Boba 33165: Where Westchester Gets Its Bubble Tea Fix

If you live in 33165, you already know the drill. It's hot, you've got a paper due or a long afternoon ahead, and you want boba without driving across town for it. Good news: specialTEA Lounge sits right on Coral Way at 10766 SW 24th St, inside the Columbia Shopping Plaza, about two minutes from FIU. We've been pouring tea in Westchester since 2009 and boba has been part of the menu alongside our loose leaf teas.

This isn't a "what is a tapioca pearl" explainer. It's a local's guide to getting good boba in the 33165 zip code, for anyone walking over from campus, driving in from Kendall or Sweetwater, or ordering from your couch.

What boba in 33165 looks like at specialTEA

Our boba menu covers classic tapioca pearls, popping pearls, and fruit jellies in over 10 flavors, including taro, thai tea, matcha and honeydew. You can get it as a milk tea, a slushie, or a creme, so the same flavor can go creamy, icy or somewhere in between depending on the day you're having.

The part people don't always expect is the tea underneath. We're a tea lounge first, with 60+ premium loose leaf teas behind the bar, and the menu invites you to build your own boba with any tea. That means you aren't stuck choosing from a short list of syrups. If you love a particular oolong or green tea, ask for it with pearls and see what happens. Half the fun is finding a combination that becomes your usual.

A few easy starting places if you're new:

• Taro boba creme if you want something smooth, nutty and a little dessert-like.
• Thai tea latte with pearls if you like bold, spiced and sweet.
• Matcha boba if you want earthy green tea with some chew.
• A honeydew slushie for the afternoons when Miami heat wins.

You can browse everything on our full menu before you come in.

Getting here from around the neighborhood

Westchester boba runs are easy because the plaza has free parking in the lot directly in front of our door. Look for the colorful patio and you've found us. Here's roughly how long it takes from nearby spots:

• From FIU: about 2 minutes, right around the corner on Coral Way.
• From Coral Gables: about 10 minutes heading west on Coral Way.
• From Kendall or The Falls: about 15 minutes. Head north on the Palmetto or US-1 and hop onto Coral Way heading west.
• From Doral or Sweetwater: about 15 minutes, just south on the Palmetto or a quick hop down to Coral Way.

So if you've been searching for boba in Kendall or boba in Sweetwater and keep landing on the same places, it's worth knowing we're a short drive up the Palmetto. Our visit page has the map and directions.

Stay a while, or take it to go

Boba is a great grab-and-go drink, but a lot of our guests end up staying. We have free high-speed WiFi with no password and no time limit, a full board game library, and an outdoor patio with fresh air and natural light. FIU students camp out with laptops for hours, friends grab a board game and lose track of time, and neighbors drop in just to sit on the patio with a drink. If you're planning a long study session, our WiFi and study guide walks through how people actually use the space.

Boba also pairs nicely with food here. Our bakery case has vegan cookies in six flavors baked daily, plus the Dubai smash croissant with pistachio kataifi, a Nutella smash and a dulce de leche smash. If you'd rather make it a meal, there are signature chicken and brisket sandwiches, wraps and salads made fresh daily, and breakfast sandwiches on butter croissants with organic eggs in the morning.

When you can't stay, you've got options. You can order ahead for pickup through Toast, so your drink is waiting when you pull into the plaza, or get delivery through Uber Eats and DoorDash if you're not leaving the house at all.

Late-night boba near FIU

Boba cravings don't stop at dinnertime, and neither do we. We're open until 11 PM six days a week. Our hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM, Saturday from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM, and Sunday from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM. That makes a 9 PM taro creme after class or a late slushie during finals week a pretty realistic plan.

And if you're a regular, join the Tea Circle, our rewards program, so all those boba runs start adding up for you.

Next time you're craving boba in 33165, skip the long drive and come see us at specialTEA Lounge, Miami's Original Tea Lounge, on Coral Way. Questions before you head over? Call us at (305) 554-TEAS. Come for the tea, stay for the vibes.