“Vietnamese Artisan Boba Cafe” Fat Bee opens first of two announced Springs | locations Food & Beverage
Fat Bee launched in the Kansas City metro area in 2017 and has since grown to four locations — this one being the newest, just opened at the end of March. Expect another location at 201 E. Kiowa St. in a few months. at the Hyatt Place Hotel. Billed as an “artisanal Vietnamese boba coffee,” you can think of it as similar to other area milk tea/bubble tea houses like Teapioca, Kung Fu Tea, and RoyalTea.
One notable exception here, however, is a gorgeous setting with polished (faux-marble-looking) floors, a bright wall of fake plants, and sparkling clean interiors that make it feel like you’re walking into a spa. daily. Overwhelmed as I am always looking at these customizable menus – with boba, jellies, puddings and optional popping – I choose a few drinks in all categories. First, from a list of fruit teas, drink very refreshing Hawaiian sunset: spring tea of sliced pineapple with hibiscus tea, to which I also add passion fruit poppers.
Hibiscus tart, quickly followed by a punch of sweet lemon from the piña; the bursts of passion fruit don’t have as much flavor as expected, kind of just a muted tropical note. Then, Matcha Slushy it has the astringent aroma of matcha green tea and a mixed ice slushie texture with a welcome whipped cream for a rich sweet dose. I add blueberry poppers which give a cake, blueberry juice with natural flavor, not synthetic and not too sweet.
The combination of green tea with blueberries works easily. Finally, I choose one of the specialty coffee items, Ube Drizzle Latte, made with Vietnamese beans (an 80/20 Robusta to Arabica blend) roasted in Kansas City. The drink starts with purple powder, mixed into house-sweetened vanilla milk; then comes a syringe around the inside of the cup with a reduced dark purple ube syrup; then a spoonful of ice, another layer of milk; and finally a cup of coffee to fade the color of the coffee as you watch the latte effect slowly dissolve the ingredients. Very beautiful so that it catches the eye.
Insert your straw into the top layer for a strong, bitter and delicious coffee aroma with earthy notes and dark roasts. Slide deeper into the middle and that flavor starts to cream and mellow, and by the end, you’re in the vein of starchy, sweeter, more addictive dessert with its unique, hard to describe other than something more island-like than the core of a sweet potato. Mix all the layers together with sips and you achieve a thick and creamy, nutty coffee all combined, heading towards choked territory, meaning just sugary enough to give you a buzzing rush and definitely a treat. Dangerously delicious.