Delivery
Yes
Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Housemade Family Recipe Boba in Champaign
Categories
Location on the map
Champaign, Champaign County, Illinois, US
Service options
Takeaway
Yes
Dine-in
Yes
Highlights
Fast service
Yes
Great tea selection
Yes
Popular for
Solo dining
Yes
Good for working on laptop
Yes
Accessibility
Wheelchair-accessible car park
Yes
Wheelchair-accessible entrance
Yes
Wheelchair-accessible seating
Yes
Wheelchair-accessible toilet
Yes
Offerings
Coffee
Yes
Comfort food
Yes
Late-night food
Yes
Quick bite
Yes
Dining options
Dessert
Yes
Amenities
Good for kids
Yes
Toilets
Yes
Wi-Fi
Yes
Atmosphere
Casual
Yes
Cosy
Yes
Crowd
Family friendly
Yes
Groups
Yes
Tourists
Yes
University students
Yes
Payments
NFC mobile payments
Yes
Credit cards
Yes
Phone: +1 217-954-1855
Site: http://www.latealounge.com/
Site: http://www.latealounge.com/
Opening hours
- Monday:12–8:30PM
- Tuesday:12–8:30PM
- Wednesday:12–8:30PM
- Thursday:12–8:30PM
- Friday:12–9PM
- Saturday:12–9PM
- Sunday:12–8:30PM
Comments (148)
This drink bussin 😌😌 the boba was perfectly tender. Would drink again. 10/10 I will recommend to all my friends.
I had unsweetened medium milk tea with boba (Fitbit as scale in the picture) and it tasted really good. Friendly staff and ambient atmosphere! One of my favorite bubble tea places on campus. *Recyclable cups too!
I cannot give enough praise to both the quality of the food as well as the quality of the service! Everything served here is freshly made from the boba to the tarts, the ingredients are also high quality. You will not be sold short of quality food and drinks here. I was fortunate enough to meet the owner, Jack who was very welcoming, hospitable, and conversational. I highly recommend this location and the chain to anyone looking for high quality, fresh, and delicious food and drinks. You can really taste the extra effort that they put into their products.
The service was good (standard register experience), but we didnt love the tea. It tasted over steeped and very sweet. My wife and I got different teas but they both tasted mostly like sweet milk even at 50% sweet. The store experience was clean and the atmosphere was inviting, it was just the tea which we both didnt finish.
I’ve tried all the bubble tea shop on campus, I have to say they are quite unique from other around that area. First of all, they make boba in-house by using owner’s grandmother recipe, and for the brown sugar which is my favorite, they roasted the brown sugar and use it for the marinade over the boba. Isn’t it amazing?Second, I’ve tried Tiramisu milk, crèam bûlée matcha, they are a must try, I like the idea making the dessert into drink. I’ll definitely come back to try more!!!Third, the customer service. They are sweet, friendly and willing to answer your questions also being really helpful. They hand out the drink very quickly which is pretty surprising, sometimes they can be really busy but it worth the wait! Highly recommended.
My favorite boba place on campus!!! It’s just the right consistency and balance of flavors and sweetness! The customer service is nice too! Y’all should come check it out! They have different things for you to try every season!
LaTea is my favorite Bubble Tea store in Champaign Urbana (and the world so far). My wife and I look forward to it as a weekly treat! They use natural high quality ingredients and have great drink recipes. I can customize several drink options and add-ons. LaTea also makes their own boba and offer it in two flavors: honey boba and brown sugar boba. Their boba has a wonderful taste and texture far above commercially made boba. Their drinks have a fresh pure taste I greatly appreciate. I think other stores don’t quite reach the level of quality of LaTea. There is another store in town that was voted more popular, but I think that bubble tea store tends to be overly sugared and less refined. In my travels I tend to look for bubble tea stores. I have not yet found a place better than LaTea.
The best boba place in Champaign!!!
I daydream about coming down to Champaign for the strawberry lemonade with green apple jelly. Their bubble tea, their lemonade, even their food is good! Love this place and will always go (more times than Im willing to admit) when I visit Champaign.
- Ordered brown sugar milk tea and boba got brown sugar milk and boba. Please think and ask! Why would anyone want milk with boba!!-Ever since they changed the lid, it leaks every single time.Very disappointed
There are soooo many different options for milk tea. Its so delicious and you can customize pretty much anything (sweetness levels, add-ons like boba, less ice, etc)!
One of my favorite boba shops on campus! The employees are all so friendly and the drinks are made from quality ingredients. My friends and I tried their creme brulee matcha latte, tiramisu milk tea, and roasted brown sugar boba. All of the drinks were great and tasted even better with their pastries. Their lemon tart and egg tart complemented the tiramisu milk tea and the roasted brown sugar boba perfectly. Definitely would recommend getting a couple pastries with your drinks!
The tiramisu cream float is to die for. Absolutely amazing. Add boba obviously.
I highly recommend trying out different drinks at the Latea Bubble Tea Lounge! Not only do they make everything in-house, the serving sizes are really big so it really is cost efficient! I will definitely grab a boba at this place again!
My favorite bubble tea place. Ive been to many places for bubble tea, but I havent found one as good as Latea yet. A must try if you havent already!
I fell in love with everything, from the drinks (tea, latte, milk tea, and boba drinks) to the delicious sweets (tarts, shortbread, and truffles). Ingredients include organic, high quality (like the French butter, the chocolate, the tea) , and may be made in house (e.g., the owners [Jack] grandmothers boba recipe, roasted brown sugar, ganache, grape jelly, ...). Unique and delicious - you taste the quality. Great customer service. Loved learning about the business! Was a great find. Looking forward to trying more.
I Didn’t know it. Now I do: They make their own boba, brew the tea everyday, locally source most ingredients and bake their desserts with French butter.Desserts and tea were Not too sweet and delightfully fresh. Worth the drive to Champaign @lateauiuc.
Pretty nice place! I laughed because the girl who made my drink was stunned I didnt want any sweetners in my drink LoL but it was tasty!
Great customer service and had a great time! Such a chill place to go and get boba and on top of that it’s so good! The boba there is great and has the best texture out of all the boba I’ve had!
T-E-R-R-I-B-L-EI placed an online order but still waited for an hour standing in the store just for my 4 drinks. And there was also no brown sugar boba AGAIN.Did I order 4 dozens of drinks and boba was made from scratch just after they received my order?They even made the drinks for other in-store purchase customers who placed the order AFTER me.Edit:I did let the staff know once I was there. The staff clearly knew which order was mine and what did I order exactly as we double checked with each other at least 2 times during my 1-hour wait.I believe most customers ordering from third party platforms including myself know there maybe a delay due to many reasons, so I arrived 15 min after I placed the order but still had a very long wait.I am so very curious if all the ingredients are ready to serve such as boba is ready, tea is ready - why did it still take so long to get all the ingredients filled in a cup?Also, with my understanding and knowledge about the third party platforms, the estimated wait time is provided/set up by each food establishment rather than by the platforms. If in-store customers purchases may be one of the reasons for increasing wait time, YOU should include these possible reasons when setting up the wait time in your online portals. It is not customers responsibility to take ALL the problems when placing an order via any third party platform. Making a note on the platforms to inform your customer theres a long wait isnt hard.During my wait, there had been 3 employees at the storefront preparing drinks. I stood there for 45min and saw probably ONLY 10-15 drinks (which I thought should be the productivity from one single employee) ready (including my drinks). I would say better employee training is one of the best ways to improve your recent 1-star reviews. Clearly, not just me one person had such terrible experience. :)Also, if there is a store manager or please send someone from the main store to have a close look at the everyday running and adjust accordingly!Thanks
My go to bubble tea shop for CU. Great customer service and quality! Highly recommend stopping by if you are in town!
Tea is good, service was horrible. They ran out of boba (at 3:30 in the afternoon) and also ran out of tea. We waited 30 minutes for them to brew it, then they finally prepared it and left it to the side. We then watched them serve 4 people who came after us. When we asked for a refund, they suddenly found our drink and apologized insincerely. I pointed out that they should serve people in the order they come, and the response was, I SAID I was sorry!
The drinks in Latea are great but a little pricey. My favorite one is Tiramisu milk tea. Latea is the only bubble tea place that offers this flavor. It is indeed great!!!
Latea is great to me. I really think the new boba they are using is delicious and I am always greeted with kindness and respect. My only critique is that they run out of menu items frequently. However, I understand how that can happen. Especially since I worked in food service myself. In addition, there is a worker with glasses and hoop earrings that is always very patient and nice to me. Many people walk in with attitudes and they make the workers jobs very difficult for no reason :l But she seems like she really wants to help in any way she can despite difficult circumstances and whatnot. And for that, I hope to see her often :)
Ive seen some people say the price is a bit much, but thats just the general price of tea drinks in this area. Its not as if going to another tea place with similar drink selection (and same quality) is going to be much cheaper. Compared to 3 other places in this area (KF tea, Teamoji, Cocomero), I think they have the superior bubble tea. Their bubbles are always on point with texture and are sweetened. Their flavor has been super consistent. I have been here many times without a poorly made drink. If you are looking for bubble tea in particular, I think this place has great options and bubble crafting perfection.
A good amount of drink choices. When it comes to base Milk Tea as they serve it, its definitely better than the other places in town. They do have surprisingly good Fries, which is something you wouldnt expect this place to have. The prices are a bit more than the other Bubble Tea places, which is what prevents me from giving it a 5.
Ive been coming here for a few months now and all the drinks have been great but service is not. The manager is pretty much the only person here who has smiled or greeted me or acted even halfway friendly. Everyone else acts like they dont want to be here. They also changed from black tapioca to white and it doesnt taste good at all now. I think its time to switch to Kung Fu Tea.
Ecstatic to find bubble tea brewed from real tea instead of nasty premade milk mix. All kinds of milk substitutes are available: cream, soy, almond, skim, non - dairy. Also you get to choose how sweet you want it, and I usually prefer unsweetened or quarter - sweet. The fries are also pretty amazing, and I enjoyed my red bean pancake.
The flavor and quality of bubble tea is right on point! I just wish the menu was easier to understand for a beginner.
Great atmosphere, great drinks, and great costumer service! The staff is very helpful and accommodating and value the customers experience. I ordered a house green tea which turns out to be a bit too bitter for my personal taste, and the staff got me a different one and helped explaining the difference to me. Props to their professionalism and helpfulness!
I’ve been coming to this place for two years, and I don’t know what happened in the past month, but they’ve gone downhill FAST. First, and most importantly, they changed their boba. Their boba used to be this great fresh dark boba, but now they have clearish/yellowish pre-made boba that’s hard. For that reason alone, I won’t be back. However, in addition to the change in boba, everyone who works here is completely unfriendly. In the past month, we’ve been hurried out over an hour before they close at 10pm so that they can close super early. This place used to be my favorite. If they brought back their old boba, I’d come back but without it, putting up with their rude workers is NOT worth it.
A great place for milk tea that is right near UIUC.There are many varieties of milk tea, and they offer you the choice to customize your drink based on sweetness and ice amount.The interior is nice but it could use more spots for people to sit, relax, and/or study. I usually order to-go anyways, so that doesnt bother me.Overall 5/5Chatime is unfortunately closed, which is sad since I alternate between the two places. The taste to me is about the same. They are both really good.
Great bubble tea selection. The prices are high, but the product is worth it. The “large” is more of an “extra large”. It will last awhile. Lots of seating available and good music. Great place to study or hang with friends. Highly recommended!
I tried their mango smoothie and added booba into mine. They made the smoothie quick and delicious. You can choose how sweet you want your drink! Their prizes arent so bad. Over all, their drink variety and taste are amazing!
I had the house milk tea at the recommendation of a friend. Being from India, and I would say this was the most authentic tasting chai I have had in the US.
Great customer service! The drinks were very yummy and the price was decent. My favorite drink was the Matcha Latte.
Delicious bubble teas with customizable sugar levels. And their boba is perfectly chewy and soft every single time. I make it a point to come here to get boba every time I come back to Chambana—this place seriously stacks up/beats a lot of NYC bubble tea joints. I definitely stan their regular milk tea.
Having tried many of the Taiwanese chains around San Francisco, during our visit I was curious as to how the bubble tea is around UIUC. We got the house milk green tea and yogurt oolong tea at 25% sweetness. The milk green tea had a strong tea flavor which I preferred, and was just the right amount of sweetness. Not sure if it was made with real milk though and has a slightly off taste. The yogurt oolong tea seemed to be yogurt flavored, not made with yogurt (i.e. yakult) as we expected. At 25% sweetness, it was still slightly too sweet for our tastes but you can definitely taste the tea. Overall, the drinks had good tea flavor and were refreshing.
Today I went to Latea for the first time ever and placed my order. I received no assistance from the woman taking my order, which was okay, because the menu board was pretty clear. She asked me a question about happy hour but didnt explain anything about it, but mentioned that I could add it on. She seemed rude, so I didnt ask any additional questions. I was told that the added boba would be a 10 minute wait, which I said was no problem. I sat and chatted with a friend while waiting and when my order was called I took my drink and left. I didnt see any bobas in it, but I just thought that maybe the milk tea was cloudy and they were in the bottom. No bobas. Everything else about the drink I ordered was fine, (a medium coffee milk tea with quarter sweet and light ice) however no bobas is kind of a big deal when I waited 10 minutes for it. I dont mind waiting, but it should be right if you have to wait.
2017 review: 5 starLittle crowded sometimes, but i think its the best bubble tea in town.2019 review: 3 starWhat a scam, five star points got depreciated. Adding boba needs 30 points?
Great bubble tea but also a huge selection of different types drinks and addons. Very big college clientele just hanging out with friends and doing school work. My wife and I stop everytime were in town. Vanilla Milk Tea for me, House Green Milk Tea for her.
The tea Ive gotten from here is pretty good and is decently priced. I have not been too impressed with the costumer service, however. Nothing too bad, its just that everyone Ive encountered there seems uninterested and almost annoyed.
Best bubble tea Ive had! The grapefruit green tea and bouquet milk teas are my favorite, with honey boba 😊
They’re always fast and everything there is delicious! I would highly recommend the grapefruit tea with honey boba :D
The best tea bar in Campustown. The tea is tea, not some sweetened mysterious liquid with weird color. The space is comfortable. There are two big tables for studying and one nice sofa for relaxing.
Im always amazed of the price when going here. For a small tea or smoothie, youre paying almost as much as a meal elsewhere. Its good, but not really worth it unless youre really craving bubble tea.
This is my absolutely favorite place to come in Champaign-Urbana for some bubble tea! Their large drink size is a legitimate liter of happiness, and everything is reasonably priced as well. My go-to is the Caramel Milk Tea!
One of the better Bubble Tea place on campus. Sometimes their Tapioca balls are stale, but that is once in a blue moon. Would recommend Vanilla Milk Tea with Boba.
Accidentally ordered my drink without almond milk and they still were so kind and understanding to remake my drink 🥺
One of my favorite bubble yea places ever! I wish there was one like this in my hometown! I go every week for my Milk Tea and can’t get enough!
Good when stuff are in stock. Recently, almost every time(>8) I went there they are out of Boba or something else. Is it that hard to keep things up, especially when your menu is not that long?
Not a big fan. Tried multiple items on their menu and was disappointed at all of them- variations of their milk tea, regular tea, and lemonade. Although they gave me a card for a complimentary drink for messing up my order, I have not been back since.
I was enticed by their nice furnishings and area but their milk tea was only okay. With so many options on campus, I will probably try another one next time.
Best service and the best drinks!!! They were so welcoming when I came in, and their matcha is SO GOOD!
This place seems like a legit boba place that actually makes the teas from scratch. You can also adjust the sweetness of your drink, which is great.
I love the workers they are so cool! but the music made me leave and there was a man looming over the cashier while i was checking out…
Love the Tiramisu tea! They run out often, but it is amazing.
The interior doesnt really make sense for me -- there are chunks of open space. The green milk tea is good, but everything else is pretty average. I personally prefer ChaTime.
Reasonable priced milk tea, and definitely the best on Green St insofar. Lounge style seating, usually full of studying typing up papers on their Macs.
Great place to get authentic bubble tea. I got the hazelnut milk tea with Boba, normal sugar, and little ice.
The best quality of bubble tea you can find!
Worker was impatient after drinking my tea I felt like I was gonna vomit. Im not trying to diss em or anything the tea was good i just felt really sick after
The brown sugar milk tea and taro were barely average but service was great.
Every time I come here, they are out of boba and taro. I was never be able to order my first choose. Their WiFi is very slow as well.Disappointed.
Clean, airy, bright. Friendly staff. Music was a little loud but then Im not necessarily their target demographic.
I only come here to get packaged tea bags. It’s $12.99 a little pricey for me.
Super busy, menu is a bit confusing, but the tea is worth it! This place is great and the associates are very helpful if you dont know what you want.
Their bubble tea is delicious with their tapioca being cooked perfectly (no grainy center).
I ordered a brown sugar milk tea and it just tasted like cereal milk. I asked for more flavor and it still tasted gross
The place looks comfy but the bubble tea i tried was not pleasant i couldnt even finish half of the half of my drink
Good bubble tea but youll definitely pay for it. They charge extra for boba and just about everything else
Over an hour long wait for the wrong order. Id much rather go to Teamoji or Tsaocaa across the street.
Every time Ive been there, the service has been excellent and the quality of the food and drinks is superb. I love going here!
The best milk tea place in town! I love their oolong milk tea a lot!
Great drinks, great selection, really tasty pearls or boba as the Americans say but ridiculously overpriced.
Great options for customizable bubble tea with nice sitting area. Can be quite busy during lunch hour.
Latea makes their boba from scratch and its delicious!
Little expensive as expected with bubble tea, good employees, watch the tables as they are a little sharp. I go there to study all the time.
It wasnt popping boba!! Their boba was it was like chewing a rubber band 🤮
I found the taro bubble tea disappointing. However, the place is comfortable, trendy and good for working.
Best bubble tea on campus and they are organic as well, but the place is little bit expensive.
Tasty drinks for a decent price. Very nice and casual ambience, good for hanging out with friends
I love this place. The service is really nice and the products always delicious. This is a must in Champaign.
The staff was very patient and explained my options. The tea was delicious!
The Milk Tea was great, make sure a stop by every time I visit UIUC
My friends and my favorite tea place! The house milk tea is a must try.
All organic tea, not the nonsense powdered over sugared stuff you find elsewhere..
Best bubble tea in Champaign but a little overpriced being located in a small town
Yummy bubble tea. I would recommend getting the Rose Milk Tea half sweet
Great Bubble Tea! Top Notch customer service from the Management.
Great staff, cozy place to be at and hang out while enjoying great tasting drinks.
Hip place, good boba. Probably one of the best boba places on campus.
Used to be my favorite but the quality of the drinks has gone way down lately
Good bubble tea. Other customers can be loud sometimes.
They legit didnt have anything we ordered so they had to refund us lmao
Boba is okay but is overpriced and service is insanely slow.
Lots of interesting options on the menu and fun place to hang out! 😊
Wide variety of teas; the summer specials are good too.
Rose milk tea quarter Sweet with bubbles is the Best.
Good place to study or meet friends
Milk tea wasnt satisfactory, a bit too expensive.
Really good bubble tea here, although expensive.
Grapefruit juice black tea was great!
Great place for Bubble tea and fruit smoothies.
Very helpful staff -- thank you for all the samples!
Only one issue which was that I got double charged multiple times. I think they fixed this though.
Best bubble tea in town 👌
Good flavor while also being sweet and refreshing
Taro Milk tea tastes like powder
I just wanted boba and they ran out of boba
Here the tea tastes thicker and stronger.
I ordered a coffee bubble and it was great!!!
The boba is yummy
Neat little place with cheap Bento Boxes
Best bubble tea in town!
Came in and out. The tea was good.
Good price for good bubble tea
A bit expensive, but excellent quality
Oolong Milk Tea always!
Nothing special about the bubble teas
Green tea latte is great
Best boba in town!
Boba was hard and clumpy
Great place for tea.
A pathetic excuse of a tea cup.
Meh tea. Sometimes good, sometimes bad
Poor service.
Perfect bubble teas
Amazing environment!
Nice
Drinks are good
Perfect tea beverages
Options for everyone
Delicious!!
Plain place
Very good milk tea shop in the school area. I heard that the photos were taken in the Champagne Studio. I came here to see it once in person, and it was also very good. It was very consistent with the real thing.
Crème brûlée Matcha Latte was very good!
Teaaaaaaaaaaaaah
Total reviews rating 4.2
148 Reviews for Latea Bubble Tea Lounge - Housemade Family Recipe Boba 2023:
Review №1
2022-04-20Latea Bubble Tea Lounge is great from getting a quick milk tea or wanting to relax with some coffee and a sweet snack! It’s easily my new favorite boba tea shop with delicious recipes and a homemade style taste with each drink that is worth it compare to other boba tea shops. Highly recommend visiting if new to the area or looking for an delicious boba tea shop!
Review №2
2022-07-19I ordered taro milk tea with rainbow jelly and brown boboa. They put a lot of roping’s in there but when I took a sip of it, I can still taste the little bits of powder. It was not mixed well and the consistency was thick
Review №3
2022-03-19Milk tea with boba. Staff were super friendly and flavor was solid. At 13 bucks for two 16oz drinks it was a little on the pricey side.
Review №4
2022-06-13My friend’s order (Left)regular Roasted Brown Sugar Milk Tea with brown sugar boba w crème brulee & Right large Taro with brown sugar boba! Taro is much better
Review №5
2022-04-27Ive gone here over the years. I always loved the drinks and the different options I have to customize my drinks. Recently found out that they make mostly everything in-house from scratch! The fried cheesecakes, boba, truffles, the teas, tarts, most of everything if not everything! So stoked! Makes this place even more special and inspiring! Keep up the good work!
Review №6
2021-06-29I like their boba teas, they are decently priced and both bobas and tea are good. But I don’t know why milk makes some cottage cheese like thingy all the time and it floats on top of drink. I would buy them anyways though.
Review №7
2022-07-15My favorite bubble tea shop in Urbana.Drinks run less sweet than other boba shops; this allows the true taste and richness to come through.
Review №8
2021-05-25I’ve been here numerous times already and every time I’ve been here each drink was amazing! I recommend the brown sugar milk tea, the tiramisu milk tea and the matcha latte creme brûlée. The service has always been phenomenal and the owner is so kind super accommodating to anyone’s needs. If you have a chance please check them out!
Review №9
2022-07-14Different boba experience but I loved how friendly the staff was, Ill probably come back if I like the drink. Daniel was great super friendly, give him a raise
Review №10
2021-09-22Roasted brown sugar milk tea housemade honey boba. Very good . First time trying this place and I definitely will be back.