#one zo

Jasmine green tea soy milk bubble tea with handmade pink pearls 😋 All the pearls here are vegan friendly, and many of the drinks are vegan friendly with soy milk 🙌🌱

OneZo is a boba chain from Taiwan that’s known for their fresh, handmade boba. The boba comes in several flavors: strawberry, honey, chrysanthemum, taro, and black sesame. For drinks, you can specify the sweeteness level and ice level. Add cheese foam for $1. They also have egg waffles and ice cream. Order at the counter and they’ll call your order number when it’s ready.

* Roasted rice milk tea ($4.75 + 75 cents for boba regular price): This was very milky but it did have a different, pleasant roasted rice flavor. The clear honey boba seemed very fresh and chewy. There wasn’t too much ice. I asked for less sugar and less ice.

* Matcha red bean egg waffle: I didn’t like it at all because I could barely taste the matcha or the red bean. The puffs tasted raw and mushy in the center. The batter was very sweet. Waffle fail. I was excited because the puffs were heart shaped on the sign. However, my puffs weren’t heart shaped. They said the heart-shaped waffle iron was broken.

The shop is small with a few benches and a neon boba sign that’s Instragrammable. It’s cute and smells like tea inside. Spin the prize wheel with any $10 purchase. I won a buy one, get one 50% off coupon.

3 out of 5 stars.

Cheese tea was so last year? The latest trend to hit boba shops is housemade boba. Several places in the SGV now make their own boba. One Zo is a boba chain from Taiwan, now in China, Korea, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, US and Canada. They have a room inside the shop where the boba is made.

Score: 32/50

Food: 4/5 – Bingsoo and egg waffles are served with Alhambra’s own Fosselman Ice Cream (the ice cream is optional). The egg puffs were good but expensive – light and crispy in between the puffs, soft hot puffs, slight egg flavor, not too sweet. It’s expensive ($5 for a small, plain waffle).

Coffee: 4/5 – I don’t think they have coffee. The drinks are a bit more expensive and so is the boba add-in, but they do make their own. They only had a few drinks to choose from, available hot or cold. The only add-in you can get is boba: honey, taro, strawberry, or black sesame. The hot black sesame milk tea w/ black sesame boba ($4.99 for a regular size) was pleasant but quite sweet (I asked for less sugar). The black sesame boba was soft and chewy, with black sesame flavor. The drink tasted like a thin black sesame soup – with no discernible tea flavor.

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, unlimited, the password is posted at the register. It worked.

Ambiance: 3/5 – It looks okay – mostly white with a white brick wall.

Noise: 2/5 – The Chinese rap music is loud and annoying.

Plugs: 1/5 – I only saw one outlet w/ a power strip. The other one isn’t anywhere near seating.

Parking: 4/5 – 4 hour limit in the covered parking structure for Atlantic Times Square.

Comfort: 3/5 – Plastic chairs and one long padded banquette along the wall  

Bathroom: 3/5 – One unisex

Art: 3/5 – None, unless you count the circles on the wall

Tips: Tea is brewed first and then customized. I noticed some customers had a stamp card. I wasn’t offered one. 10% off for Instagram followers. I heard the lines can be very long but I didn’t experience it (I went early). Order at the counter. They’ll call your number when your order is ready.

“Laptop Campers Unite!”

Cheese tea was so last year? The latest trend to hit boba shops is housemade boba. Several places in the SGV now make their own boba. One Zo is a boba chain from Taiwan, now in China, Korea, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, US and Canada. They have a room inside the shop where the boba is made. Consensus is that their boba is excellent but the drinks need work.

The drinks are a bit more expensive and so is the boba add-in, but they do make their own. They only had a few drinks to choose from, available hot or cold. The tea is brewed already, but each drink is customized to order. The only add-in you can get is boba: honey, taro, strawberry, or black sesame. Bingsoo and egg waffles are served with Alhambra’s own Fosselman Ice Cream (the ice cream is optional).

The hot black sesame milk tea w/ black sesame boba ($4.99 for a regular size) was pleasant but quite sweet (I asked for less sugar). The black sesame boba was soft and chewy, with black sesame flavor. The drink tasted like a thin black sesame soup – with no discernible tea flavor.

The egg puffs were good but expensive – light and crispy in between the puffs, soft hot puffs, slight egg flavor, not too sweet. It’s expensive ($5 for a small, plain waffle).

While there’s free wi-fi, the interior has a sterile feeling and the loud music is annoying – but that’s typical for a boba shop.

I noticed some customers had a stamp card. I wasn’t offered one. 10% off for Instagram followers. I heard the lines can be very long but I didn’t experience it (I went early). Order at the counter. They’ll call your number when your order is ready.

3.5 out of 5 stars.