Dragonfly Tea Bar

Located in Orange’s Saddleback Plaza only doors down from Sushi Tari and not far from Chapman University, Dragonfly Tea Bar has been serving mostly teas, some coffee-based frappes, and smoothies for more than a dozen years since replacing a Lollicup. To cater to students, Dragonfly is open until 1:00AM each night, and also offers a small “munchies” section of mostly fried snacks and musubi ($5 to $10.50) until 11:00PM. The boxy space seats around 30 people across tables with a mix of padded benches – some splitting at the seams – and chairs, as well as an elevated area designed for shoe-free sitting. Like its brief menu, prominent wood and wicker elements visually evoke Asia without committing to a single culture.

Almost all of Dragonfly’s drinks sell for $6.15 to $7.40 before additions, and generally come in a single 20-ounce size. Traditional green or black teas are paired with 15 mostly fruit flavors; around 30 milk teas span fruits, nuts, floral, and other (Japanese matcha, Thai tea, taro) options. “Snow” smoothies are made with either non-dairy soy creamer or yogurt, and 60-cent add-ons include bobas, jellies, pudding, and popping pearls.

We ordered three drinks: a blueberry slush with added boba pearls ($8), a pina colada signature blended snow smoothie ($7.40), and an interesting-sounding, supposedly limited time drink: crackin’ choco Thai tea ($7.15). The latter’s soft cup is coated with a fast-hardening chocolate liquid, designed to be squeezed, breaking chocolate pieces off into the tea for fun.