Sago Tea Cafe

One of my single favorite things in this world is bubble tea. Not everyone knows what bubble tea is, but it's worth learning about. It's a popular Asian beverage, traditionally using milk tea, flavored if preferred, with tapioca balls at the bottom of the drink. It's a bit hard to describe, but the drink itself is like part thin shake, part tea, and it's really unique. The balls at the bottom are really just for fun and oral fixation, you suck them up in the extra-wide straw you get, and chew on them like gummy bears while you sip your drink. It's mostly flavorless tapioca pearls, but it absorbs some of the flavor of the actual beverage. It's just awesome.

Long Island has a severe lack of bubble tea, also known as boba tea. A place just opened up in Port Washington called Boba Boys, which I have yet to try, but their menu is uninspired looking. However, one of the best places to go get tea that I frequent a lot is Sage Tea Cafe.

Now here is where things get tricky. Sago is located in Flushing, Queens, a highly asian-populated area that makes it a mecca for bubble tea. Many people argue that Queens (and Brooklyn) are not part of Long Island, that they are part of New York City. While I also try to stick to covering Nassau and Suffolk Counties for this reason, the fact is that Queens is part of this Island just as much as everyone else. We are still on the same body of land, and we all have to cross a bridge to get to Manhattan. As much as Queens doesn't like it, it's part of Long Island, and given the bubble tea topic, I'm including it in this post.

Aside from the staff, which can be a bit unfriendly and business-like, the tea is amazing. They have all sorts of goodies to choose from, but I stick to the bubble tea. The Mango Milk Bubble Tea is the best item on the menu. In my experience with bubble tea, no matter where I go (including California, where I lived, and bubble tea was abundant), Mango is the perfect flavor. And Sago does it right.



There's a takeout window at Sago, which is great and quick, but if you dine it, the size of the cup you get your tea in is a HUGE difference, literally. Take out will give you the standard size, but staying in will give you a huge mug.

While Sago is pricey, and there are other bubble tea places in Queens, Sago is quality, and it's location (not too far off Nassau), and it's late open hours make it a great place for a really cool drink that you should really treat yourself too for something different and out there.

Sago lives at:

3902 Main St
Flushing, NY 11354-5402
(718) 353-2899
Hours:
Mon-Thu & Sun: 11:45am-12:00am
Fri-Sat: 11:45am-1:00am
Cash and Cards Accepted
Takeout or Dine In
Sage Tea Cafe