We all know about the variety of different flavored teas that are found in bubble tea stores: classic, brown sugar, taro, earl grey- the list goes on. But what would it taste like if the tapioca pearls themselves were flavored? What if a place made black sesame boba? White chocolate boba? Matcha boba? Well, a store in Carrollton called OneZo Texas actually does sell these flavors of tapioca pearls and more. Naturally, your Bubble Tea Club leaders set out to see if this place and its boba really deserve all of the hype.

As we entered, we immediately noticed the cozy and clean ambience of the store. There were ample decorations lining the store walls, but what popped out the most were the colorful sticky notes covering a glass wall. OneZo values community engagement, so not only do they host raffles, giveaways and collaborations weekly, there is also a wall for customers to write down notes or drawings on sticky notes. Behind the glass wall, we could even catch a peek of the machinery used to make the delicious boba. OneZo chain is the first cafe in the world to make their boba in-store, which allows them to get creative and design different flavors in addition to the regular brown sugar boba found in most bubble tea shops.

The tapioca flavors change each week, so the three tapioca flavors for that day were brown sugar, panda honey, and banana. We were hesitant to try the latter two flavors in a drink, but fortunately the staff allowed us to sample the boba in a small container. The panda honey was a half-black, half-white tapioca ball; the honey flavor was really well soaked into the tapioca and the texture was perfect. The banana boba made us nervous at the beginning, but after trying it we realized that the flavor was surprisingly tasty and very well constructed. That being said, we decided that this flavor would work better in a fruity drink instead of something like a milk tea. Taking all this into consideration, we rated the panda honey boba a ten out of ten, and the banana boba an eight out of ten. In general, their homemade tapioca balls varied somewhat from the usual kind found in stores like Fat Straws or Gong Cha, and we both found the slightly larger and more squishy boba to be delicious and highly enjoyable. 

Moving on to the drinks, we ordered the classic black milk tea and a strawberry milk with a sesame cream, both drinks with their fresh brown sugar boba. The mounted menus were somewhat difficult to navigate at first glance, but we had planned ahead and scouted out their Instagram account so we would know what to order. Even though the store was quite busy, the staff were friendly and finished making our drinks almost immediately. The only downside about OneZo Texas that we discovered were location and price. OneZo is located to the north of Carrollton, so for those living next to Hockaday as a general reference, it took us about half an hour on the highway to get there. Also, the pricing, even though we were drinking freshly made boba, was a bit high. They only have one cup size there, which is around a 16-ounce size cup, but the milk tea was $4.75 to $5 while the strawberry milk was almost $7.

All in all, we found that the drinks were all very delicious and the boba flavors delectable. While we thoroughly enjoyed our time there, we are a bit hesitant to return due to its distance from school and our homes. If you live near Carrollton, however, or are willing to make the drive, we highly recommend that you check OneZo Texas out; you won’t regret it.