Lollicup: This is what love tastes like
July 15, 2008 at 8:09 p.m.
I’m a fan of the only-in-Como cafes, but my favorite vice at the moment is a little place called Lollicup. It may be a national chain, but it’s still an infant eatery in Columbia, and I’m hooked. Remember way back when you frolicked around the pool all day with your preteen friends with your fierce tan lines and didn’t even know what cellulite or day jobs were? That’s the carefree, summery, indulgent feeling that’s served up every time I enter (eyes glazed over) a Lollicup. If you’re a fan of fancy drink concoctions, grab a straw and listen up: This place has something for everyone. It boasts more than 170 drinks that include flavored teas, milk teas, coffee, blended drinks, smoothies and more.
If you’re craving a comfort-food-esque, creamy and sweet drink, aim for milk teas. Lollicup has a long list of flavors, including chocolate, caramel, honeydew or lavender. Want something a bit thicker, but lighter than a milkshake? Order “snow,” which is fluffier and airier than ice cream but just as satisfying. The canteen serves up sugar-free snows and calorie-free teas, too, for those of us who visit too often. Lollicup also has slushes in a zillion flavors.
And let’s not forget what made this mecca o’ milk teas famous in the first place: boba. Some call them “pearls,” others “tapioca.” They are all the same, and they’re all scrumptious. If you want to get technical, boba is a little ball made of starch from the cassava root and infused with honey. Simply put, it’s divine. The tapioca ball heightens the flavor of any drink, as long as you can control your straw and steer clear of choking. (There’s actually a warning on the cup for people who slurp their drinks too quickly).
My recommendations for would-be Lollicup lovers are vanilla or chai snow, chocolate or honeydew milk tea and the peach slush. It used to be that every time the kids I nanny for - Sarah and Will -asked for Starbucks or ice cream, I'd pretend I couldn't hear them (have to teach them moderation, right?). But if they even attempt the syllable “Lol-“, I’ve already parallel parked and we’re inside ordering another delish drink. My treat.
Locations: Columbia Mall’s food court and Ninth St.
-- Lauren A. Miller
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