Every tea store has its “niche” or unique selling proposition and OneZo Tapioca in Toronto’s Chinatown is no different. Here’s my review on their Caramel Oolong Latte!
Store
Located on 399 Spadina Ave., OneZo Tapioca’s biggest draw, as indicated by the name of the store, is their tapioca. Made fresh in-store, they offer the tapioca pearls in various flavours including: Crystal, Mango, Matcha, Purple, Caramel, Cactus, and Sesame. Each of these come in a different color, making for truly “Instagrammable” bubble tea drinks!
What I Ordered
I ordered a medium Caramel Oolong Latte with 25% ice and “OneZo Tapioca,” which is basically a small variety of their other flavoured tapioca. Altogether, it was $4.89 for the drink and $1.20 for the topping. With the caramel, they can’t change the sugar level so there’s no way to customize it.
The drink had a savoury/sweet taste that was really nice. It wasn’t as sweet as I thought it would be, considering the caramel-based flavour. It honestly mixed quite well with the oolong tea, which provided a crisper aftertaste. It’s definitely a unique taste that balances the two flavours evenly, which was impressive.
Of course, OneZo is all about the tapioca, so how did it turn out? Honestly, I didn’t taste any flavour at all. I actually scooped out the tapioca to try them separately outside of the drink and there wasn’t any noticeable difference.
However, while the actual taste of the tapioca was less than impressive, I really liked the texture, which was chewy but not too hard or soft. It was definitely well cooked!
Would I Drink It To The Last Drop?
The Caramel Oolong Latte is actually a pretty good drink (if you ignore the fact that the tapioca should all have a different flavour)! After I couldn’t establish the actual taste of the tapioca, I just looked at it as “regular” tapioca and on that note, it holds up very well when compared to other places. It’s chewy without being undercooked, but soft without being overcooked. The drink itself is solid, with the caramel offering a subtle sweetness to the drink that balances the oolong tea very well.
One Last Tip
Whenever OneZo’s mentioned, most of the focus goes to the tapioca, but their drink menu is pretty interesting too. Burny Caramel Milk Tea, Italian Cocoa, Guava Orange Lover, and Japan Rice Sencha are some of the ones that caught my attention. Also, if you’re not a fan of tapioca, don’t feel as if you “have” to get tapioca here!
ONE LAST DROP 