Em-Tea

Coming from LA I’ve had some good boba and didn’t think much of this place as a stop for a pee break on the way back from Yosemite. Surprisingly I was amazed with the environment, quality, and service of this place. The employees were friendly and amazed me with the quality of music they were playing. I give this place a thumbs up and highly recommend it.

Em-​Tea is a great addition to Merced since we don’t really have a good boba tea place. Our families favorite is the strawberry milk black tea with boba.
I have tried the mango tea as well and it is good, I didn’t really care for the Thai tea.
The drinks are sweet but they can make it less sweet. The medium is large and the large feels more like an extra large.
The menu is on a big black chalk board with a step by step on how to order.

Go here just about every week day! Delicious teas and the service is sweet :)

I wasn’t sure what to get and they custom made a piña colada drink for me. It’s not on the menu but I requested it. I loved it! Would come again.

Em Tea is so refreshing! I love to get anything slushed with rainbow jelly! oh it’s freakin good!

I am very sad to have left this place behind. The boba tea I have tried since moving to AZ does not compare. Em Tea offers a lot of variety of teas, flavors, and topping. Not only do they have the popular flavors you’d expect, they have many more and a whole list of premium teas. The staff is very friendly and since they opened I have always felt they take their customer reviews seriously. Improvements were made very quickly, it is obvious they strive for customer satisfaction.

Coming from LA I was so excited to hear about this boba place! Went in and got an original black milk tea with normal sweetness and it was perfect! I’ve tried the Thai tea and also the matcha milk tea and they were both really good. Did not have to wait long and my drinks came out pretty quick which is great.
The cup sizes are also great and I also love the atmosphere of this place and how it’s decorated. Milk tea was so delicious I went back again before the drive back to LA. Definitely coming back next time I’m in the area.

Em-​tea has improved so much since the first time I’ve tried their drinks. Ordered a large green milk tea, with matcha flavor and small pearls and I could actually taste the matcha this time! I really like that they have small pearls as a topping option now, but the pearls are a bit overcooked. There is a minimum for card payment but make sure to get a stamp card.

I’m not from Merced, but rather drove a long ass way to meet half way to see my friend. I’m so happy this city has a boba place. All the flavors look pretty good and the cup is big and resembles Half/​Half. I would recommend like the other Unilocalers that you get little to no sweetness because their idea of normal is super ass sweet!!!
I had to take my earl grey milk tea home and pour at least ½ cup of milk in it. This is also after I complained and asked them to pour more milk or tea in it because it was too sweet.
Also expect to wait for at least 7 – 10 mins for your tea, there is a long line and it’s hard for them to keep up.

glad to see these types of shops in Merced. I usually order a milk tea with fruit and boba…
This business supports student orgs at UCM,
They charge a card fee if you dont meet a minimum… but one drink is below the minimum…

Absolutely love this place! So happy they put this in Merced. Every time I go into the store, it’s always busy with lines of people but that’s ok because people love them! I work right next door & it’s so convenient for me! Must try if you haven’t

Delicious! Great customer service! Macaroons are kind of pricey but the taste is worth it! The teas are the perfect size!

Passion fruit black tea with no sweetness and milk is a must try :) very refreshing for a hot day! However, EM Tea seems to be quite under-​staffed, especially during rush hours on the weekends or when they hold large fundraising events. It takes a minimum of 30 mins for one drink to be made. Aside from that, customer service is superb! Even when EM Tea is packed, the staff never fails to provide hospitality.

I love this place. Amazing drinks and amazing service. I came here multiple times over the last two months and all my visits have been great! Keep it up Em-​tea! My favorite drink has to be Lavender Jasmine Green milk tea with egg pudding. So.good. Will be returning soon!

Em Tea is definitely one of the better boba places in Merced. For the short amount of time since they opened, they’ve built quite the popularity amongst the college students and the rest of the community.
The drinks are pretty tasty. They have a wide variety of flavors, drink types, and toppings. Depending on the drink will determine if they use syrup or powder. I would say one downside is that the sweetness level is sometimes inconsistent. I usually get normal to light sweetness for all my drinks and I tested them out for the same order. They usually varied from no taste to good to too much sweetness. I will say though that they’re always improving. So far, none of the drinks I’ve ordered have ever completely failed me. I’ve always been satisfied with what I ordered whether it was a drink I’ve ordered in the past or a drink that I’m trying for the first time.
My go to drinks are lychee black tea with rainbow jelly and boba or lavender milk tea with matcha pudding and mini boba.
They also have some light desserts such as cheesecake and French macarons. I’ve tried the macarons and they are so-​so. The tops crack pretty easily showing the air bubbles left in the batter. Chewy-​ness not exactly up to par in my opinion. Not the worst, but also not the best for the price and size you get. Mostly just a tea place but light desserts are there if you have a sweet tooth.
I would still totally recommend it to a friend that was new in town to try it out!

Em-​tea is one of the most popular places in Merced to just relax and have some boba. The atmosphere of the shop is calm and the staff is incredibly friendly and patient, which is great because customers need to take a couple minutes to view the selection of flavors available. There is a wide variety of flavors, toppings, drinks, and desserts.
This boba house is just a bit short of the five star rating because the drinks seem to be slightly different every time and depend on the person making the drink. Some drinks can be ordered with a no sweetness and still be too sweet. Some drinks can be ordered with the sweet option and not be sweet enough. Let’s just say some experimenting is needed if you want to find your favorite boba.
I have tried the original milk tea, honeydew milk tea, taro milk tea, wintermelon milk tea, strawberry pineapple slush, and the raspberry strawberry milk tea. I would recommend the wintermelon milk tea with light sweetness and boba.
Overall, this place is great if you want to just hang out and have some boba!

Whether or not EM-​Tea is meant to be a play on words, it’s a pretty good boba joint in Merced of all places.
I ordered a matcha green tea with light sweetness and boba. Seeing that I could mix up the flavors like in T-​Pumps, I also added honeydew as it seemed like a good combination.
When the drink was completed, the worker let me try a sample of it first. I was glad that happened because what I got was a tad watery. That was just more of my mistake of not knowing what goes well and what doesn’t. So I added milk to that with the same sweetness, but the drink had to be remade, which is understandable.
The drink turned out much better the second time around! The Matcha was creamy and the boba was really chewy which is good to me. My only gripe with it is that I think it ended up having more sweetness than it was supposed to.
Would come here again if I was ever around in the area. Very attentive employees here!

As a Bay Area native and temporary transplant to Atwater, I miss a lot of things. Namely, food things. But Em-​Tea helps me briefly forget that I’m stuck in the foodie wasteland that is Atwater for a few months. I mean, boba in Merced? I wasn’t expecting that!
I came here on a recommendation and I was not disappointed. Their menu was a bit confusing to follow at first, but their product delivered for me. My go to drink is the matcha milk with boba and I like to grab their matcha thousand layer cake while I’m at it too. The matcha flavor and sweetness level are on point. I have yet to try any other flavors, but they do that matcha pretty good.
Em-​Tea gets a thumbs up from me. Be aware that they do have a minimum for credit card, which I think is around $ 5.

When I first heard that a boba shop was opening in Merced, I knew that my wallet would be super sad.
I’ve been going to Em-​Tea for quite a while now, so I can say they’ve improved so much since they first opened. The staff is really friendly and patient. So far they’ve fixed any problems that I’ve had with my drinks. I’ve tried both their milk tea and their flavored teas and I feel like so far, I prefer the flavored tea. Their normal sweetness is a little too sweet for me, so if you aren’t about that life either, I suggest you get little to no sweetness. When I get milk tea, Thai tea is my go to. The drink itself is pretty decent but I think the pearls could be cooked better.
I’m a boba fanatic from the Bay Area, so the other milk tea places in Merced weren’t cutting it for me. Keep it up Em-​Tea! I hope I see honey boba on the toppings menu soon.

Em-​tea. What can I say my boba cravings were emtea and sad until they opened. I’ve tried a lot of different boba places, and I’ve tried all that Merced has to offer. This place hands down is the best so far.
So far I’ve tried the original milk tea, matcha milk tea, mango black tea, stawberry milk tea, strawberry and blueberry milk tea, passion fruit black tea, kiwi black tea, taro milk tea, taro and strawberry which tastes just like Fruity Pebbles Cereal!
I tend to go with normal sweetness, but sometimes the normal sweetness is still a bit too sweet for my taste.
I’m not gonna lie sometimes I can be a bit of a Diva when it comes to my drinks. They were nice enough to accommodate and brew a new batch of tea, so it had a stronger tea level for me.
My new favorite is the passion fruit black tea and the strawberry milk tea with aloe.
The hot matcha is also super good!
They have a good variety of drinks, including premium drinks which are 75 cents more.
You have the option to choose your sweetness level along with if you would like milk added to your drink as well.
The décor is simple and chic.
Great ambiance.
The staff is super friendly and helpful.
The thousand layer matcha cake was delicious as well! It wasn’t too sweet just perfect.
This is definitely my new go to spot! :)