese Coffee lacked any flavor or caffeine punch, and instead kind of tasted like a mocha. Not a good one either…
On a positive note, the tapioca pearls were über chewy and fresh, but that doesn’t make up for a $ 4 unimpressive tea. So overpriced.
Cute place to stop in, a small selection of Japanese candies, but I’d rather get my boba at Quickly’s.

I was suprised to find a good boba place in the Mission. Like everyone has said, it’s small and is easily missed. There are a lot of flavors to choose from for your tea, and they are usually generous with the boba. May, the obvious star of the place, is adorable and so sweet
Last time I went by (2weeks ago), they were closed for renovations. not sure if they’ve reopened yet!

This place is definitely a hidden gem as others have described. There are lots of cute charms and things to look at and the prices seem decent. There is also a decent selection of Asian snacks. But I was definitely here for the bubble tea.
It’s been surprisingly difficult to find bubble tea around San Francisco. After reading the great reviews, I had to come by. The short hours have made it difficult, but I finally made it to Chamalyn! The lady working behind the counter is the sweetest person ever! After looking at the sun faded sign, I decided on a daily special, the Hong Kong Style coffee bubble tea. At $ 3.50 for an pretty standard size cup, it was a little more pricey than I’ve come to expect in California, but not bad compared to prices I’ve seen on the east coast. The boba were a bit on the soft side (but I was getting close to closing time), but still had a good springiness and had a subtle sweet flavor. The drink itself was good too. Not too sweet or too watery. Overall, pretty good.
Because this place is close to where I live, I’ll definitely be back!

If there is a nicer woman working behind any bubble tea counter from here to Ithaca, NY… I want you to tell me who that friendly female is. Chances are, she can’t hold a tapioca ball to the bundle of joy that whipped up my sweet Asian treat here at Chamalyn last Friday afternoon. Simply a peach!
As for the sugary, bobafied snack — it delivered on all fronts. Was really just craving a heaping pile of boba balls, but used a milky coffee concoction of sorts as the vehicle for delivering a mountain of sacchariferous pearls onto my palate. I’m not usually the kind of person that settles for the Frappuccino sort of caffeinated beverages, but in this instance, I couldn’t have been more into it.
While I’m not an expert in what makes the best bubble tea, this is certainly the greatest that’s touched my lips in the 28 year years I’ve been dragging my knuckles on planet earth.

Small place that you probably wouldn’t see if you were just strolling by. But great place to get Boba tea (lots of flavors, although the sign is faded and hard to read).
The woman working there is ALWAYS friendly and chipper. Her attitude combined with my delicious Boba tea always brightens my day!

I LOVE MAY!
I bought some re-​ments (japanese miniatures) on eBay from her and was able to pick them up here. As soon as I walked in she welcomed me warmly before she got to know I was the person who was picking up the items. Her store is oh so cute (so many different types of candies, japanese trinkets, and my fav, Re-​Ments.) and I loved her cheery, wonderful service!
The boba had the perfect texture, though I would have preferred the drink sweeter. I only wish I lived closer so I can go visit more often!

My co-​worker and I were both craving boba, so we looked for a place near the office and stumbled across Chamalyn. With absolutely no clue as to how to even pronounce the name of the store, we walked in and were greeted by a living cartoon. The owner is the cutest Asian female I have ever met in real life. No joke. She smiled at us the whole time and sounded super! enthusiastic! about! everything! The drinks aren’t that sweet, so she’s definitely not on a sugar high.
We walked around the tiny store and looked at all of the different Asian trinkets and snacks while she made our drinks. I got a Hong Kong style coffee and my co-​worker ordered a watermelon juice. The drinks were pretty good, but the tapioca was just OK. 4 stars for all of the cuteness just seeping out of the cracks of this place.

[Reviewed by Drew]
I’ve been a regular ever since I started working in the city. Chamalyn is a hidden gem. It’s easily the best boba tea in the Mission and comparable to many of the Sunset/​Richmond establishments.
As many people have already said, the owner is INCREDIBLY nice. You don’t get service and genuine enthusiasm like this nowadays.
There are a lot of assorted flavors. My favorite is the tried-​and-​true black tea with milk, but I also like the jasmine green tea with soy milk on low caloric intake days (I blame this obsession on the wife).
Her shop also has lots of Japanese/​Asian candies and goodies (i.e. trinkets, bubblegum toys). It’s like you stepped right into a 10′ x10’ J-​town. Not much else to say… if you want milk tea or Asian sweets in the Mission, this is definitely the place to go.

OMG. I have been thinking and wanting to come here ever since I found out about a milk tea place in MISSION!!!
And finally I came in today. It was cloudy and probably only 60 degrees, but I’m Asian. We drink milk tea in any weather.
I walked into the store, and it was super hot and humid anyway. So it took probably 2 minutes for me to break a sweat.
I ordered the red bean milk tea, and asked for half sugar. And the lady was so enthusiastic. She nods and smiles and talks as if she puts an exclamation point after each word!!! Like this! Yeah!
Anyway, after she made the red bean milk tea for me, she told me to try it and if it was too sweet, she would change it. That’s really sweet of her!
It was $ 3.50, but I totally don’t regret spending so much.
It was delicious! I had so many red bean and tapioca chunks left. It made me so happy. :) definitely coming back!!!

Precious is the best adjective I can think of to describe this place. It’s truly a lost gem in the Mission.
You can get bubble tea (!) here of many different crazy flavors, and they have lots of cute little snacks — Pocky, Asian gummies, you name it.
If you haven’t had your cute overload from the snacks, there are also little trinkets like cell phone charms, and a chain with a hot dog charm at the end. Priceless.
The gal behind the counter is also SUPER friendly and just adorable… but you wouldn’t expect anything less from this place.

This must be some joke, right? I must be missing out on some Unilocal fix. Perhaps a bunch of Unilocalers got together and said, ‘wouldn’t it be funny if we all give 5 stars to that little shop in the Mission ?’
On Feb 11, 2007, Best of Unilocal for Restaurants look like:
1. Zanze’s Cheesecake
2. Benkyodo Co.
3. The Dinning Room at Ritz
4. Acquerello
5. Chamalyn
In the same list as The Dinning Room at Ritz, I had to go find out what it’s about. What I found was a shop smaller than my bedroom, selling a bunch of cute Japanese toys and snacks. Sure, they are cool and fun, but you can get them cheaper at stores on Clement Street and J-​Town. Three of the top 5 Best of Unilocal should not even be in ‘restaurants’ category.
So I was ready to hand them 1 Star, but then I realized that most of this is Unilocal’s category problem and not Chamalyn’s problem. They didn’t nominate themselves as the Best Restaurant. I guess it is a neat TINY store, selling cute items. If they were in J-​Town, they would not stand out, but it’s cool that they are in the Mission where there are no stores like this. Quickly is at least 5 blocks away, so Chamalyn is nicely located for a quick Bubble Tea stop.