BenGong’s Tea

Following the departures of Spiritea and Cherubic Tea from the same location at the Market Place, BenGong’s Tea arrived in 2023 – seemingly in hopes of finding a formula that will appeal to Tustin and Irvine residents. According to various international BenGong sites, the brand is Chinese and dates back to either 2014 or 2015; the only other Orange County location is in Garden Grove, which opened in 2024.

Apart from some BenGong signage and menu tweaks, the space remains virtually unchanged from its Spiritea days, which is to say pleasantly upscale without much character, and prices that are just a little too high for their own good: Drinks tend to be around $7 before customizations, stuffed macarons go for $5 per cookie, and small jars of coconut pudding are $10 each. The “sweets” menu also includes a $6 shaved ice dessert, and nothing else.

The drinks we sampled were surprising. A Passion Fruit Super Fruit Cup combined really tasty green tea with fresh passion fruit seeds, sliced watermelon, melon, pineapple, and lime slices – you drink the tea, then eat the fruit with an included fork, a seriously refreshing combination that benefitted both the liquid and solid ingredients. But a Pistachio Cloud Milk Tea had no pistachio flavor whatsoever until we reached the cloud on top – it just tasted like milk with a little tea added. For those following the ballgame, that’s one home run and one strikeout.