Boba places are all over the place now and so is their quality. This is mostly a record of places I've visited and my ratings of them, as well as things to look out for when judging the quality of a boba place.
What is real boba like?
Trick question. Authenticity and gastronationalism are traps. Boba was invented in the fucking 80s by small business owners somehwere on the western coast of a godforsaken island known as Taiwan, it's not a traditional food by any means and was always meant to be a quick, cheap treat marketed to the lowest common denominator. You should judge boba places based on things that matter like the menu, the ice and sugar options you'll be given (or not), the quality of the tea and pearls, the rancidness of the vibes, and of course, the price.
What should I look for?
Real Tea: Tea is usually the most expensive part of an individual serving of boba. Cheap places will cheap out accordingly by using instant powdered tea or having a menu that consists mostly of fruit/floral flavored drinks. Pricier places may offer specialty teas such as Sun-Moon Lake, high mountain/高山 or Iron Guanyin. Some places may offer 2 variations of their drinks, one with tea and one with milk only, and depending on what translation they choose this may be worded confusingly so don't be afraid to ask for clarification.
Warm boba: This is partially luck, but if you get your drink and the bottom is warm that means this place is putting in the effort to cook/rehydrate boba in syrup throughout the day.
Ice/sugar options: This costs nothing but if a place lets you tinker with the ice and sugar levels it means they have faith in your ability to drink plain tea without freaking out at how bitter it is, which is apparently not a common thing in the West. If you know that the boba is real (see above) try ordering with 0% sugar: the syrup from the boba will be more than enough sweetness for your drink and it'll be easier to taste everything else.
Tea-oriented drink options: Places where complicated, gimmicky drinks dominate the menu usually don't last long, nor do they do plain old boba with milk and tea well. The exception is bakeries, because they are bakeries and it's normal to have some insane coffee nonsense in that context and quite frankly they don't need to have amazing boba to be popular.
Light meals/小吃 menu: The OG boba chains like QCup served small savory dishes like popcorn basil chicken or fried tofu before the drinks-only model took off. The good chains still do. Minus points if they only serve fries.
Teatop (CA, NYC, ATL)
Price: $$
Origin: Taiwan
Ice/Sugar: Yes (GA locations will argue with you first)
Favorites: Earl Gray 3Q (boba, lychee jelly, grass jelly)
Gong Cha (CA, NYC, Philly Chinatown)
Price: $$
Origin: Taiwan
Ice/Sugar: Yes but they'll argue with you
Favorites: Panda milk tea, black tea, grapefruit tea
Sun-O (ATL)
Price: $
Origin: Atlanta
Ice/Sugar: Yes
Favorites: Thai Tea, the shaved ice is pretty good too!
Tea Leaf and Creamery (ATL)
Price: $$$
Origin: Taiwan?
Ice/Sugar: Yes
Favorites: Brown sugar boba
Kung Fu Tea (a gentrified American neighborhood near you)
Price: $$$
Origin: NYC
Ice/Sugar: Yes
Favorites: man fuck these guys
Ding Tea (CA, ATL)
Price: $$
Origin: Taiwan
Ice/Sugar: Yes
Favorites: Plain black tea
Wanpo (SF Bay)
Price: $$$
Origin: Taiwan
Ice/Sugar: Yes
Favorites: Jasmine or plain black tea
TP Tea (SF Bay)
Price: $$$
Origin: Taiwan
Ice/Sugar: Yes (depends on drink)
Favorites: Iron Guanyin 3Q (boba, lychee jelly, coffee jelly), High mountain tea
85 C (CA)
Price: $$
Origin: Taiwan
Ice/Sugar: Yes
Favorites: Sea salt coffee, potato croquettes, coconut jelly
Tiger Sugar (CA, ATL, NYC, Philly Chinatown)
Price: $$$
Origin: Taiwan
Ice/Sugar: No (most drinks contain no tea and the brown sugar syrup is at a set level)
Favorites: The ice cream bars are pretty good. You don't need to spent that much money on a cup of milk though
Honey Bubble (ATL)
Price: $
Origin: Atlanta
Ice/Sugar: Yes
Favorites: Not a single drink, but the honey flavor is pretty cool
Mr. Deer the Camp (Philly Chinatown)
Price: $$
Origin: ???
Ice/Sugar: Yes
Favorites: Trio milk tea
Hansel & Gretel (ATL)
Price: $$$
Origin: Korea
Ice/Sugar: Yes (depends on drink)
Favorites: Dalgona tea: insanely sweet and indulgent but worth trying