Vague rumblings from last spring semester at Winona State University have officially come to fruition. At the start of the 2024 Fall semesters Happy Boba officially opened their shops doors in Zane’s, replacing Freshens as a staple place for students to stop for a quick drink between classes. Happy Boba, the newest edition to Zane’s food court in Kryzsko Commons, is capturing students’ attention and putting a smile on many of their faces.
“I heard about it when I was at training for housing and res life,” Fourth year Communications, Arts, and Literature Teaching major Heidi Hanson said. “If I’m really racking my brain, I remember hearing about it vaguely last year at the very end of spring and I was very excited about it.”
Despite the excitement around finding out, there were still inherent reservations about having a new shop in Zane’s. Even if Freshens had its pros and cons with Winona State students, there were many people who loved it and were hesitant to accept this new shop. However, for many, Happy Boba was a change that many students have been looking forward to.
“Nothing against Freshens. I liked freshens. I liked their energy smoothies, those were my favorite, but I feel like we needed an upgrade, and a lot of people [in the college age] love boba, so I feel like that’s perfect.” Hanson said.
Even with the excitement surrounding this new shop having boba, not all boba is created equal, which justified many people’s weariness about Happy Boba opening. Though, most people who were already fans of boba lead the charge of excitement surrounding this new shop, having Happy Boba on campus opens the door for both people who love boba and those who have never tried it to have easy access to an intriguing drink.
“I would 100% recommend [Happy Boba]. I think it’s kind of an acquired taste, like coffee. When I first tried boba in 7th grade, I thought it was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. And I was like “why am I chewing my drink?” but then you get it, and when you get it, you get it.” Hanson said.
However, the consensus of the students was not completely positive. For some people the boba pearls themselves were not what they had hoped for when they found out that there would be a boba shop in Zane’s.
Bug Kemper, a film studies and mass communication CDM double major in their third year admits that even though they have high standards for boba, Happy Boba didn’t deliver the smile they had been hoping for.
“I had been very hyped for happy boba as I thought it’d be a fun addition to Zane’s and a nice, sweet treat to get every once in a while. Though I was a bit hesitant because I was worried the quality of the boba wouldn’t be very good. Overall, I was very unimpressed by Happy Boba, which was very disappointing as I had been very excited about it.” Kemper said.
This upgrade to Zane’s has had a very mixed review from students, opinions ranging from bad to average to very good in terms of the boba pearls and the tea itself. Considering that the Happy Boba shop in Zane’s is still in its infancy at Winona State, it seems safe to assume it will continue to build its trust with student’s taste buds just as Freshens had.
The boba isn’t the only good thing about the upgrade of Freshens to Happy Boba this year at Winona State. Students enjoy the staff at Happy Boba, making the experience of a quick drink at a new place something that is less daunting and even more exciting.
For third year transfer student in the pre nursing program, Clarissa Matthaei, the drink was only average in the eyes of Matthaei who has already acquired a taste for boba, however, the people working at Happy Boba were far from average. “The people were super nice, and I was happy to find one here because I couldn’t find it [boba] downtown.” Matthaei said.
Having Happy Boba at Winona State is a game changer, not just for an upgrade in Zane’s, but it allows students a place to try something new on campus. Happy Boba has kept the fresh ingredient smoothies that freshens had but added boba to the menu to give a fresh and updated concept for Winona State. Happy Boba (and boba in general) may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for many it is enough to put a smile on their face.
