Tapioca Express
One of the earliest (and best) U.S. boba tea shops has closed its locations in Orange County
Thanks to Taiwanese innovations, there were already bubble tea shops elsewhere in the world before Tapioca Express and Lollicup began serving boba in 1999 and 2000, respectively, but these brands helped kick off a seemingly never-ending craze here when they arrived in Orange County around the turn of the millennium. For years, Tapioca Express was our favorite place for boba drinks, and we still think fondly of our earliest visits to the Irvine location roughly 20 years ago.
That said, the El Monte-based chain has been through a lot over the years, and the pandemic left both the Irvine and Santa Ana locations looking noticeably worse for wear. As of 2024, there were only 21 Tapioca Express locations left, including one in Orange County – the Santa Ana shop. Even though the plaza around it was full of restaurants and other businesses, the Irvine location never recovered from its pandemic pivot, and closed.
On a positive note, the Santa Ana location continued to offer boba teas and slushes (“ices”), which in our experience were consistently very good to great, thanks in part to a nice selection of flavoring syrups that are just a little cloying. Its service tends to be friendly and pretty quick, as well, owing as much to the lack of once-long lines as mastery of the drink assembly formulas. That having been said, the 2013-vintage shop has looked somewhat run down on our visits, and could have used some cosmetic upgrades – including more easily browsable menus.
Orange County’s last Tapioca Express closed with a whimper in January 2025, and was replaced by Taibat Noodle House the following March. The remaining Tapioca Express locations are largely spread across the San Diego and Los Angeles areas, and appear to be substantially franchised.
Stats
Price: $
Service: Counter
Open Since: 2013
Closed: January 2025
Addresses
1441 W. MacArthur Blvd.
Santa Ana, CA 92704
Instagram: @tapiocaexpressusa