Chicha San Chen
The Taiwanese chain brews tea from Lishan Mountain cup by cup on a pressure machine, in a Cupertino strip mall that drew hours-long lines on opening day in September 2023.
Why go
Elena Kadvany covered the opening for the Chronicle: people queued from an hour before the doors, staff handed out samples, and one man worked through the wait on a laptop.1 The chain sources green, black and dong ding oolong grown and hand-picked on Lishan Mountain in Taiwan, and the counter brews every cup to order in its proprietary teaspresso machine, pressing the leaves at high temperature.1 There is a tasting bar, which Kadvany wrote may not exist at any other boba shop in the Bay Area.
1 The award people queued over belongs to the International Taste Institute, three stars, and the Michelin comparison was the crowd's, not the institute's.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the dong ding oolong,
stronger, charcoal-roasted aroma
on the menu's own description.1 - Order: high mountain pouchong topped with mousse, one of the set combinations.1
- Order: the oolong milk tea with cream. A regular from the San Gabriel Valley door told Kadvany it is
easy on the tongue and really flavorful.
1 - Avoid: skipping the tasting bar. Reservation-only tea ceremonies run with the house tea masters.2
What locals & experts say
- Elena Kadvany, San Francisco Chronicle (September 2023):
Even in the boba-saturated Bay Area, Chicha San Chen brings something new and special.
1
Good to know
- Still growing. The NorCal operator opens a Pleasanton door on 29 August 2026; Cupertino carries evening Lishan oolong mocktail hours Thursday through Sunday.2
Verdict
could-visit — An International Taste Institute three-star award and a tasting bar Elena Kadvany thought might be the only one at a Bay Area boba shop lift this above the valley's other tea counters. The award is chain-scoped, and the Michelin comparison was the queue's, not the institute's. The operator is still expanding, with a Pleasanton door opening August 2026, and staff pour oolong roasted to five levels at the bar. Nobody has published a considered judgment of the tea since opening day, which is what keeps it from placing higher.