Boba lab has never messed up my drink, definitely a shop you can trust as a picky person

YAY! A new boba place! This review is being written on the grand opening day of this establishment, April 21, 2023, and there is definitely some things that I liked and did not like here. If I'm not mistaken, this is, at the time of writing this review, the only brick-and-mortar boba shop in the tri-cities area aside from Pearl Tea in the mall, so most will like this regardless of my review just simply because it's something rare here. My review is a also little extra harsh because I grew up in a very Asian community in Southern California where there is a boba place on every corner and the quality of tea and boba is on a level you can only really find in big cities (Seattle, Portland, San Fran, LA, etc.). That said, here's my overview that I still think you'll find helpful: SERVICE On opening day, the staff were eager, friendly and helpful to anyone that had questions. There were also about 10 people in front of me in line and about another 15 that had already placed their orders that were waiting inside. This said, the staff worked incredibly fast and clearly did their best to get orders fulfilled as quickly as possible. This is promising on a day that they were incredibly crowded. Seeing that they were friendly when it is so easy to get overwhelmed by an opening weekend crowd was especially promising and shows good customer service. Kudos here! DRINKS Straight to the point, it's a hit or miss depending on what you get. I ordered a Pacific Sunrise and it basically tasted and looked like a pretty passion fruit lemonade with peach poppers thrown in it. Their brown sugar milk tea was REALLY good and it is probably the best you're going to find here in the region. The one thing I did NOT like was how much ice they put in their drinks. My iced drinks had 2/3 of the cup full of just ice. Even their blended drinks, like the honeydew milk tea (blended) that I ordered was really thick (lots of ice) and was barely drinkable even when left to melt for a while. I knocked off a star here because of this. The size of the cup is really deceiving, especially when you consider most of it is full of ice... I also knocked off half a star for the boba here and the inconsistency of how good or bad your experience here can be depending on what drink you order. While that is how it is at most food or drink places, I really loved the brown sugar milk tea but would definitely passed on this place just based on the blended honeydew milk tea. The tapioca pearls were also a little on the hard side rather than soft and chewy. This means that they can definitely cook the pearls a little longer (I know, because I used to own a boba shop myself in Oregon). AMBIANCE While the ambiance definitely has promise, it looked a little bare on decoration. I get that it's brand new and just opened, but I hope that they get some local artists involved and maybe do some graffiti art on their wall/bathroom hallway to really enhance the vibe of this place. They already have a cool photo wall but there is still so much potential in this area. I knocked off another half star for parking and extra cars fees. Parking here can be VERY limiting here as it is a small shared parking lot with other neighboring businesses and a trailer park. In addition, I saw a sign by the point of sales system at the counter that says they will charge extra for card payments, so keep this in mind. I intend on coming back to try other drinks and to see if their menu and prices change over time as the menu on opening day at places tend to be a more limited. I'll post an update to this review if I think it's a worthy-enough change but overall, I'm glad this town has another boba shop with the closure of the two Teahaus locations and despite it not being the greatest drinks or boba, it's a place you should still give a try! read more

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The facility is lovely. Things to do while you wait: games and TV. I loved the grass wall with the pretty cute message. read more

Boba Lab - Tiger's milk - Bubble Tea Near Me - Kennewick, Washington

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I took my granddaughter here. She loves boba and I wanted to surprise her. I was the one who was surprised! The drink itself was almost $8. That was BEFORE I was charged $1 to use my debit card. Now, I know what you are going to say, the card company charges 3% for me to use the card and most likely 3% for them to deposit it. And here lies the issue with the $1 fee. The store is charged $.24 for me to use my card and another $.24 to process the deposit. For you math majors out there, that does not add up to $1. So they are making a profit off my use of the card, on top of the profit from the drink. Now, my granddaughter did like it. Said it wasn't over sweet. However, she likes the place in the mall much better. And they don't charge to use a debit card. I wasn't too impressed with the ambiance either. Seemed over industrial and sterile. I didn't find it welcoming at all. That being said, if you go, take cash. A lot of it. read more

Boba Lab - Strawberry milk boba, blended. - Bubble Tea Near Me - Kennewick, Washington

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Super cute little spot. Love the decor and little section for games and tv. Perfect for a little date night. Bathrooms available too which is nice :) Staff was very friendly and drinks are bomb! read more

Boba Lab - Bubble Tea Near Me - Kennewick, Washington

This shop is one of my favorite spots for boba in the Tri Cities! I recently tried Boba Lab for the first time with some friends and can't say enough good things. The shop was clean, environment was welcoming, and the staff were so friendly and patient while we made up our minds on what to order. The employee at the counter even customized my drink to fit the amount of sweetness I prefer! The customer service at Boba Lab is really the best I've experienced at a boba shop. With so many fun options on the menu, there are boba flavors for anyone. I was also impressed with the reasonable pricing. The dirty chai I ordered with tapioca was delicious! I look forward to supporting this business again! read more

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My dad and I decided to go to Boba lab because we heard good things, and it did not disappoint! The boba was delicious and they had options for people of all flavor preferences. The overall feel for this place was modern and welcoming, with many posters of various anime all over the walls. The music was very current and it was an overall enjoyable place to stop by when you need a delicious drink. read more

Boba Lab - Bubble Tea Near Me - Kennewick, Washington

They know how to serve! Everyone is amazing and they will recognize you (if you visit enough times) and make you feel welcomed. They teas are AMAZING! You can't go wrong with any of their tea's. Plus they have a cute backdrop for pictures! read more

Boba Lab - Imitation of the butterfly tea! - Bubble Tea Near Me - Kennewick, Washington

we had to wait for our drinks because the boba was not ready. This was our second visit the first time the drinks were great this time they were ok, not very consistent. Place is cute and staff are friendly. read more

Boba itself was super good but it took a long time to get. There was maybe 3-4 drinks ahead of us and it took 20+ minutes. Maybe it was an off day. read more

Never have I have ever had such a bland beverage from any place I've ordered from. I got the "matcha baby" and it sucked mega booty. It is supposed to be a matcha boba drink with strawberry flavor and strawberry foam, but for whatever reason my strawberry foam and flavor were held.... HELD HOSTAGE FROM MY TASTEBUDS. Not only did I wait nearly an hour for my 2 drinks for me and my partner, some bozo who came in after me got his order before me! He didn't even pay! Honestly if my drink tasted good at the least I wouldn't be leaving this review, I have never felt more the need to make a yelp account for this. read more

This new place in town is my new favorite! the Cookie Monster Taro was the best! the Lychee berry Bomb was the fruitiest and one of the best and I give it 5 stars. read more

So far I've liked everything I've gotten there. Little overpriced especially the $1 card fee.

It was nasty. Either to sweet or not a lot of flavor. Wouldn't recommend trying for your first time if you've never had boba. Their service is quick but it didn't really surprise me. read more

I was really excited about there being an actual Boba store. Aside from the location of trying to enter if you're driving on the side that winco is on.. you'll have to bust a U to get in. There is a lot of potential for the store, or maybe some feedback needed. I ordered blended milk tea drinks, all three blended drinks are more like milk tea drinks without ice.. maybe you guys can figure out the ice ratio to make your blended drinks. The flavors are okay. Also there is a lot of foam sitting on top of the drink. Maybe blend at a lower speed to keep the blended drink smooth. We didn't even leave the store yet, and our drinks were completely melted.. or lack or ice. One or the other, and foam just sits on the top of the drink. Will revisit again one day. read more

Not what I expected, the boba we received was not like any other boba in fact it was not good at all, they seemed to be upset we entered the establishment the vibe was off seemed like it's more of a place to take up space ‍ read more

Inside is beautiful, with a cool backdrop and plenty of seating arrangements. The drink was average, though I wish it opened a little bit earlier, as my lunch period is from 10:45:11:20 and it opens at 11 read more

Really good! My friend and I both got the matcha baby, (sadly couldn't taste as much matcha as we would've liked, but still really good). Overall cute atmosphere inside with very nice staff. read more

If you're a fan of boba and anime then this is the place! The shop has a nice cozy feeling to it and anime paintings, I didn't know if I could buy them until I jokingly asked if they were for sale. I found that the pacific sunrise is my go to, some other good mention are the mango tango and matcha baby. The coffee is pretty strong too, so that's great for trying to get through the day. So far this boba shop is my favorite and I hope some people would agree with me! read more

amazing service, amazing drinks lovely atmosphere my favorite is the lychee berry bomb

very boba great drinks and nice space, complimentary games that were fun to play with friends over a drink.