Boba tea still trending at new Milpitas store

Just when you thought you’ve seen the end of boba tea shops trending, Mochiholic has opened in Milpitas, offering Japanese-style doughnuts and exclusive ube boba milk tea.

Mochiholic’s soft opening was Aug. 8 at 1535 Landess Ave., where Teazen used to be in the Seafood City complex. The store is  the third Mochiholic franchise, with the first in Pleasanton and the second at UC Berkeley.

Milpitas franchise owner Samantha Liau says the first two stores targeted younger Asians, who feast on boba drinks and deep fried snacks and find ways to celebrate them on social media.

Deep frying aside, Mochiholic doughnuts are said to have only half the calories of regular doughnuts. What’s more, Mochiholic doughnuts are chewy because they’re made from rice flour. Mochiholic Milpitas is also serving the Taiwanese egg and ham sandwich, with layers of ham, egg, crispy cucumber and pork floss.

The store is also poised to offer birthday packages for kids ages 2-12 who want to make their own mochi doughnuts. The package includes a host and set-up.

Pleasanton franchise and brand owner Michael Chang says for Mochiholic features East Asian-style fusion ube and fusion fruit tea drinks. They’re also big on creamy, layered boba tea drinks, as well as mochi in liquid form.

Chang, who was once in marketing and sales at a tech corporation, says the plan is to open five to 10 Mochiholic stores.

Liau says the “holic” in Mochiholic says it all: A lot of people are still crazy for boba tea. According to market figures, the boba tea market in 2022 was $2.1 billion and is expected to go up to as high as $4.5 billion in 2027.