Kaleo Bubble Tea and Coffee is the new boba tea café that opened this past summer off Loop 288 near J Sushi and Buffalo Wild Wings. The Denton boba/bubble tea scene has long been dominated by the oft-wandering Naranja Café. Currently located on Avenue C, Naranja Café was also once on the part of Fry that doesn’t exist anymore. Anyway, they’ve got competition now in Kaleo.
Upon entering Kaleo, you will find a hodgepodge of drink and dessert options which can be a bit overwhelming if you are not an experienced boba tea drinker. Kaleo offers the requisite smoothies and tea mixes. In addition, they have Beth Marie’s ice cream in the mix. While the store was clean and put together like you would expect any new business to be, their actual boba tea was less than stellar. I immediately noticed how shockingly sweet the drink was. There was a layer of sugar hanging out at the bottom. Also, the same drink size at Kaleo is nearly double the price of a drink at Naranja. Luckily at Naranja you also have the option of requesting less sweetener if it is a little too much for your taste buds. The coffee was okay.
I did think it was notable that Kaleo offered a frequent buyers card that fits nicely on your keychain and gives you a free drink after purchasing nine. Maybe this is incentive enough to make a few trips back, but unless I’m on the loop and have a hankering for boba, I’m going to stick to my favorite spot Naranja Café.
-Naomi Wood