Boba Quest: AKIHI Bubble Tea

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in BobaQuest

tagged boba, bobaquest

As part of Boba Quest 2025 🧋, I'm trying and reviewing a new boba shop each week.

The first month of Boba Quest is in the history books and it has been way more fun than I anticipated. The only thing better than trying new boba is trying new boba and then talking about it with your friends.

Really the only part I didn't do a good job on was geographic variety; all the places I reviewed were in Queens, off the 7 train. I promised that this week I would venture out, and venture out we did!

This week we tried AKIHI Bubble Tea, all the way in Newark, New Jersey.

Yes, you read that right, New Jersey. Boba Quest has officially crossed state lines into the Garden State.

AKIHI is a 10-minute walk from the Broad Street NJ Transit station, but we did the 20-minute walk from Newark Penn Station, which also has PATH access. Situated right next to Rutgers University's Newark campus (street address: 55 Bleeker St.), it's open until midnight 7 days a week so college students can get their fix.

This was another group review, with my sister, Rayna, and my girlfriend, Kajol. I am starting to appreciate group reviews more because you can gain a better impression of a boba shop by trying multiple drinks.

Before we get to the drinks, we need to talk about the ordering process. AKIHI had a touchscreen that you could order from, but it was organized pretty confusingly. The categories were "Popular", "Limited time", "First time here", "I know this place", and so on, instead of the usual categories like milk teas, fruit teas, slushes, etc.

A blurry picture showing they have small tables where you can sit on a raised platform as a more traditional setting.
Once you conquer the confusing menu and order, they have a nice seating platform that isn't blurry in real life (my bad).

Our other critique was that there were no "plain" fruit teas, they were already mixed. For example, there was a pineapple-mango tea, but no tea with solely mango.

It wasn't all bad; one major positive was that lactaid and other non-dairy milk options were available at no extra cost.

Okay, let's get to the drinks!

Three cups of boba; with partially readable white labels on the bottom with the drink names. They have red sleeves with a guy holding a sword on a ship and Rutgers in the background

I ordered a jasmine milk tea with boba, 100% sweetness, and less ice.

  • Boba: 3/4 good chewiness but could've been a tad bit sweeter.
  • Tea: 2/4 not sweet enough, otherwise decent.
  • Bonus: 1/1 I was happy because of no extra cost for non-dairy options and the ambiance is nice to sit and work; but the menu was confusing.

Total: 6/10: Overall it was decent, but I would want to try out other places around Rutgers before coming back here.

Kajol ordered a brown sugar brulee with boba, 100% sweetness, and less ice.

A hand with painted red nails holding up a cup of boba with the store blurred in the background
Kajol's far more asthetic picture of her boba.
  • Boba: 4/4 it's chewy, it's QQ!
  • Tea: 3/4 it's good, but quite sweet.
  • Bonus: 1/1 I liked the ambiance and the vibes. And liked the cups.

Total: 8/10.

Rayna ordered a bubble milk tea, 70% sweetness, less ice, and lactaid milk.

  • Boba: 4/4 I liked how chewy it is
  • Tea: 2/4 I wanted it to be more flavorful :(
  • Bonus: 1/1 I don't like how the menu is organized, but they can have the point for having both lactaid and dairy-free options.

Total: 7/10.

I (Kunal) tried all three drinks and need to say that their sweetness levels were entirely out of sync. Kajol and I both asked for 100% sweetness, but hers was significantly more sweeter than mine. And the supposed 30% difference between mine and my sister's drink felt closer to 50%. Certainly this is a good argument for continuing with group reviews and ordering multiple drinks.

No idea where the next review will take place, but I'll try to keep it within the New York City limits this week :-)