Now Tea

I think I echo other low reviews here by saying that customer service is a major issue at this place, just abysmally bad.

Their pure tea menu is confusingly placed at the very top. Unfortunately, I was confused by this and assumed it was milk tea. Upon getting my order I realized it was just tea and not milk tea. I told them I was sorry but actually wanted milk tea and didn’t realize that what I ordered was JUST tea. I asked if they could add milk/cream to my UNOPENED order, and all three of the workers vehemently refused to help, telling me it’s impossible to do it because the recipe is different and that it was my mistake to begin with.
Imagine my confusion.is it that hard to add some milk/cream for me? !? ! The tea was good, but the service is just not accommodating at all. At any other milk tea place, they were always happy to remake something whether it was my or their mistake!
Moreover, I felt it was the cashier’s responsibility to at least mention that the tea is just tea and not milk tea when I was placing order. I feel like this has definitely happened before to other customers.

On September 8 at approximately 9: 28 my boyfriend and I visited nowtea for drinks. He ordered a strawberry slush and I got a passionfruit green tea. After we ordered and paid, the employee, Hannah, neglected to give us a receipt. This caused confusion when our order was ready especially because Hannah punched in an orange slush rather than a strawberry slush. When my boyfriend alerted them to the mistake the staff working at this time began gaslighting us, saying that we said orange slush. We pushed back confirming that we did say strawberry slush and did not want to orange slush. The employee Aaron said he could provide us with a refund and would process the order correctly. Without providing a receipt or inserting my card he claimed the refund was processed and tried to get me to pay for the strawberry slush. I checked my banking records and still there is no evidence that the refund was processed. We requested a receipt to confirm the refund but Aaron was unable to provide it and the staff were trying to get us to double pay for their mistake. After refusing to pay for their error the staff turned around and began talking amongst themselves in their native tongue. Eventually the staff conceded and corrected the error without us repaying. We still have not received the refund which confirms my suspicions that the staff wanted us to pay for their mistake.

Between the gaslighting, the deliberate use of another language to exclude us from the conversation as well as the attempt to have us double pay has tarnished our trust in this establishment and has made us feel unwelcome.

We have been frequenting this establishment for the past year but this experience is too unsettling to ignore. We will likely not be returning and will be active detractors for this establishment. No one should be treated this way by any staff, ever.

Edit - after reading some other bad reviews, the girl with the round glasses was also working and was encouraging Aaron’s and Hannah’s attitude. This is not the first time that the lady with the round glasses has been incredibly rude to me. This event has simply confirmed my initial impression of this staff member. Seeing as this has already been mentioned in previous reviews I am surprised that management has allowed this to continue.

Easily the best quality bubbletea and very affordable. Their tapioca is amazing, ive only tried their milkteas but I have not had a bad drink so far and I go weekly

I love bubble tea, and get it multiple times a week. It is one of my favourite pick me ups, and I have tried many different places. Gong cha, Sweet Dreams, Coco's all come second to Now Tea in terms of quality, value and service. I've tried most bubble tea shops (Chatime, The Alley, Machi Machi, Kung fu tea, Baroness, Tiger Sugar) and this is still my favourite by far. I love the brown sugar pearls Now Tea has (and also how they do taro!), and it is the most affordable bubble tea shop (my regular drink costs only 6 something as opposed to 8 or 9 dollars) without sacrificing quality. 10/10!

Coming from Taiwan, this is easily one of the best bubble tea shops in Waterloo in terms of their milk tea and tapioca. The now tea trio is my personal favourite!

It’s SO GOOD!
I ordwr Pearl Tea Milk, and it was so delicious I can’t even describe

And most importantly that they use lactose free milk which is what i was looking for!

Great and fast service, the staff was nice and quick!
Prices are very reasonable!

I hope they open another branch in Brampton?

Best tea spot on campus. Period. I recommend the now tea duo milk tea, and their fruit teas taste great too. The tapioca is the best part, it’s warm and chewy. Also love the interior of the shop.

Best boba in town. Chewy and soft tapioca each time. Lychee green tea is super fruity and has a strong tea flavor. A must try!

I like this place and went there a lot.
Today, I ordered 3 Large size Pearl Milk Tea as usual.
While drinking, the green one, at the first pic, came out stuck together with a pearl.
Moreover, black one at the 2nd pic came out while my friend drinking another one.
WHAT ARE THESE

I love bubble tea, and NOW is definitely one of the best ones. Amazing selection, so many options, happy and efficient staff.
I got a small and quickly regretted not getting large.

Probably the best bubble tea in Waterloo: their trio is really good! I got the rose oolong tea last time, pretty solid

Very fresh and authentic bbt! I ordered the oolong float tea (with ice cream) and agar jelly it was so good and the tea tasted so fresh! ️ definitely a boba spot I would recommend to my friends. Even though it is the wealth simple free boba promotional week and they had a long line the staff still handled the customers and the drinks with care and efficiency!

Wonderful staff and high quality drinks! Overall 10/10 experience and drinks. The plum pudding was so unique! Very tasty.

After trying countless bubble tea shops around southern Ontario. "Now Tea" is a cut above the rest! Their drinks are consistent in taste from one drink to the next.