As a massive lover of boba, I was disappointed with the lack of boba shops in the quad cities (that may actually be a good thing though or else I would be broke by now). However, I recently discovered one in the NorthPark Mall in Davenport, and I immediately hopped in my car to try as soon as possible. Here’s a little bit about my experience there.
Depending on where you enter the mall, it’s a bit of a walk. I usually like to go through Entrance #2 because that’s where the Barnes and Noble is, but there are entrances that are closer to the Boba shop. However, I went through my usual entrance, and it took me around five minutes to get there. One of the first things that I noticed was that the shop didn’t have an official name, it was just called “Bubble Tea”. I guess that it being in the back of the mall and the lack of a name is why many people have not heard about it, including myself. I’m hoping this article can attract some new customers who can show it some love.
As someone going there for the first time, I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of options they had. They had about twenty different options each within the fruit and combination smoothie sections, ten different types of chai tea, multiple types of boba, and even more options in green, black, and milk teas. I love a good fruit smoothie with tapioca, so I went with the candy apple smoothie. The worker there was exceptionally nice and struck up a few conversations with me. There were customers that came before me, so it was a few minutes before I got my drink, but he was still pretty fast. While I was waiting for my drink, I took in the scenery. The walls were painted a bright yellow and there were colorful pictures all across them. The shop itself is pretty small, but it has a few tables and chairs inside of it so people can sit down. The menu was on multiple television screens and the sign outside of the shop was in glowing neon letters, the shop itself didn’t feel overly futuristic and was pretty aesthetically pleasing. I wouldn’t be able to do my homework there because I would be distracted by all the colors and pictures, but it would be a great place to catch up with a friend.
The drink itself was great! It was the perfect amount of sweetness and the caramel and green apple flavors balanced each other really well without one overpowering the other. I wish that the apple flavor had a tart punch to it because it would cut through some of the sweetness, but I still drank the entire smoothie even without the tartness. As for the tapioca, I wish it was a little softer because they were a little hard to chew through, but I don’t think that there can be tapioca balls that I hate. Overall, I would give this drink a 7.5 out of 10.
My biggest complaint with this boba shop is that it’s very expensive. I had to pay $9 for just one drink! I don’t think that I can buy their boba often because it costs so much, but when I want to treat myself, I’ll definitely come back. I also want to try the different flavors they offer to see if they are just as good or are better than the caramel apple. Â
To sum it up, I would recommend giving this place a try. The boba shop in NorthPark Mall satisfied my boba cravings and I don’t have many complaints about it, so I hope that you can go there soon and give it some love.