Oakland: One Zo

Now that there's One Zo in Oakland Chinatown, it has become my office's go-to pearl tea spot:


But only for special occasions...because it ain't cheap.  That works out for us though.  Our new office location is a bit further from all the local boba joints, so we really only make a pearl tea run when there's a special occasion. 

Or when my appointments cancel and I have nothing better to do.  Or when we're having a shitty day.

Okay, so we find any reason to get pearl tea.  Sue us.

When I first started going to One Zo in Oakland, it was only the soft opening:


The menu was limited, but all the basics were there:


On this particular office pearl tea run, I ordered a black tea latte with caramel boba ($5.74), a milk tea with One Zo boba ($5.50), a taro milk tea with taro boba ($5.25), a uji matcha latte with taro boba ($5.74), and a regular black tea with matcha boba ($4.50).

The full menu, which includes more drinks, a size option, and slightly different pricing, kicked in at One Zo's grand opening in November.  Their grand opening weekend extended through to Monday, so I was able to get there during the lunch hour.  That day, I got a brown sugar fresh milk ($5.49), a bamboo charcoal latte with sesame boba, a brown sugar milk tea ($5.49), and a taro milk tea with taro boba ($5):


After multiple pearl tea office runs to One Zo, I've learned a few things:

1) My favorite is the brown sugar milk tea.

2) Certain drinks such as the One Zo combos and the fruit teas only come in large.  Otherwise you have to add $0.50 to upgrade up from medium.  The medium is a chubby cup (all the ones pictured above are large) and paying $5 for a medium cup just hurts.

3) Certain drinks already come with boba.  If you try to substitute out the pre-set boba with a different kind, that could increase the price.  Most bobas are an additional $0.75, some like the sesame and the matcha are $1, and the One Zo daily boba mix is $1.25.

4) I usually get no ice in my pearl teas, but if you want your latte to have distinct layers, you need to keep some ice in.

5) The caramel boba is way too sweet for me.

We as an office love One Zo.  Checking out what new types of boba they can come up with is fun and the teas are just good.  But it's just so damn pricey!  If everything was just $1 cheaper, we would be there all the time.  As it is, I guess we're only saving it for very, very special occasions.

For all other pearl tea runs, I'm willing to walk a couple more blocks to T4 or to iTea.


One Zo
362 8th St Unit A
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 919-0386
https://www.onezo.us/

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