#tapex

ROUND 1: HAPPY LEMON vs. TAPIOCA EXPRESS (aka TapEx) 

Happy Lemon is a very well-known boba shop in NorCal and in the 626 area. They just recently opened a store in Convoy, San Diego this past summer. The atmosphere and service at Happy Lemon is very warm and welcoming. The cashier is always ready to take your order with a bright smile and all the workers are fast to get the drink out to you ASAP.

Tapioca Express is also a well-known Taiwanese boba franchise, with 38 locations in California, Washington, and Texas. The one we will be talking about today is actually located on UCSD campus! Tapioca Express is also often called TapEx for short. TapEx is very fast paced and quick with making drinks. Customers usually order while on the go and the employees are considerate in being quick and convenient. The workers are ready to do their job and many customers are there to just get their order and go.

Between the two, Happy Lemon has a much better reputation and takes their online presence a lot more seriously, in comparison to the UCSD. The owners of Happy Lemon acknowledge their popularity and therefore care more about their reputation because having good reputation is good for their business. They have significant online presence because social media is a very good way to spread the word about good places like Happy Lemon. Yelper Tammy C. writes, “Came while visiting the San Diego area based on someone I saw drinking happy lemon (multiple times) on instagram lol! I can say the hype is real!” Tammy is one of many customers who tried Happy Lemon because of its popularity online.

On Yelp, Happy Lemon has 4/5 stars while Tapioca Express has 3/5 stars. As many UCSD students and faculty may know, TapEx is known to make bland food and mediocre drinks. TapEx doesn’t necessarily have to care much about their online presence and reputation because they will always have good business with their location on a university campus of 30,000+ students. Despite people being aware of the poor quality TapEx has, they still make approximately 1000 drinks per day. On their Yelp page, many reviewers admit that they only go to TapEx because of the convenience and never because they actually crave TapEx. Yelper, Victoria L, said “Being the only boba store in UCSD, I guess I don't have that many options and room for complaints. It's definitely not the best boba I've had, but it's ok I guess,” which emphasizes the idea that going to TapEx is mostly for convenience.

As a UCSD student and boba connoisseur I would choose Happy Lemon over TapEx any day because of the overall quality and effort they put in maintaining their reputation. However, since I do not have the luxury of driving a car, Happy Lemon is not as easily accessible compared to TapEx. Thus when I am craving boba, I usually settle for TapEx due to the convenience.    

Yelp Rating for Happy Lemon: 4/5 stars

Yelp Rating for Tapex: 3/5 stars

Bobo Boba Battle Rating for Happy Lemon: 4.5/5 stars 

Bobo Boba Battle Rating for Tapex: 2.5/5 stars