Pochi Tea Station

There’s some kind of Indian food/​bbt restaurant here now. The owner said it’s supposed to be like a new Pochi’s. If you like bbt made of goat milk, a pound of sugar, and crumbly tapioca, by all means come here.

I stopped by here craving for something yummy and was really happy that they make non-​dairy smoothies. At most places, if they even serve avocado smoothies you only have 2 choices: 1) w/​milk 2) blended with just ice.
I tried a soy blended, chocolate avocado smoothie for the first time and it was pretty good. Some might say the avocado flavor is bland, but I say it’s subtle, and not too sweet. The chocolate, though, is clearly plain old Hershey’s syrup swirled in there which was a disappointment, cause I was hoping for something less generic.
What totally put me off was the kid at the counter. Maybe he was having a bad day, I dunno. But he was not very friendly. He seemed irritated and kinda made me feel dumb for checking if they could do non-​dairy smoothies.
3 stars only cause I’m rounding up.

Very mediocre bubble tea. If you are a regular partaker of this drink AND you’re on the Ave, you’re better served hitting one of the other places on the street. There are tons of bubble tea shops on the Ave.
I had Thai Tea on ice with bubbles and pudding for about $ 4 — fairly watered down taste and barely any pudding. My home girl had Lavender tea with bubbles and pronounced it «subtle but good», not overpowering.
They no longer carry froyo — so don’t get your heart set on it here.
We came here to check it out, compare to others in the area, and we chose Pochi because it advertised crepes and other snacks. Don’t bother. Takoyaki and fried tofu (both $ 3.50) were okay. The takoyaki was better than the tofu, but it was only 4 pieces. You could probably squeeze the tofu and get a good amount of oil out of each cube. We got a bad vibe walking in, and frankly I’m glad we didn’t bother with crepes. If you must — just know they have common Japanese flavours, both sweet and savory, and they are about $ 5.
The interior was a little scattered, typical of hangouts around college campuses. I wouldn’t bother.

Laptop camper here. I came looking for fro-yo…but they no longer have it. Pochi’s menu is pretty typical for a pearl tea place — fried snacks (e.g., sweet potato fries, fried tofu, chicken wings), drinks, smoothies and Japanese style crepes. I like the plastic model crepes.
It was a surprise to order milk tea with pearls and be told that the pearls wouldn’t be ready for 20 minutes. It’s a pearl tea place… they’d better have their pearls ready. They seemed to be out of a lot of things (no pizza crepes, no mango). Fro-​yo is still mentioned on the window.
The interior looks like a college dorm room, cheap furniture, white walls, games, TV with Japanese cartoons, and a restroom. Free wi-​fi was a plus.
* Black milk tea ($ 3.49): it’s huge (I think they only have one size), the pearls were small, it had tea flavor but a funky, rotten aftertaste. The tapioca pearls were firm, lightly sweetened and chewy. They didn’t put too much ice in the drink
You know you love me. X0 X0, laptop camper.

Ok, I haven’t been here in awhile and from what I remember, it used to be a rundown joint, but they made the best bubble tea. The ambience is pretty cool now with the new furniture and lights. As far as the smoothies go, they are ok, pretty bland but then again a different person made it then the usual person. Heard it has different owners now…

I don’t know about most their items… but their blueberry smoothies are the shit. It was absolutely delicious, and made with real fruit. They had at least five items that were made with real fruit, which made me happy. That powdered Qwik stuff just grosses me out. The tapioca was also done just right.
My little brother ordered a mixed berry crêpe, and it looked a bit heavy on the whipped cream, but delicious nonetheless. He ate every last bite. :)

When le boyfriend and I get bubble tea, our typical orders are a red bean snow for him and either a Thai tea or almond snow for me.
Red bean snow (which the girl was a little confused about, since apparently at Pochi snows are called smoothies) = check, just fine.
Thai tea snow = watery and separating, without milk or creamer (even though I specified that was what I wanted. On the girl’s second try, she ran out of Thai tea, but tried to pass off the light yellow/​tea-​ground-​infused drink on me anyways. When I called her out on that, she rolled her eyes and asked what she could make «that would please me.» Third try, I finally just asked for an almond «smoothie.» She then served two other customers before remaking my drink. It was also watery and separating — and the girl gave attitude about it to boot, slamming it on the counter and walking into the back with nary another word. I gave up — should’ve just gone to Oasis.
And next time, I will. No more Pochi for me. The only reason they get two stars instead of one is because she managed to make the red bean snow decently.

Okay, I gave this place another try. I hadn’t been there in a few months. It’s disgusting.
Tapioca wasn’t cooked properly, so it was hard in the middle and too soft on the outside. Milk tea was completely bland and flavorless. Think brown water with some chunks of goo.
Gross. I won’t be going here again. which is tragic because this was my favorite place before the owners changed. :(

Are you craving some bubble tea on the Ave? This is one of I think 3 spots to find it!
What I like: Fruity smoothies with tapioca balls and helpful employees!
What I dislike: The drinks tend to be a little bland. I really like super flavorful fruit smoothies, and I don’t feel like their beverages deliver enough of the flavor.
I still end up here on occasion, but it’s not really one of my *favorite* bubble tea/​smoothie spots.

Dear Pochi,
Thank you for being open until 1AM on weekends to satisfy late night boba/​frozen yogurt cravings. I like your (sort of) new look a lot, especially the wall decals and ‘sky’ light. I like your extensive flavour offerings, from the very basic black milk tea to more complicated fruit combinations. I like that you have passion fruit and apple jelly. I do not, however, like that you don’t have fresh fruit toppings for your frozen yogurt. What’s up with the dried blueberries? Seriously. It’s a heinous crime. Get rid of those please. Fresh blueberries are much yummier.
Sincerely,
Lisa N.

I love pochi’s! Actually, I like the pochi’s on highway 99 better, because its more spacious, …0.50cents cheaper, and more flavors to choose from. For the times that I have been here, it is mainly due to how they make their bbt smoothies. I like it super cold, full of flavor, and the way how they make it is just different taste than other bbt places that I have been to. (probably because they use fresh fruit?) I have to admit though, that the tapioca is sometimes a bit hard… maybe too rock hard. Thus, I prefer those soft tapioca balls, where you can actually chew on them. Should I switch to milk tea instead? Maybe that will have softer tapioca balls.
Pros:
–Opens ’till midnight
–Fast service
–Mixed well, and great flavor
–Punch card
Cons:
–Plays music wayyy too loud (thus, can’t really study… at least for me)
–Not as many flavors as other Pochi’s
–Tapioca balls are rock hard

Haha. Been here too many times to count. It’s my favorite bubble tea location, not because I’ve had multiple friends work here, but because their boba is always fresh, and they always have new flavors of jellies to try out.
I love my hot honeydew milk tea on cold nights, and coconut smoothies here on summer days.
The newest edition of frozen yogurt is a must-​try as well! They have original and taro always and then have a monthly new flavor. Their prices are way more reasonable than Red Mango and Citra which are also in the area. Yum– and if you’ve never had fro-​yo with granola, blueberries, and coconut put it on your to-​do list!
Also since the remodel it’s quite nice inside… like stepping into a little asian movie. Haha. And they have a huge wall of games in the back plus a HD screen and xbox to play on if you are bored and in the U District. Great place for meetups with friends and adventures.

God forbid, I walk into a bubble tea shop and (like, OMG Becky!) I’d like to order a drank. The apathetic chick that works there is clearly not interested in doing her job and is indignant about that too.
Their frozen yogurt is ok, but leans toward the icy side which is no bueno for me. The taro flavor is pretty good, but the texture could use some work. Selection wise as other Unilocalers have mentioned, Pochi is standing on a few peg legs constantly «running out» of ingredients they’re advertising. This part could be overlooked if they staffed human beings, or a yellow lab would work too (hey, they lead the blind and sniff out cancers).
I’ve found less and less reasons to be in the U-​District with all the crime going up especially around the Ave during daylight hours.

Is this the week of just plain horrible service for me? I used to enjoy coming here during my undergrad days at UW and even for a bit after. Very friendly staff, ok environment to hang out with, decent drinks and yummy snacks like the popcorn chicken and fried tofu! Yummy~
Tonight my friend and I decided to pop in for a drink and light snack and what we got was just downright awful. There were small groups of people here and there so we figured it would be ok. We waited an unusually long amount of time for two hot milk teas and one order of takoyaki. Not only were the drinks pretty much flavorless, half of the takoyaki order was COLD in the center. I was going to complain but my friend reasoned that the time it would take the girl to heat it up/​give us a new order wasn’t worth it and she was right.
I feel like the (new?) management spent too much money on redecorating and too little on the quality of the product and service. Next time I am craving my hot milk tea I’m going back to Shinka.

Still my favorite place to get bubble tea on the ave even after the owner change and remodel.
Pochi’s is now a lot brighter then before, the walls are now white and the seating more modernish.
I usually get the strawberry banana smoothie with pudding. Pudding may sound weird but if you haven’t tried it before it’s definitely worth a shot. They have all the normal bubble tea flavors as well, along with slushies if you want a ice-​y type drink. They have all the traditional tapioca balls and jellies if you prefer that in your bubble tea instead of pudding.
They also have a bunch of free board games and other things to keep you entertained while you sip on your drink. This place is a great place to hang out with friends and chill.

Pochi has the best Matcha Green Tea Milk Tea on the Ave. Milk tea is new to me so I have been trying everyplace around my work, and so far Pochi has been the winner. The sweetness level, the consistency, and the taste of Pochi Milk Tea is great.
The prices are slightly higher than other places on the Ave, but service has always been kind and accommodating.
The space is brand new and has many low modern couches to sit on– as well as lots of table space.
FYI’s~
*They have magazines for you to read
*They sell frozen yogurt– they even offer Taro flavored yogurt
*They are open very late

Good place to have boba
I like their taro and matcha milk tea
(I like it because it’s not very sweet)
their boba also soft and chewy, and remains chewy until I finished my drink) :)
They also have a lot of game board that you can spend your time with your friend here.
I haven’t tried their fro-​yo
because they don’t have a small size
so I think I’ll come back to get the fro-​yo with my friend, so I can share: D

I figured most bubble tea/​frozen yogurt places on the Ave are all pretty much the same. I thought wrong! It seems like every bubble tea place has its own thing its good at.
Pochi Tea Station has great hot bubble teas and give a huge amount of frozen yogurt. You honestly get one large fro-​yo and share with 2 other friends.
They have tons of boardgames in the back you can borrow to play, also they have a Wii with a pretty decent sized TV that you can play with your friends. It’s great for groups that way. I’m still pretty hung over from yesterday so sorry I can’t be more insightful.

ERA OF BOBA TEA.
Seattle’s slow with the come ups of the good stuff. When Y2K hit, it was the era of BOBA TEA/​BUBBLE TEA in Seattle. Being in the U-​district and having no car it was always a struggle to drive to Chinatown for something sweet. But once Pochi Tea Station was born it became a new hangout spot in the U-​district!!! Not only did they have some really good Boba Tea, they had some really good crepes. My favorite Nutella and banana crêpe. Affordable prices and right across my old apartment, what a treat!
CREPES! geez just Unilocaling out it makes my mouth water.

Not a good place to go on a busy night. :(When it’s pretty chill, the service is ok, and so is the bubble tea.
The fro yo isn’t bad either.
I still prefer Yunnie over this place though.