Sen Tea House

When we say that there are hundreds of Orange County boba tea shops to choose from today, that’s no exaggeration – they’re basically impossible to count at this point. Like many others that have appeared in Instagram reels, Sen Tea House caught our attention by developing some interesting looking drinks, so we ventured out to Los Olivos Marketplace near the Irvine Spectrum Center to check it out. The results were mixed.

Although Sen serves everything from very American-style waffles and Italian panna cottas to Korean strawberry milk, its menu is predominantly Vietnamese – its name means “lotus flower,” and is shared by Westminster’s completely different Sen Vietnamese Cuisine, a full-fledged restaurant that opened a year earlier and appears to be unaffiliated. Though the Tea House’s interior is bright and largely modern, with a touchscreen-style ordering system, most of the seating is next to a half-wall covered with Vietnamese posters, as well as a table with books, dishes, and an old-fashioned radio, all hinting at classic Vietnamese coffee shops (as more thoroughly replicated by Little Saigon’s Phuc Long and Tram Cream Coffee).

After spending several minutes exploring the touchscreen menu’s options, we wound up ordering three drinks and one dessert, most of which arrived within a few minutes. On a positive note, everything looked great: Sen’s somewhat famous Ocean Latte is a beautiful beach scene-like cup with white chocolate seashells and hearts, whipped cream, butterfly pea blue coloring, coconut milk, and coffee, while a similarly multi-layered tiramisu matcha latte appears with a ladyfinger and bright green tea powder on top. In both cases, though, the flavors were muddled and muted – even ordered at 50% sweetness, the Ocean Latte tasted more like cream and sugar than any other flavor. By comparison, a cocoa latte topped more simply with an Oreo met expectations by tasting like creamy cocoa.