State College’s bubble tea landscape continues to grow and grow, and we’re ~here for it.~

The Whale Tea bubble tea shop opened its doors at 262 E. Beaver Ave. in the former location of Frutta Bowls in June.

It sells a variety of cool refreshments, including milk tea, slush, oolong tea, and even a crème brûlée drink series. Prices range from $4.75 to $7.25 depending on the size and type of tea you get.

Naturally, we had to give it a run for its money and see what all the hype was about.

Rachel Padnis: Passionfruit Slush & Green Peach Tea

I’m so happy to have another bubble tea location downtown to fuel my addiction. When I went to Whale Tea, I ordered the passionfruit slush and the peach green tea — both with lychee jelly. The slush had a nice consistency and honestly, boba slush is pretty hard to come by in State College. I definitely have to give points for the presentation as well because the cup and lid were both adorable.

The peach green tea with lychee is my go-to boba drink, so naturally, I gave it a go. I ordered it with 70% sugar, which was the highest level, and was kind of surprised to find that my drink was a little bitter. The lychee jelly helped to balance that out. I would just request extra sugar in my drink next time.

Alex Pepe: Peach Oolong Tea

I want to start off by saying I have a slight obsession with tea. Granted, I haven’t really ventured into the bubble tea region, so this was new for me. I got the peach oolong tea in a large size (only came in large) for $6.31 after taxes. It came with real fruit in it and honestly, the cup it was served in was pretty cool, too. But in all seriousness, it was good.

The tea was very sweet, though, and was referred to by my friend as tasting like “nice hand lotion.” Take that as you will. The only thing to note is that it came with a lot of ice, so make sure to get your money’s worth and select “less ice” on the drop-down menu.

Nina Jeffries: Creme Brulee Oreo Milk Tea

Do you like milk and cookies? Are you sick of dunking your cookies in milk? If so, I have the perfect drink for all you cookie lovers with this sweet treat. Nothing says yum like crushed Oreos in milk. I would definitely recommend this place.

Megan Kelby: Grapefruit Fruit Tea

As someone who isn’t a huge grapefruit fan, it wasn’t too shabby. There were grapefruit slices and pulp floating around in it, so there was that bitter citrus flavor fresh grapefruits have, but the added sugar helped balance it out. The only downside was that the fruit teas are only offered in size large. The cup is a nice enough plastic to be reused, so it was definitely worth it, but I wish I could’ve had a medium.

Camryn O’Rourke: Mango Fruit Tea

This tea was really sweet but in the best way possible. I got the lowest amount of sugar but the natural taste of the mango made it super refreshing. I also got mango boba which tied together the whole drink.