Daboba, a worldwide chain originating in Malaysia, opened its 14th restaurant in the U.S. this past October in the Oak Brook Terrace. They specialize in bubble tea, or more commonly referred to as boba, a Taiwanese drink that is growing in popularity in the U.S. It usually consists of tapioca pearls on the bottom of the drink giving it the “bubble tea” title.

 As a big fan of boba myself, I was ecstatic to hear about this new and authentic boba shop, since it is a struggle to find quality bubble tea in our area. 

When I first entered the shop, the stunning interior design was the first thing to catch my eye. There was a sufficient amount of seating, and the shop had an overall modern look to it. It was decorated delightfully with plants, and even a fountain in one corner. The cashier was welcoming and greeted me as I soon as I walked in. 

The menu was a little confusing considering it did not have all of the options listed on it. I found my drink from a different sign advertised on the counter. It was also a pretty limited menu, so there were not many drink options. 

Since my party was the only one in the shop, I was expecting our drinks to come out somewhat quickly, and they proceeded to take about a total of six minutes. I feel this was justifiable, considering boba is a more complicated drink to make, and that our three drinks came out at the same time. When our drinks arrived, I immediately appreciated how they were served: in a nice plastic cup with the company’s bear logo on it. 

I decided to order an iced peach green tea with golden pearl boba ($5.20). My two friends who accompanied me ordered the roasted brown sugar pearl matcha ($5.75) and the brown sugar pearl milk tea ($5.50), both with tapioca pearls; all size medium. I tried both of their drinks. These drinks had more add ons to them, like foam, some sort of drizzle and toppings, while mine was only tea and pearls. I feel it is very reasonable and maybe even on the cheaper side.

Everytime I order boba I get some sort of peach drink, and in comparison to previous places, this one was satisfactory. I enjoyed the flavor of the tea, it was a perfect amount of sweet. I felt like the ratio of tapioca to tea was a little heavy on the boba side, but nothing super excessive. 

One thing I did notice was that my drink had some type of jelly in it (possibly lychee jelly), which I did not order. I am unsure if it was included with the peach tea and I simply did not read the sign correctly, or if it was added by accident. I liked the jelly addition so I was not unhappy with it, just a bit confused. I also wish that my drink came with ice in it.

I felt that the actual drink aspect of these orders was decent, no complaints, except I will ask for ice next time. On the other hand, the tapioca in the drinks was cooked exceptionally well and it had an ideal texture. This is hard to find, so I appreciated this. 

Overall, I enjoyed my experience at Daboba. The employees were very polite, and the whole vibe of the shop was pleasant. Located at 17 W. 414 22nd St., Oak Brook Terrace, Daboba is a perfect place to go if you are looking for tasty bubble tea.