Caffe DBolla

Let’s get straight to the point… I used to like coming here. The boba milk tea here isn’t that bad at all. The boba isn’t your average big boba, it’s those tiny ones. It is freshly made daily and very yummy and chewy. The milk tea isn’t that sweet. It is machine shaken so it’s not your typical hand shaken or blender stirred ones.
Now here is the reason why I said I used to like coming here. Before I never had a problem with the owner here. Usually it’s a come, buy and go. This recent time coming here I realize how bad of an attitude the owner, who is white male, has here. He’s very rude. I simply forgot to tell him that I wan light ice in my boba and was telling him while he was putting ice in the shaker… note that he hasn’t put any powder or anything in there… just ice. It isn’t hard to just pour out a bit of ice from the shakers. He rudely said that he won’t do it and for me to remember to tell him next time while ordering.
Another thing is realize while writing this is that he didn’t ask me the size of boba I want. He just assumed I wanted the large, but when my friend ordered he ask him what size he wants. It didn’t really bother me much then because I like their boba milk tea here (in my case, there is no boba so I had to get lychee jelly).
The milk tea isn’t the best here in Salt Lake City so… I would totally reconsider coming back.

I was excited to try out this place because I heard they serve milk tea with ‘boba’ (tapioca pearl). But before I even opened my mouth to order, I was told they were out of boba. Sigh. So I just ordered an Azuki (red bean) milk tea with coconut jelly instead, ~while crying out silently why do bad things happen to good people…
The drink itself is pretty good. Tasty and milky, and not too sweet. The coconut jelly is not exactly the easiest to drink with a straw compared to boba, especially when you are almost out of the drink and just sucking out the leftover jelly (you boba-​drinkers know what I mean).
They serve coffee too. They even have the cool coffee siphon at the counter. I was told it takes 30 – 40 minutes to get a cup of dripped coffee, so if you have time to spare, you can try this.
Not too many tables, but it doesn’t seem this place gets too busy. Pretty cool place to hang out, although due to the small area, I don’t recommend you talking about your darkest secret here.
I need to come back and try their boba.

Delicious, carefully crafted coffee, bubble teas and sweet snacks.

I am not a coffee person, but rather I am a tea person. As such I have a hard time finding places that make good tea, especially a good chai tea. So many places use a powder or a syrupy concentrate to make their chai (yuck). Or, if they actually use a concentrate it’s not that good. Caffe d’bolla however, makes their own chai and they know how to do it right. This just blows me away and I am sooooo, happy!

I wish I could fit in here. I visited this coffee house as an amateur enthusiast. I had just bought a pour over coffee maker and was hoping to get some good advice on what to do next. I do not feel as though I was received well.
The service made me feel inadequate. I would love to know as much about coffee as Caffe DBolla employees do, but it seems as though I would just be wasting their time. They apparently have luxurious brands of coffee beans and an amazing siphon bar, but unfortunately I don’t know. As soon as I walked in I felt like I was unwanted. So, after attempting to buy a cup of drip coffee,(which is not offered), I settled for an americano and left, barely satiated.

Coffee was to die for. Also had a rich chocolate cake. Adorable. Friendly guy working named John. Hard parking for a big truck.

Oh the love that I have for this place. This is one perfect little shop where you can get incredible espresso or delectable bubble tea. I’m a sucker for this place during the summer because nothing is more refreshing than a bubble tea! Every combination is delicious. What I love is that the menu is pretty simple. Do you want milk tea or juice tea? Small or large? Regular tapioca pearls, coconut jellies, or coffee cubes? And trust me, you can’t go wrong. Some delicious drinks that I love: honeydew milk tea with coconut jelly, mango juice tea with regular pearls, or coconut milk tea with coffee cubes. But again, you can’t go wrong.
Then there’s the espresso. I haven’t had as much coffee/​espresso here as I have had bubble tea. However, the lattes are incredible. John is constantly roasting and making unique espressos. As you’ve noticed many people refer to his passion and it’s true. He loves the craft. Plus he’s extremely nice and helpful.
The shop is small, but has enough seating. Prices are on the high-​end, but are pretty consistent with other specialty shops. It’s a great place to meet up with a friend or to take a short break at. This is definitely one of my favorite drinks shops in Downtown SLC!

Best coffee in Utah! The macchiatos are amazing. The owners are very passionate about coffee and it shows. Don’t forget to grab a bag of coffee for home.

My cappuccino was tasty — solid 4-​star. The bubble tea we got seamed good. My 2yo liked it. It seems too sweet for me, but I think it’s standard for bubble tea. The seating isn’t great for laptops, and there are no plugs. The décor is 3−4star. The service was also good.

I drove all the way from Redding, Ca (10.5 hours) to try this place. Woke up this morning, Unilocal says they’re open now, and we go there and they are closed for the holidays (Today was the day after Black Friday). Gutted. So we had to go to Salt Lake Roasting Co., which was awful.

It seems that many people are still unaware that this is hands down the best coffee in Utah. No one else even comes close, and this only becomes apparent with sustained observation of John and Yiching’s dedication to making the best Espresso and Siphon brew available to the public. More specifically to John’s obsession with roasting coffee and Yiching’s wonderful personality. I really can not think of a café I would rather go to for an Americano, or another that even offers siphon brew.
You never get the same cup of coffee you had last week, and you never get a bad cup either. Every cup is composed of single origin beans that John chooses and roasts based on only ever thinking about coffee, and the result is delicious espresso with tasting notes that I still don’t entirely appreciate or understand to be quite honest, but I now know when something is wrong coffee I purchase elsewhere.
This recommendation is a blessing and a curse; you will enter the realm of true espresso aficionados simply by listening to John’s history and science lessons on coffee, and you will love Yiching and Alex, but you will be sorely disappointed when you walk up to the door having forgotten that it’s Sunday and you have to go somewhere else for coffee.

Expertly made coffee. The owner, John, is a true coffee expert. He selects the finest coffee, does the roasting and preparation himself.

Hands down one of my all time favorite coffee spots! I can’t even count the number of times I have visited in a frenzy between classes — but needing my caffeine fix to churn away my research papers.
I’ve gotta say — the Americano here, is the best in town. The coffee roasts are rotated to a different once every week or so, chances are if you only visit occasionally you’ll never have the same cup of coffee twice. Which makes me me appreciate every sip even more.
I’ve also had the boba here and the custard boba cold is amaaazing !
The classical music that John plays provides the perfect ambiance for my study sessions.

Damn good mocha. Perfect temperature, color, and wowee just the right balance of bittersweet!

We live in the Bay Area, and this place is a must visit any time we’re in Utah. We order our beans from here too! They are so good. They are so passionate about what they do and they will not compromise for their coffee no matter what, and it shows in their excellent coffee.
Some people find that rude, but it’s the opposite, he doesn’t want you to have bad coffee. This is his life’s work, and he wants to represent it the best he can. I appreciate his «abruptness» and «rudeness» because it means I won’t end up getting something crap because I ordered something special thinking it was going to be good and the owner knew better but compromised for the customer. Thanks for all the hard work you guys put into this place, it shows in every single amazing cup of coffee you produce.

Caffe d’Bolla is not your typical coffee shop or Starbucks that makes flavored drinks with whipped cream or caramel drizzle. It is for the serious coffee drinker who appreciates coffee as it is without all the disguises and savors the taste of different coffee beans from different areas around the world.
The slim modern design of the shop and its hidden location make it a café that you have to hear about in advance. It is difficult to just stumble upon it, but this local gem is worth a visit for the coffee addicts out there. The coffee is top quality with a knowledgeable owner, and when I ordered my first pour over here, I fell in love immediately. Later, I found it was difficult to share this love with others because most people I know prefer sweet or milky coffee drinks, but I will continue to come back and treat myself to amazing coffee.

Went on quiet weekday afternoon. Was only one of two customers at the time. The owner is very nice and incredibly helpful. I am trying to learn more about coffee and let him pick my drink. It was a very creamy delicious latte that did not need any sweetener, which I usually want at least a little of. So great. It is a pricey cup of coffee, but really worth it. I want to go back so I can learn even more.

Went in to order bubble tea, as it was my first time trying it I asked the person behind the counter for recommendations… To which I was given a very rude response about he didn’t help people pick out flavors because my tastes are different then his. He tried being polite the rest of the time but I felt awkward standing in there. Tea was very good but I think for the price and customer service I’ll take my business elsewhere.

This place really deserves another star but.
Your choices are limited here.
This place really is more for coffee than boba. Boba places usually have a long list of flavors to choose from where as here you only have a few options. They also do not make slush drinks– only milk tea.
There is nothing wrong with milk tea but they do fill a quarter of the cup with ice which leaves you with less to drink. If you want less ice in your cup they charge you extra? I don’t get it. I paid for the drink and if if I don’t want ice then should I really be paying to NOT have ice in it? I don’t agree with that concept.
The owner is nice and he informed me that his wife is Taiwanese so this is the style in which they make their drinks and that’s fine but I wish I had more options. Would I come here again? Sure if I was desperate for a boba fix downtown but the ones in the valley have so much more variety and you can choose the preparation of which you like.
Needless to say, the owner is nice and the baked goods look and smell divine. I’ll be back but not for a while.

John, the owner who is generally working here, is a bit of a goofball– but he loves coffee and he’s deeply passionate about educating customers on the ins-​and-​outs of what they’re drinking. No, he won’t make modifications to the menu that he doesn’t believe in. No, he will probably not be the most chipper or chatty barista you’ve ever met. But any weirdness on his part is, I think, a reflection of how much he cares about his product– and all customer service quirks aside, this place is top notch.
If it’s busy, service will be slow, but it’s pretty obvious why: John works alone, and high volume is definitely not the focal point of the way D’Bolla is run.
And most importantly– the coffee is excellent. Skillful brewed, careful served. Delicious bubble tea prepared to the same exacting standards– *and* they have Okinawan black sugar custard flavor, which is a.) available nowhere else in Salt Lake, b.) blindingly sweet, and c.) amazing as all get out.
Café D’Bolla isn’t going to write your name on your cup or make you something with whipped cream on it or prepare their coffee according to your particular outer space preferences. But I kind of like that about them. I pay car mechanics to know more about cars than I do, and I pay my doctors to know more about medicine than I do– at Café D’Bolla, I pay John to know way, way more about coffee than I ever will.

Four of us stopped in to this place because it was in close proximity and if sold bubble tea which one in our group was craving. Reviews on Unilocal were great so instead of driving out of our way to a tried and true place we thought we’d give it a shot. The barista took two of our orders and ignored the other two in our group and proceeded to take the orders of a large group of people who walked in while the remaining two in our group sat ignored. We couldn’t get his attention so we left.
The tea was average.
The establishment seemed very nice, but fairly small so when busy it was a bit tight. Free parking was located behind the building.
I’ll probably go back to give the place another shot, but will go for coffee as it appears that they have a good selection of coffee and espresso.

Came here to get some boba tea because I had a craving for a kind I get when I go home to see my parents, but most places do not have. THEY HAVE LYCHEE BOBA TEA! And guys, it is so good. Love how many boba they give you.
My only real complaint was that my 16oz tea was almost 6 $, but it was worth it! I’ll be back!

I was excited to come here. The owner was abrupt and kinda rude, had one other customer and couldn’t multitask with me while he was making a simple espresso shot.
Then I asked for a siphon press. I’m a bit caffeine sensitive so I asked for only like 75% of the beans to lighten the cup. Seems a win-​win, as he would use less beans. He said, uh no, I only make it one way. If you want something lighter maybe try an Americano. I said I found espresso to be more bitter than a great cup of coffee, to which he replied, my espresso is never bitter.
I left. Made me very sad, I was visiting from the Bay Area and wanted to sample a good SLC place. Oh well. I give two stars because the place’s idea is good.

Very precise, exacting, & unique roaster of small batch coffee beans.
You will be rewarded.

John made my first experience with siphoned coffee both informative and personalized. As an avid wine drinker, I am familiar with tasting notes and profiles, but coffee is a new genre in this series. I look forward to returning to Café D’Bolla to increase my awareness and understanding of this brewing process. A must have stop for coffee lovers!

If you live in Salt Lake City, you only have so many choices for single origin coffee in craft brew methods and probably less choices for boba milk tea. I live in Southern California so I’m lucky to be surrounded by it. I can tell the owner cares and knows about his coffee from the short time I was there, but my visit felt off and wasn’t really fun.
I read a lot about how Caffe D’Bolla does the siphon method but didn’t see the price or bean menu at the front counter. It’s on a separate menu that’s not displayed so if you’re interested in that, just ask. I took a look at the offerings and decided to go with a normal cappuccino.
Siphon Brew — The day I looked there were three offerings and they ranged in price from $ 8-​$ 9 per brew. It is only served at the bar counter and you need to allow 15 – 20 minutes for brew time. I can tell you from previous siphon tastings at other places that it is a fun brew process to watch. Your coffee will come out very clean, very clear, with low acidity. The flavor notes will be clear, but if you prefer your coffee bolder and dirtier (less filtered), this brew method might not be your favorite. Overall, siphon is a great brew method.
Cappuccino — Foam level = A. Foam Art = A. Temperature = A. Expresso flavor and strength = C. The beans that day just weren’t that kickin’ for some reason. It was hoping that it would have a stronger play with my nose and tongue.
Unfortunately my visit here was not that enjoyable. As my cappuccino was brought over, I got this look that said, «Ummm… what the heck are you doing?» The owner then told me that it wasn’t okay for me to eat my boxed lunch there, but I could take it to the patio outside if I wanted. While I was thinking, «Are you serious???» Verbally, I said, «Okay, not a problem.»
So it’s not okay to eat my outside food inside, but okay to eat my outside food outside. Aren’t both parts of your store? I may as well have been a smoker. Caffe D’Bolla is a little coffeehouse that has some desserts. I didn’t see a full food menu, I didn’t read any reviews that mentioned fabulous salads or sandwiches. There were no signs outside that said no outside food allowed. It got me thinking… Starbucks sells desserts and other food items (even sandwiches) but never asks anyone to leave if they pull out some chips or cookies or a sandwich from their purse or back pack. I searched this place out on Unilocal and went because of it’s reviews. I had 30 minutes to kill before I had to catch a plane out of the city, so I figured I’d grab a cup-​a-​joe and take a short de-​stress break while I scarfed down the boxed sandwich lunch that my hotel handed to me one my way out of the business meeting. My brown bag lunch consisted of a small 5″ inch x 2″ croissant sandwich, a mini bag of Lays, and a cookie. I wrapped up my sandwich before I could take a bite and put the sandwich, the Lays and the cookie back into the little box. I did some reading for 15 minutes and then left.
If I lived in the area, I would suck it up and give Caffe D’Bolla another chance. I’ve been to some great coffee places (and practically every notable milk tea joint) on the West Coast… Blue Bottle, Portola, Four Barrel, Ritual, Intelligentsia, Expresso Vivace, Philz, Urth Caffe, Kean, Café Moto, Coffee & Tea Collective, etc. And the only place of those that would care if you had any outside food might be Urth, but they are known as much for their food as they are for their coffee (plus, why would anyone want to miss eating lunch at Urth?).
I would’ve gave at least 4 Stars if it was based strictly on coffee understanding and passion for the brew, but by Unilocal’s definition, 2 Stars = «Meh. I’ve experienced better…» and that’s how I still feel about my experience two days later.
If you’re in SLC and want expresso without the drama, try Jack Mormon. But if you want a siphon brew or milk tea, then I guess you don’t have a choice.