Shaka Shaka Tea Express

I love this place I’m here at least twice a week. Everything is made ONLY WITH FRESH FRUIT. So it is a great way to get in your daily servings of fruit… Not that most people even care about that. The workers are very friendly and personable which is why I keep comi

This is my go to bubble drink place. It’s super close to UH Manoa, and I love how they use real fruits. It’s a nice place to hang out with friends too. Me and my classmates sometimes come here to just hang out and get boba after an exhausting exam.
My favorite drink is the Watermelon smoothie. When I first came here I was expecting like a fake watermelon flavoring, but when I drank it, it was definitely the opposite. It tasted exactly like drinking an actual watermelon with a straw. Definitely recommend it if you love watermelon.
Me and my friend tried to taste every drink on the list. In my opinion here are my favorites (all with boba):
– Watermelon smoothie
– Black milk tea
– Taro milk smoothie
Also, some of the smoothies have the fruit and milk mixed with it like the Taro Milk smoothie or Mango milk smoothie. The flavor is really subtle and is more milky/​creamy than fruity.
Overall, I love coming to this place. I also love that they have a stamp card, 10 drinks get one free (up to $ 5 value). I’ve gone so many times that I’ve used up multiple stamp cards already. If you want real fruit smoothies and awesome boba drinks, I definitely recommend it here.

Probably one of my favorite bubble tea places because they use fresh fruit! Their watermelon smoothie is my favorite, because it’s basically drinking a watermelon. So good!

I come here often with my bf for tea dates I absolutely love there macaroons here my favorite is honestly the fruity pebble macaroons they are to die for. My bf enjoys the mango fruit smoothie and I usually get the green tea with boba. The vibe is chill and definitely a place you could come to and relax there is wall plugs that you are able to charge your electronics all while enjoying your tea :) a must if you are looking to unwind!

The best bubble tea place I have ever had. Why? Because they use real fruit! Ever since I have had their real fruit bubble teas, I cannot go back to that sugar powder that most use. The place is very clean and the staff is always very nice. The teas are a little expensive (4 – 5 $) but that is to be expected because of the real fruit they use. Pick up a stamp card. 8 stamps and you get a free boba tea (valued at around 4 – 5 $).

Logan and I had a mommy/​son date to avoid the traffic coming back to Hawaii Kai after school one day. It ended up being the longest wait for a bubble drink and egg puffs ever. The place is pretty busy after 5pm — lots of students and parents waiting around and there’s not a lot of seating since it’s all occupied by kids. I opted for the avocado bubble tea and regret not asking if they an add soy milk instead of dairy. I had to wait until I got home to actually drink it because I’m super lactose intolerant. We did enjoy the egg puffs — which took forever to cook. It didn’t have a lot of flavor to it but it was still good. The avocado drink was really good but I think next time I’ll just get the tapioca and not the mocha. I feel like mocha balls just get so hard when it’s mixed into a cold drink like that. The drinks are pretty pricey for what it is but it was a nice quick snack before our ride home.

Their smoothies are really good, especially their MANGO smoothie. I’m in danger of getting addicted to that stuff.
The venue is quite clean and the staff very friendly. I like the other stuff on their menu as well but it was definitely the fruit smoothies that I end up craving.

I have to give this place five stars for no other reason then I have not found a better smoothie shop on all of Oahu the only place I found better was Bamboo on Maui. They have a ton of drink options to choose from and they use only seasonal fruits so their menu is always updated and it’s all natural if you want to know exactly what is in each drink just ask and they will tell you. In particular I love their strawberry banana, avocado, and taro smoothies. Each drink has the option to come with tapioca also. They also make boba or bubble tea here but I come here mainly for the smoothies they also have a small selection of pastries. No matter what time you come there will always be a few people in the store as this place is very popular it normally takes about five minutes to get your drink but again everything is made on natural you even see them come to the front to the refrigerator to pick out the fruit for your drink.

I can’t believe I haven’t wrote a review about this place! It’s the absolutely BEST place on Oahu for a REAL FRUIT smoothie! Hands down the best avocado smoothie I’ve ever had. Just the other day I was here to claim my $ 4 off discount from filling up my point card! Shaka Shaka seems to be an extremely popular spot, and just as I was sitting I could hear several people that came after me also purchased the avocado smoothie, it seems to be a hit! I have tried other smoothies including green grape and honeydew. Both were delicious, but don’t seem to compare to the avocado. Shaka Shaka also sells poi doughnuts occasionally which are tasty. As for parking, you can get your parking ticket validated at the counter, so free parking while you grab your smoothies!

First experience at the Dillingham location I was snobbed by the workers due to the fact that I wanted to change my sweetness level. Second experience was at this location; I thought why not give this place a second try. Turns out it was worth it!!!
I walked into the store ready to deal with the unwelcoming vibe I thought the workers would give off due to my prior experience at the other location. First step in I was greeted by a female worker wearing glasses, and I thought what a nice gesture. She then proceeded to explain to me how the process went and which drinks were recommended. I was in the mood for some fresh fruit so she recommended the blended watermelon smoothie; it was amazing!!! Thanks to this young lady I can say I will be coming back to this place for more of their great drinks!!! I politely asked for her name just so I could credit her wonderful customer service on this post, and her name was Ashley.
Overall their drinks are great; very fresh fruit and you can tell it’s fresh. Teas are really great too. One suggestion is that maybe trying to incorporate samples of your drink beforehand.

I visited here for the first time today and ordered a large bubble black milk tea at 75% sweetness. It was $ 4.80-something. The milk tea tasted good. Sweetness level was good. The boba was slightly firm on the inside, which I didn’t care for. I may be back if I’m in the area to try one of the fresh fruit smoothies.

This is seriously the best place that I’ve had tried for a boba drink!
I love that they use real fruits in their drinks. The boba is perfect… not too soft and not too chewy.
You can choose to have boba or not and you can also choose the amount of sweetness to your drink. With me being a diabetic, I ask for 0% sweetness… All natural sweetness of the fruits in my drink.
The price for a drink is really reasonable considering that they use real fruits instead of powder or sorbet like other places that I’ve been to.
I’ll definitely be coming back again soon!

Shaka Shaka Tea Express is a new bubble tea shop in Puck’s Alley. They are famous for their fruit smoothies. If you’re looking for a refreshing drink made with real fruit, this is the place for you. You can add on boba to your order! Their boba is perfectly soft and chewy without being soggy or gummy.
They also sell macaroons, cookies, poi donuts and pork and rice cakes.
The location is perfect for the college crowd, right off university and open late. Parking may be hard to find if you’re trying to get there by car.
The service is spotty. Sometimes they cashier taking your order is very friendly. Other times, the person working the front clearly does not want to be there and the service is lousy.
Worth a visit if you’re in the area and craving a smoothie. Not worth going out of your way for, though.

I came here today while waiting for a table at The Nook. Very clean place, and great AC on a hot day. Prices are pretty reasonable and boba is free in any drink you want it in.
I got the Iced Black Milk Tea with boba. They have a percentage system on sweetening their drinks. All drinks come at 100% which is fairly sweet. I will probably get it at 50−75% next time. But the tea was delicious and the boba the perfect consistency. They do accept credit cards but only $ 5+ and most of their drinks are $ 4, so you’ll have to get two or an add-​on if you want to use your cars. They also have a punch card too. I liked my tea and will definitely be back to try more flavors.

Not sure what the hype is about here. Gave this place a shot after having a late lunch down the street — should have just gone to Bubbies for dessert!
They were out of durian, but we tried the following:
— avocado smoothie with taro — stars are solely based on the fact that they use fresh avocado, but they forgot the taro!
— black milk tea with taro and tapioca — ordered this thinking it was a taro milk tea, nope — it’s literally milk tea with taro bits. The tapioca was a good consistency, but the actual milk tea was not flavorful at all. The taro was also not flavorful and must be for texture purposes only? So I’m not THAT mad they forgot it in the avocado smoothie.
— back milk tea with tapioca — yeah, really thought the previous one was a taro milk tea, so this was the same thing just without the taro bits.
The service was average, the cashier wasn’t helpful with making any suggestions when we were clearly first time customers.
Overall, would not come back nor recommend.

I only tried their location in dillingham, and I liked it. We came here after a birthday dinner. It’s similar to the other one. There seems to be more options on the menu. But it has been 1 – 2 years since I came back for their drinks.
Anyways, there were too many options that we didn’t know what to try. The cashier was very polite and patience with us. He was also very helpful when we weren’t sure about the drinks.
Finally, I decided to get the pineapple green tea with boba and no sugar, $ 4~ medium size. My friends had oolong milk tea with boba, and lychee smoothie with boba.
I’m trying not to consume too much sugar at night so I liked my drink. I thought it was just boba but it also had pineapple chunks, jelly, and azuki beans. It was such a great drink. My friend’s lychee smoothie was pretty good. It’s thick and legit lychee flavor. Everything was great.

I wish I could give this place more stars because everyone seems to love it. Three stars is being generous. I would give what I ordered two stars and the extra star is for great service. I’ve been here twice and the women working here are so nice.
The first time I came here, I ordered the pineapple and orange smoothie with boba balls, for the hubby. That’s his favorite. He always orders that. He works in the vicinity, so he goes often. I went to visit him at work that day, so he sent me. The second time, we came here together after eating at A Place To Eat. He ordered his favorite and I decided to try the lychee smoothie with boba balls. Lychee is one of my favorite fruits. The smoothie was horrendous. It was weird tasting. All I could taste was syrup. It was gross.
The woman who was behind the counter, I’m not sure if she was the owner, told me that all their drinks are made with fresh fruit. They don’t use powders like other places. I can appreciate that. Maybe that batch of lychees were sour so they had to put a large amount of syrup. That’s the only thing about using fresh fruit, you can’t control the sweetness. I will have to go again and try another drink.

They didn’t have lychee :(but I respect they only use fresh ingredients. Ended up getting mountain apple because it is in season. Sweet mountain apple smoothies are much better than mountain apples fresh. Only got as far as Old Stadium Park before it was gone.
Counter help was friendly and courteous, and she waited while I called my daughter to get her new order since they didn’t have lychee :(
Did I mention they didn’t have lychee :(
I’ll be back when they do.

[Location & Parking]
Shaka Shaka is located right inside Puck’s Alley. The entrance of the shop is located on university Ave side, right next door to Nijiya. There’s ample parking located in the back. I usually come here at night (after 7pm) so parking has been free.
[Interior & Ambience]
There are several small tables. One large table in the corner that seats 4 people and there are couple more tables that seat 2 – 3 people. There are also couple bar stools around the shop.
There’s a large flat screen TV that shows whatever movie the staff are interested in watching and right next to it is a giant chalk board you can doodle
To me, it’s a quiet location. The volume of the TV isn’t too loud and most people here are either studying or chatting. So if you’re a loud-​talker and you don’t want people listening to you, I suggest you hangout elsewehre: p
[Drinks]
I LLLLLOOOOOVVEEE how they use real fruit in their drinks and it tastes so natural. With the fruit smoothies, you don’t even need to have much sugar (you can choose your sweetness level) in there because it’s sweet already.
The drinks I’ve tried:
Mango Smoothie — Tastes just like you’re eating a mango! It’s a lot thicker than most smoothies
Strawberry Banana Smoothie — I tasted more strawberry than banana. Be careful not to suck up a suck a huge gulp or you may end up choking on the tiny seeds.
Watermelon Smoothie — Tastes just like you’re eating a watermelon minus the seeds lol. Only thing I didn’t like about this was the fact that after you drank up the juice, a lot of ice was leftover.
Black Milk Tea — Tastes like your generic milk tea. There wasn’t anything special about it.
Bubble Green Milk Tea (Jasmine) — I liked how refreshing this milk tea tasted (probably due to Jasmine tea instead of black tea)
I usually get my drinks with boba. The boba tasted just right, it wasn’t too hard nor was it too rubbery.
[Service]
Service here is really quick. I’ve never had to wait more than 5 minutes for my drink. Sometimes they’re so fast that I receive my order before I even paid for it!
[Others Tips]
Don’t forget to receive a stamp card. Every drink you purchase, you receive one stamp. Once you collect 8 stamps, you get a free drink that’s under $ 4 or you receive a $ 4 credit.
If you’re planning to charge, it’s $ 5 minimum.
[Overall]
Best place to go to if you want a «fruity» bubble drink/​smoothie. I like this location far better than other bubble drink locations because they don’t use artificial powders for flavoring.

Do you like fresh fruit and no junky fillers? Shaka Shaka Tea Express makes beautiful and tasty drinks and snacks with quality ingredients. They are known for their Pineapple Mix Drinks like the Pineapple-​Lemon-​Tea and the Pineapple-​Honey. They also have fresh fruit smoothies in classic Asian flavors – Taro, Avocado, Strawberry Milk, Papaya Milk, Honeydew, etc., plus Teas and Milk Teas with all the usual Boba and Jelly add-​ins.
A great place to sit and talk with a friend. You should definitely treat yourself to Shaka Shaka on a hot day. Don’t forget to check the specials board for other offerrings and ask for a Stamp Card, you’ll earn that free drink in no time.