ORINDA, CALIFORNIA – When ShareTea in Orinda closed down, it was a tragic day for boba lovers in the 925, myself included. There aren’t too many boba options around here, so losing a solid one like ShareTea was a blow.
Apparently, a local Orinda native and Miramontes graduate felt the same way. This local (who hasn’t publicly shared their name) decide to launch a brand new Boba Tea venture of their own, in the same space formerly occupied by ShareTea.
And thus, 9 Tailed Fox was born.
The brand new Boba Tea store had its soft opening in mid-March, and is fully up and running now. I stopped by to check it out, and try their tea.
9 Tailed Fox is located in the Mash building, right across from the Orinda Theatre in downtown Orinda.
First, let’s pause and address the name. What the heck is a 9 tailed fox?
Turns out it’s a mythical creative in Chinese folklore. These special foxes have magical powers, and are known for bring mischievous tricksters.
So, the new store has a cool name. But what’s the store actually like?
Stepping inside, the first word that comes to mind is “whimsical”.
The space is bright, white and airy, with lots of comfy little seating areas.
It definitely has a modern tearoom vibe, with bold accent colors, lots of floral elements, and playful touches like a whiteboard where locals have scrawled messages of support, as well as random anime doodles.
There’s even a giant wall of artificial plants with a glowing sign for the store.
The menu at 9 Tailed Fox is minimalist, with a smaller number of tea options than giant boba chains like T4.
Basically, you can choose from a few different milk teas (traditional Taiwanese, Tiger milk tea, Thai tea and the like), fruit teas, sparkling refreshers, and slushies. You can add in toppings like traditional boba, aloe vera, mango popping boba or ice cream.
I got a Thai milk tea. It was delicious, with a strong, tea-forward flavor and less overpowering sugaryness (even at 100% sweetness) than similar options from local boba chains.
One thing I really liked was the fact that 9 Tailed Fox uses locally made, American boba. They most likely source it from the domestic boba making operation started by Boba Guys. That means the boba are extremely fresh, delicious, and not at all leathery or chewy.
Grabbing a tea at 9 Tailed Fox was a great experience, and I’m glad that they’re setting up in our community. I’ll definitely be back to try everything on the milk tea menu!
You can drop by at 41 Moraga Way, Orinda, CA 94563 or visit them online at https://www.ninetailedfoxorinda.com/
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