The night we came in to Cafe D’Bolla only one guy was working and he had a line of cups ready to fill people’s orders- He just couldn’t keep up. It didn’t even look that busy. There were maybe only 5 people in the little cafe. My Korean friend had brought me here to try the Bubble Tea or Boba Tea. She said this is the place that would be closest to authentic Boba Tea. We decided to order our drinks and then head over to the top of the library to get a good view of the city. When we came back it looked like he had just finished out drinks. And at this point he had ran out of tapioca so we were lucky to get the last few scoops. I ordered Lichee flavored and she ordered the Peach. I thought the flavor was pretty nice and she also said she liked it but I noticed she only made it half way through her drink while I’ll slurped mine down. She did comment that the tapioca was too chewy and in Korea and other Asian countries where Boba Tea is popular the tapioca is smaller and less rubbery. If you do decide to go here, go early in the evening to secure yourself some Boba Tea or try the espresso, I hear its legit. Also, while you’re in the area don’t miss trekking to the top of the library for a great overlook of the great Salt Lake City.
249 E 400 S
Great reviews! I need to try both places!
Hey, thanks for mentioning caffe d’bolla in your post! I’m from Taiwan, and am one of the owners of caffe d’bolla. We directly import our bubble tea ingredients from Taiwan, where bubble tea started about 25 years ago. I grew up with bubble tea, and know as a matter of fact that the chewy consistency or “QQ” in Taiwanese, is a crucial element in bubble tea. In many places, even some in Asian countries, shops cook huge batches of tapioca pearls and sell them until they are gone, which results in the pearls’ getting soggy and soft, and losing their chewy texture over time. This would be frowned upon in Taiwan. We cook small batches throughout the day in order to maintain proper chewy consistency. There are times following a rush that people may have to wait for fresh batches of pearls, but we know we cannot compromise the quality of our drinks.As far as the tapioca pearls go, ours are actually considered medium in size. From the Taiwanese comapny where we’re ordering, there are two sizes larger! Your friend must have tried smaller ones in Korea.I’m glad you enjoyed your bubble tea. Lychee is one of my personal favorites! Sometimes I like to drink Lychee with both the tapioca pearls and the coconut jelly! Yummy.We’ll pull you a killer shot of espresso when you come in next time. (We just started our Single Origin Sulawesi espresso today!) The guy you’re talking about working that night was my husband. Every drink we make is by the cup, and that might have been why you had to wait. We are owners of a local small business who pride ourselves on the quality and consistency of our drinks.Thanks for stopping by. Please say Hi next time!
yeah, i hear their specialty is coffee knowledge. they know coffee. i'm not a tapioca fan, so i'll refrain from commenting on how much i don't like the stuff.
I went to cafe d’bolla and didn’t realize how expensive it was before hand. I’m in high school and Caucasian, but when I said I wasn’t going to get something I was kicked out. Understandable if it was busy, But there was one couple there! If the person had been decent, I wouldn’t have minded, however, he was degrading to me and my Latin American friends. I wouldn’t advise going to this cafe unless you are white.