The brand new boba shop, One Zo, opened late December of 2022 at the Galleria mall in Roseville. Nearby popular shops such as Hot Topic and Lolli and Pops (the new candy shop), One Zo had high expectations before it even opened.  As the world’s first brand to make boba in store, my interest was piqued. Rumors say that their handmade (on site) boba is amazing, but overall, it’s pretty mid.

I’ll be the judge of that.

Walking up to the One Zo was honestly underwhelming.  While it’s easy to find, being not too far from the food court, it doesn’t have a lot of personality.  The outside of the shop is rather cool looking with all glass and a big sign, but the inside doesn’t stray from white walls and boring interior.  Aside from the ‘handmade boba’ appeal, there’s no character.  While waiting to order, I noticed I wasn’t able to pick what I wanted, the only menu available right by the register.  That menu was a dirty piece of printer paper.  The menu itself is very small and is in desperate need of some advancement.  My friend and I ended up ordering the Jade Lime Fruity Tea ($6.25) and the Oolong Milk Tea ($5.74), both with the ($0.75) honey boba included.

 The Jade Lime Tea was super refreshing with a tangy bittersweet flavor and pulp for texture.  The honey boba added the needed level of sweetness, making it have a perfect bitter and sweet balance. On the other hand, the Oolong Milk tea with honey boba was almost too sweet. I think you need a little tang or bitter to contrast the sweetness of the boba. Otherwise, the Oolong Milk tea was rich and creamy which some people might love, but it wasn’t my favorite. Now for the boba, my expectations were very high since the boba is made on site. The boba is actually very delicious, it was chewy, tasted like honey and totally worth the letdown of the interior.

Overall, the boba was yummy and had good flavor and quality. It tastes like your average tasty boba drink. Although the store was very average, the overall decor and look of the place was pretty disappointing.

6.5/10.