Self Serve Boba – Class 302

Class 302 was a staple of my high school and boba life. It was close to home, convenient, near my weekly volunteer spot, and overall in a plaza good to hang out in with shopping and food spots around. Though the drinks themselves aren’t revolutionary, what makes Class 302 stand out is their drink system. If you know frozen yogurt places, it’s like Yogurtland style, or maybe kind of Subway style; the drink choices are all dispensed from a constantly churning/refilled container, and there’s a topping bar for you to grab your toppings. You should probably get your toppings first though, contrary to the name.

First, you pay for your cup size of choice [well, now it’s just one size]. Then, it’s really up to you. Toppings usually go at the bottom, despite the name, so I usually grab a few scoops of boba form the giant boba tub. They really have everything though, from jelly, to oreos, to candy, to popping boba. Then you can get your drinks, in which there are a selection of milk teas and other liquid ones, to more slushy ones. You can also customize your amount of ice at the ice machine. I suppose in exchange for not being able to choose sugar amount, you get to choose everything else. When you’re done building your drink, you bring it to the counter to get sealed, picked a straw, and be on your way.

Post-covid, the topping bar changed a little though, which is understandable. Instead of the toppings being self serve, now, the employee does it, so you have to tell them what and how much you want. That, and now the boba is limited to only two scoops. I usually did about two, but for the people that piled on the boba, I’m sure that took a toll.

Chain? Yes. I mostly go to the one in Irvine Marketplace. There used to be another one, but I think that closed and got replaced…

Drinks Tried: Milk Tea (at some point), Thai Tea (My go-to!), Berry Mango, Litchi Guava

Price: Prices used to be not bad, especially considering how big the cups were, even at the “smallest” size. They’ve inflated since, but what can you do…everything’s inflating.

Boba: Boba is usually pretty good, though quality can often vary from chewy to super soft and almost melty. They do however have very sweet boba, and there’s never a lack of flavor in that department. There’s other toppings available, but I don’t care about that. Just the boba for me.

Size: It used to be three sizes, a “medium” (which in itself was already huge), a large, and a “couples” cup (basically a split cup so two drinks in one), but I think they were out or discontinued the couple cups. As of the last time I visited in Janury 2025, all the cups have been replaced by a single size; a sort of tall-ish, plastic cup. I really feel old.

Interior: It’s pretty roomy and cute, and the theme is supposed to be you’re eating at an elementary school in Taiwan.

Wait: Since you basically make your own drink, you are your own wait time I guess? If there’s a hold up you might have to wait to pay for the cup, or get your cup sealed, but that’s usually pretty quick.

Sell Food? Yes. It is mostly a cafe after all. I’ve had the drinks more than I’ve had the food, but they do Taiwanese street food. The ones I had were good. Almost like Taiwanese fast food in a way.

Reward System? Yes, I believe so, with Five Stars.