Purple Kow

I’m keeping my first review, this updated review is purely for their milk teas. STOP. DON’T GET IT. Their milk based milk teas are super bland and watery. Seriously. It taste like well. milk, 2% milk actually.
Get their fruit flavored tea, you’re much better off!

I was in the area and I was craving for some milk tea and boba. I searched on Unilocal and this place pops up and I decided to try it here. I ordered the D2 and it is so delicious! I have never tasted a really good milk tea like this before. Especially since there isn’t a Purple Kow in Sacramento. Will definitely come to this place again when I’m in town. :D

Purple Kow has really good boba with just the right amount of sweetness (unlike some boba places where their boba tastes like absolutely nothing). I’ve tried the Matcha Green Tea and also the Black Milk Tea here. The Black Milk Tea wasn’t as sweet as the one I’ve tried at Purple Kow SF so I didn’t think it tasted as good. However, the Matcha Green Tea was really flavorful even though it was a bit bitter. I actually think it tastes better that way! Also, the girl at the register is really nice and always has a smile on her face. Sorry I forgot your name! Definitely coming back here again =)

If you want to go on the tea side, choose their Tea Crema. As the name sugested, It’s a mix between tea and cream (I think it’s whipped cream) and it’s delicioussss!!! xD Their milk drinks are also addicting! But to enjoy it, 25%-50% sweetness is the best.

Purple Kow in SF is probably my favorite boba place of all time, so it would make sense that the Purple Kow in SJ gets the South Bay honors. Their speciality is the milk drink (Hello… purple KOW), so if you get milk tea here, you’re playing yourself because the tea is second-​rate. Their drinks are really sweet at 100% sugar, so definitely ask for 50% or lower unless you’ve got a major sweet tooth. I always get their chocolate milk drink with 50% sugar, chocolate pudding, yes chocolate pudding (think egg pudding but chocolate), and boba. My only complaint is that their boba is too chewy for me and too firm at the center, like its not cooked all the way through or something. This is not the case at the San Francisco location. Other than that, it’s pretty damn awesome that they opened up a Purple Kow in San Jose. The best part is, compared to Purple Kow in the city, there’s hardly ever a line here due to the fact that its still pretty new and that there are a million other trendy boba spots around the area. Trust me, this place is a hidden gem.
Also, shoutout to the girl cashier who’s always there. She’s very friendly and prompt, and gives great customer service with a smile during every visit. Keep up the great work!

I’ve been to the one in San Francisco awhile back and wasn’t THAT big of a fan. But since it’s been awhile and this place was right next to the restaurant we just had lunch at, I decided sure why not, give it a try. I ordered the Strawberry Green Tea with Boba and by default it comes in one of those tub cups. A little annoying in my opinion if you have to put it somewhere in the car. The boba was pretty badly cooked and even though I ordered ½ sweet, it was still SUPER sweet. I ended up not finishing it because I could feel the sugar sticking to my teeth after awhile. No thanks, I’d rather drive a little further next time for better boba.

BOBA WHORE APPROVED!!!
I have come here about 6 times now. I remember when it first opened, I had heard about how popular it was in Berkeley and SF so I was excited! Almost all of the times I’ve been here, it’s been consistent.
Pros:
Their menu is huge! Easily 30 drinks are offered here. They let you customize with different teas and sweetness levels. They’re also very generous on the toppings (always a plus!)
The décor is nice and very modern. I love the colors and the cute cups too. Store layout is good and they have pretty good customer service. The drink wait time as gotten shorter lately which is good too.
My favorite are their ice mills! They always have a great amount of toppings mad they are just perfectly sweet for me. I love how their menus say what’s in each drink, I always try something new every time!
Cons:
The parking can be a little hard as it is a smaller parking lot.
Don’t expect to get food 30 mins before closing as they close their kitchen early.
Overall: great menu, adequate prices. Great for people with adventurous taste and a love for toppings! Good job Purple Kow!

This place used to be a Sweetea, but I don’t know when they closed and this place opened as I haven’t lived in the area for a few years. The parking lot was tiny but we got lucky with an open spot in front. I didn’t know there was a Purple Kow in San Jose and only knew one was in San Francisco a long time ago.
We ordered D1 Purple Kow Milk tea with boba ($ 4.69) with normal sugar levels (I believe it was 100%). I don’t know why the cup was so fat that it wouldn’t fit in a car cup holder, but that wasn’t my main complaint. It was way too sweet and maybe they just put way too much sugar for normal levels. If that truly was the normal sugar level then you would be on your way to getting diabetes. On the small bright side, the boba was soft and chewy so at least I thought that was prepared correctly.
I thought Purple Kow was going to be good, but I guess not according to my visit. Maybe that was why we got a $ 5 off card to use if we spent $ 10. I’m not coming back here.

We came here for a date one evening and to my surprise, this place was vacant. I have only heard about this place through this person that I am currently dating, so she went about showing me what the Purple Kow had to offer. Now fellow Unilocalers, I like to consider myself a self-​proclaimed milk tea connoisseur (SPMTC) as you may notice by all my milk tea reviews. Now, as a SPMTC this place has my stamp of approval! If you are mobile and live withing 50 miles of this place, I say you fill your tank and prepare yourselves for awesome upon arrival.
I got the caramel pudding with boba milk tea, no boba for me please. The pudding is very good, and the milk tea isn’t overwhelmingly sweet, nor bitter. I would probably next time just say light ice. As for the place itself, it is clean and comfortable. The customer service was very nice and friendly. The gal was quirky and patient with us since it was my first time.
Overall; I’ll be back for you Purple Kow. I will consume your tea and I will be content

Is it me, or does SJ just make better MT than SF, even if its the same exact store??? Sorry, not sorry if I offended anyone, but it’s true. The frustration of not satisfying my incredibly picky MT craving in SF is something normal people cannot understand.
I bashed on purple kow for the longest time because the location in SF dumps in sugar to the point where I cringe. BUT, this location tasted good, and had a nice interior décor. It took over the Sweet Tea location.
D3 Iced Milk Drink with caramel, pudding (opted out of boba since I have been cutting that out of my diet) ~4.50: Exactly what it says in the description, iced milk with caramel and pudding. The sweetness was not too overwhelming but had a refreshing splash of AHHH factor when drinking it. The drink is completely white and not a slushy consistency at all.
There was no one when I walked in on a Sunday around 1pm. However, my 2 drinks took about 10 – 15 minutes. Customer service could be improved as the cashier was quite emotionless. Could be a 4 star if these things are improved because their drink was actually pretty good.

This is it! This is my safeplace for boba if I can’t decide or try anything new around the area.
I always go for the F6 qq toffee jelly and regular black pearls. Either that or some form of slush with lychee jelly on a warm night. The set up here is pretty modern with a wall-​mounted bench and white tables, but everything’s so sticky!
There’s a small space to interact with the cashier and where all patrons go to pick up their drinks at the ride side of the store. Kinda odd that half of the real estate is just this huge chunk of white wall between the customer and kitchen side; but it’s cool because I think this place makes decent drinks. They also have the standard popcorn chicken/​fried food arraignment you’d expect from a tea place but I’ve yet to try, I always stuck with the milk tea and slushies, in and out!
Most will say it’s not the best but if you’re up to indulge in some of the biggest sizes most boba shops don’t offer, this is the place for you.

Didn’t know there was a PK in San Jose?! Totally blew my mind!
Walking into the place, I thought the décor was nice. The place looks simple, cute, and clean. The menu was a bit overwhelming. They have a picture side and a list side. I wish on the pictures they’d just say what that drink was; so it took me a while to finally figure out what I wanted to order. The drinks didn’t take too long to come out. When I took a sip out of my drink, I thought it was just ‘okay’. Normally when I go to the one in SF, I go crazy over the drinks but this one was just eh. It’s a decent drink but it just doesn’t taste the same as the SF location. Service was eh.
Overall, I would only go back to this place if I were in the area and wanted a drink. Other than that, it’s not a place that comes to mind.

I’ve been a fan of Purple Kow in SF. Although, this location is not crowded compared to the one in SF. My favorite has always been either D3, D4 or F5. Purple Kow is probably not the right place for people that do not like their milk teas too sweet. They have adjustments to their sweetness but it can still be too sweet for some people. Their boba is chewy. One of the downsides I find is that they do not really acknowledge when you come in or leave. No «Welcome to Purple Kow» or «Have a nice day». It was actually awkward for me to order when someone has no emotion. Parking here is not that bad. The location seems kind of hard to find.

Second time is the charm i guess. I attempted to make this trip a whiLe back and noticed that PurpLe Cow had cLosed at 6 PM on a Friday night. Boooooo! Who cLoses a boba pLace thaaat earLy?
Anyhow, since i was in the area i finaLLy decided to give it another go.
After Looking through Unilocal– i decided on getting the roasted ooLong milk tea with grass jeLLY.
Service was great! Each and every empLoyee was nice and weLcoming.
Drink on the other hand couLd have been better.
The tea tasted over steeped and was extremeLy bitter. The grass jeLLy is softer than other pLaces which was a nice twist compared to other boba locations but it was so very sweet– too sweet if you ask me. It helped with the bitter tasting tea but rating the jeLLy itseLf, I wasn’t a fan. ApparentLy this is made fresh in-​house so the excessive sugar LeveL may not be normaLLy as high as todays visit???
I couLd see myseLf coming back to try other drinks that PurpLe Cow has to offer but i“ll be skipping on the grass jeLLy.

I was excited to try this place because of the popularity from the other locations. Went on a weekday afternoon and the parking lot was almost full. I can’t imagine how it would be like on a weekend since this area gets pretty packed.
I rate new boba tea places I try by
1. The sense of tea flavor
2. How they sweeten their tea
3. Texture & flavor of bobas
This place failed on all 3. The tea flavor was diluted so the sweetness level wasn’t too bad. The boba had a soft & mushy flour texture. The girl at the counter was super friendly and nice so I gave it an extra star but otherwise it should be 1 star. I don’t know… Maybe I ordered the wrong drink?

I’m a fan of their SF location, so I was excited to have one in San Jose! I always heard that it wasn’t comparable to the other locations, so I took a while for me to actually go here. I dont know if I happen to always come here on really good days, or if my friends just come on really bad days, or what, but my purple kow cravings are always satisfied when I come in!
I actually only come for one drink, their D3. It is an iced milk drink (not a milk slushy) with caramel, egg pudding, and boba. You can choose the level of sweetness. The caramel makes it a sweeter drink, so it’s probably better to start off with asking for the drink less sweet. The milk is barely sweetened with the caramel and egg pudding, which makes for a refreshing milky creamy sweet treat. A lot better than other iced milk drinks I’ve tried at other boba places!

D4 with no boba is life! It’s always busy but line goes by quick. Cashiers and employees are all very nice. Never had a bad or rude experience. D4 is purple kow iced milk tea with grass jelly and boba. I dislike boba so I get it without. I have tried other milk teas but this is my favorite one.
I honestly dislike the location where they decided to place this store only because of the over populated area and major traffic throughout the day. And people on this side of San Jose feel like they deserve to drive shi*ty.
So I don’t come to this place as often as I would like.

I really wish PurpleKow would offer different sized drinks. Their standard drink size is just way too much. I don’t need to drink that much and I definitely don’t want to pay $ 4 for a drink. I could literally feed myself well for $ 4 at In-​n-​out.
The drinks are good though. They display their recommended drinks, all of which look good. They also have a lot of topping options. I think they could use a lot more seating.
In terms of drink quality, mine came out pretty close to what I usually get. 50% sweetness 30% ice. I hope they are consistent, that’s very key to me. I’ll know when I come back and order more drinks.

It’s ashamed to see Unilocalers giving Purple Kow such low ratings due to their lack of research and didn’t ask questions before ordering. First and foremost, they have three different sizes. Second, unlike other places, they accept credit cards. Third, you can adjust the level of sweetness so your drink won’t be overly sweet. Fourth, they have loyalty card and once it’s filled up, you can a free super sized drink. Pretty awesome perks if you ask me. I don’t see Tapioca Exp, Bambu, or BoBo providing a loyalty program?
As for the drink themselves, they are consistently on point. Perfectly cooked boba, sweetened as I requested, and milk tea tasted freshly brewed.
I’m a fan!

Always loved Purple Kow, but I haven’t tried this location out until now. Super great drinks, as usual, and friendly staff!!!
They made great boba and were able to accommodate our no boba request with extra pudding– yumm! Love this place. Can’t wait to be back.