Purple Monkey Boba Tea and Ice Cream

We had a fabulous banana split — the guy behind the counter is true artiste! We really like the fact that they have punch cards, 1 free ice cream for every 7.

Went here once and wasn’t impressed. Service was mediocre and the ice cream options were terrible. I’m not a fan of Hershey’s ice cream, which is the only traditional ice cream option. Instead of the Hershey’s I went for the Dip’n’Dots, which were frost bitten, as someone else mentioned. The interior was outdated and drab, and there was no comfortable seating. It’s been a while since I was there, but I vaguely recall plastic chairs being the only seating. I literally only went here because I had time to kill. I won’t be back. Would much rather drive to the higher end options in the area.

I live in Raleigh but come all the way here just for their boba tea. Their boba is always good — not hard or old. I have tried many different kinds of their boba and all have been great. All the employees are very nice and know what they’re doing. Check them out for sure!

Amazing, authentic West Coast boba tea. Fast, friendly service. Bright, neat, clean, accessible location. Lots of Dippin Dots and ice cream variety, too. But if you’re searching for passable boba, this I’d definitely the spot.

This is where I got my very first boba, so I’m not sure how it’s supposed to taste… but I can say that my matcha green tea boba tasted a lot like sugary water and not a lot like matcha. Some other reviewers also found some of the teas too sweet. I’m thinking the smoothies and the shaved ice might be a better option for me.

I like this place better than tutti fruitti. There are a bunch of favors to choose from. I got the matcha green milk tea and I finished it so fast. The tapioca is chewy and the perfect texture. The guy at the front was super nice too. They also have ice cream and dippin dots as well.

Delicious tea and shave ice! Wish I’d known about them sooner, many different flavors to choose from and very friendly staff. Will be back frequently!

Drink was ok, but certainly NOT impressed with the service. I came on a Saturday afternoon and there was not a fly on the wall. I ordered a thai tea with boba and I’m on a special diet, so I asked the guy if it’s possible to make the drink less sweet and he kindly obliged, but then this other guy (probably the manager, or owner) comes along goes, «we never make our drinks too sweet!».
The first guy then asks me if I’d like to try it first, so I was like, «sure!». That was nice of him. but then in swoops the other guy again who gives the first guy the meanest, most dirtiest look and says to me, «it WON’T be too sweet!». I’m like geez, it’s not like I requested to sample the drink, the guy offered and I accepted, what’s the big deal anyway? Stick up the ass, much?
This was way too much drama for a tiny, overpriced drink. NO thanks!

An exclusive Boba place in Durham? Heck yeah !
I have bookmarked this place as soon as I have moved to the Triad, today we stopped by to try their drinks.
They have a huge selection of fruits teas with Thai tea/​coffees .
Since I find Thai teas too sweet I got the 24oz Java chip Frappé with Boba .
It wasnt too sweet and boba was soft and I loved every bit of it.
Staff were super friendly .
I am definitely going back.

SO HAPPY WITH THIS PLACE!
I’ve been meaning to check this place out since it opened and after hearing many great things about it from my friends, I was so happy I finally got to go.
Their menu was kind of overwhelming because they have so many options!!! I tried the Thai tea boba and green tea smoothie.
Service is great and the owners are SUPER nice! I can’t wait to go back and try other flavors. Would definitely recommend!

tucked away into an unsuspecting corner… Purple Monkey Boba has consistently good boba and milk tea. I haven’t tried anything else there mainly because I just have a hankering for good milk tea a lot. Plus cold blended drinks make boba unpleasant to eat.
The guys who work there are nice and they make the drinks fresh. The boba are also made well and soft but not stick to your teeth soft. It’s refreshing to have a place where you can grab a boba drink in Durham. The other places I’ve tried aren’t dedicated to just boba (ie. they’re some kind of Asian restaurant) and their product isn’t as fresh.
I highly recommend a try in youre in the area!

We decided to try Purple Monkey for dessert because it offers boba tea, Hawaiian shaved ice, and some other unique things you wouldn’t find at a typical ice cream/​frozen yogurt shop. The location is a little hard to find and is not visible from the road because of giant bank building right in front of it, which could be to their determinant. The service was okay, but they are fairly new and are still working out some kinks, so keep that in mind.
I tried the passion fruit boba tea and a Hawaiian shaved ice with pineapple. The buba tea was okay. We wanted it with out the cream base, but they messed up and gave us the cream base. I would have preferred the more slushie consistency with out the cream, but they gave it to us on the house. The tea flavor was prevalent, and the drink was refreshing, but definitely not the best I’ve had. Grand Asia Market in Raleigh is much better in my opinion for about the same price. The Hawaiian shaved ice was good and really refreshing. They use fresh fruit on top and the condensed milk goes great to compliment the sweetness of the fruit and ice mixture. Compared to California, the shaved ice here isn’t authentic because it needs to be shaved to a finer consistency like snow, but is a refreshing treat if you’re looking to try something different. The ice is shaved more like the ice you would find in a snow cone, which isn’t a negative since it still tasted fine to me.
If you want try something different other than your typical ice cream, then Purple Monkey offers a variety of boba teas, smoothies, Hawaiian shaved ice, and ice cream as well. The prices for boba teas are a little high in my opinion, but compared to other dessert ice cream places, they’re on par.

Love this new bubble tea joint that opened up in Durham! It’s about time that a real bubble tea store established in the region, and I really think that Purple Monkey hits the spot. The adorable décor of the store is super inviting. There are little nuances that make the store unique, like the super cute lights and purple walls all around. Plus, the two owners are just the sweetest and most down-​to-​earth guys — you can’t help but like them!
My friend and I ordered a taro bubble tea and a Hawaiian shaved ice. There was around a 10 – 15 minute wait because of the line and also because they ran out of bubbles and were making more. The owners were really sweet and apologetic about the wait and gave us a free thai bubble tea because of it! They also bumped both our small taro bubble tea and small shaved ice to a large size, free of charge. The owners definitely try their hardest to satisfy their customers, which is just a wonderful feeling and so rare in storefronts nowadays.
Now for the actual food. The drinks are definitely made fresher than most other bubble tea places in the area. The thai tea uses a house-​made concentrate rather than a pre-​made powder, and I’m pretty sure that all of the milk teas have real cream/​milk in it rather than powdered, evaporated milk. I absolutely loved the taste of the taro bubble tea. It wasn’t too sweet, and the real milk made the drink so creamy and delightful. For someone who doesn’t love taro bubble tea, I was surprised at how much I liked this drink. The thai bubble tea was good too but just a little too sweet for my liking. I think that if a little bit more half and half were added, the drink would be perfect! The bubbles were exactly the right consistency as well — not too chewy and not too soft with just the right amount of bite. I think that if they marinated the bubbles in some honey or syrup, they would be just the most divine thing.
The shaved ice was very good as well. I opted not to get any additional syrup on it, and the ice was definitely sweet enough due to the condensed milk. There are fresh berries and jackfruit on top along with an assortment of jellies and boba, and overall, I thought it was a really refreshing treat. I also overheard the owner talking about how he can customize the shaved ice to suit customers’ tastes; he talked about making a matcha shaved ice with red and green beans, which sounded so delicious that I’ll have to order it next time I come. So if you’re confused about the menu or want something customized, I’m sure that the owners will do their best to accommodate.
Overally, Purple Monkey is just the cutest, family-​owned bubble tea and ice cream joint owned by the nicest people. The best bubble tea in the triangle for sure. I will have to try the smoothies in the future, and no doubt I will be frequenting this place whenever I’m in the area!

I finally made it here for shaved ice today! The interior is clean and cute with lavender walls and the 2 owners very cheerfully greeted us when we entered. I shared a mediums-​sized Hawaiian shaved ice with my husband, a delightful dessert for a hot humid day. We ordered the strawberry flavor shaved ice, with red bean topping. There’s also the choice of replacing the red bean topping with mochi or grass jelly, which I’m definitely trying next time I come! The shaved ice also came with plenty of blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, topped with a drizzle of condensed milk.
The shaved ice wasn’t as fluffy as other Asian shaved ices I’ve had, but was still very refreshing. The red bean and creamy condensed milk paired well and I enjoyed the textures of the boba (tapioca bubbles) in the shaved ice.
My friend tried a Thai Tea with Boba (about $ 3.75) that he enjoyed very much. I’m happy that there is a whole store dedicated to shaved ice and bubble tea in Durham!

Came here and ordered a bunch of stuff for a great value, thanks to their Unilocal deal. I decided to go with one boba drink, a shaved ice dessert, and one of their green smoothies. The Thai iced tea boba I got was alright — a bit on the sweet side, not much different from ones I’ve had at other places. Wished there was a stronger Thai tea taste. The green smoothie, which I chose for a healthy treat, was similarly «alright». A bit bland and similar in taste to those Naked smoothies, with some fresh spinach thrown in.
The highlight was probably the shaved ice. The condensed milk part really made the difference — creamy, addictive, and a relatively light treat.
Maybe it was witnessing most of the preparation taking place behind the counter, but I felt a «store-​bought», rather than «house-​made» vibe. Re-​selling branded Hershey’s ice cream and Dippin Dots, lots of artificial Torani syrups, etc. There’s a lot of potential here for nifty house-​made Asian-​themed ice cream and desserts, but instead nothing really popped out. I’ll emphasize again that the shaved ice was really great though.

The potential of Purple Monkey is extremely high, yet they have not reached it.
As another Asian young adult, I love boba. I always have, and always will. It’s like our cultural response to the Frappuccino. Purple Monkey has a charming staff and store, but their boba is mediocre. I’ve been spoiled with boba from NY/​CA so I know the good stuff when I get it. Their tea mixes are syrup based which is odd as it results in a watery-​fruit blend. As for their mixed smoothies, they’re bland as well.
Aside from their boba, they do offer Dip ‘N Dots and Hershey’s Ice Cream. With a huge menu, including protein smoothies, Hawaiian Shave Ice, baked goods, and other quick treats, they cast an extremely wide net. They actually had an awesome peanut butter cup cookie.
I’ll keep frequenting this spot with optimism to try more things on their menu. But if they don’t fix their boba quickly, my visits will become less and less.

It’s been hard finding decent bubble tea places around town. Thankfully, this place focuses on their bubble teas, offering a variety of flavors!
I tried the mango bubble tea and the taro bubble tea.
I was pretty disappointed by the fact that my mango bubble tea was a juice, not a smoothie. My taro bubble tea was also a very thin, watery drink.
I was mainly bummed because I was expecting the typical smoothie type of bubble tea.
Anyhow, I really think it’s because their menu isn’t well-​organized/​clear to understand so I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into.
Overall, both drinks were tasty. The tapioca pearls inside were soft and chewy!
Workers are very kind.
Oh and they have Hershey’s ice cream too!

This is my new summer pick-​me-​up spot!
We tried boba milk tea in several flavors. The regular milk tea was actually a green tea with half-​and-​half rather than the typical black tea, but still yummy! The iced coffee was pretty standard, but the Thai tea was my favorite — great condensed milk flavor. The boba were chewy and fresh, even at the end of the day. It’s a close call between the boba Thai iced tea here and the regular boba milk tea at Tutti Frutti.
We also tried the Hawaiian shaved ice: basically shaved ice, flavored syrup, then topped with red bean paste, tons of fruit, condensed milk, and some mochi for good measure. It was SO good… I am definitely coming back for the shaved ice!
In addition to bubble tea and shaved ice, they also sell Dippin Dots ice cream, regular ice cream, fruit smoothies, a variety of Asian canned drinks (you know what I’m talking about… grass jelly!), and candy. The owners are super sweet, and I’m excited to support a new local business.
Also, buy one get one free boba milk tea until end of May!

When I drove back home, I was finishing up my second Thai boba tea and wondering why is it so good?! Then a very unprofessional though crossed on my mind — cuz they are Thai, of course they got the recipes!
Location: university drive in Durham. If you happened to know Neo China, Mi Peru or cookout, this store is close to them (cookout is definitely a stretch). They do have parking space for you.
Boba tea: Both Chapel Hill and Durham are missing some good smoothie and boba tea spots. And this cute monkey definitely filled the spot up. I had chai tea with boba. It’s pretty good. Everything is balanced and boba is fresh and chewy. I like it very much. Besides, they have smoothies, ice cream, I even saw popcorn machines. Oh, I forgot to mention their snacks bar is pretty average since it only have average cookies and some chocolate bars. I would recommend them to use the bakery session well because there are many people with bad sweet teeth
Service: pretty good. The owner ‘s wife is sweet and caring. When I get there, they told me that boba is out so I have to wait for couple minutes. And they keep polarizing which makes me feel like I am a bad person (jk) but I do feel they care a lot about customers. This is really sweet
Ps they only have buy one get one free so don’t be shy and try it.
Overall: thai tea is as good as Merlion’s chai tea. Delicious for real and I will be back for avocado smoothie soon !!!

Found this place by accident about a week ago and am really glad I did! They are brand new so they’re still working on bringing some things in but in the meantime they offer boba tea in both milk tea and slushy forms, along with other dessert items such as ice cream, milkshakes, popcorn, and macaroons!!! They had a sign indicating «hot foods» would be coming in a week, and by these they meant brownies, pretzels, and the like.
They were doing a special promo: BOGO boba tea when I stopped by so for about $ 5 I got a thai bubble tea and a passion fruit one. They have the best bubble tea I’ve found yet in the area but I don’t try bubble tea around here often. That being said I never expect boba here to taste like those from NY or CA so bear that in mind. I definitely think their thai tea flavor is one of the better ones, the passionfruit was a little lackluster.
The staff are very nice and friendly. On my way out the door one of them ran after me to offer me their macaroon for free! It was shaped like a big cookie but oh so fluffy inside.
Also at their register they have «free gifts», little toys that your tots would enjoy! Pretty cool.
Overall: bring yourself, bring your kids, indulge!