Smoothy Bee

A small stand inside Ranch 99 with no visible name and no one behind the counter most of the time… how good could it be?!
WELL, it’s not bad, but not great either. The $ 2.75 Black Milk Tea (24 oz) I got was surprisingly good for the price, far better than the sub-​$ 3 black milk teas you get from the old school bubble tea shops in Chinatown, like Tapioca House, My Tea House, and Star Snow Ice. Nice, unexpectedly strong black tea flavor, not overly milky, and maybe only a bit too sweet. The milk tea was pre-​made and poured from a tap, so I was actually blown away by the quality.
Unfortunately though, my cup was filled with half ice and the tapioca was way too old and unsweetened. The tapioca had a chewy outside but a very firm inside, suggesting that it was well cooked but just not fresh. Judging from the enormous box of tapioca they pulled from the fridge, the tapioca was probably several days old.
Stick to the teas and fruit smoothies. The Bubble Cream Drinks are just powder, no tea. The Honeydew Bubble Cream drink I tried was disgusting, no other way of describing it.
For $ 2.75, I’d say it’s pretty decent value if you stick to drinks only, no tapioca. But for less than a dollar, you can go into the back corner of the store and grab a delicious can of Tung-​I Milk Tea, or pay the same $ 2.75 to get slightly less ripped off at Golden Oolong Tea just right outside Ranch 99.

Tried their mango shake and It was delicious and affordable. I wish I knew about this place before but now that I do, I am willing to drive to this place! MMMmmm!

Friendly staff, good smoothies, I usually order the mango/​strawberry smoothie. After my bicycle ride through the neighborhood I come into 99cent ranch market for a cool drink.

Pros: Good carrot and apple juice. Refreshing and made when ordered.
Cons: Tapioca drinks are not good. Hard to find someone to take your order at times. Up charges you if paying with credit card without informing you. I was told the price for my drink; however when I checked the receipt later, I saw a higher price was charged. I was annoyed.

I’ve been going for about a year to Smoothy Bee because I like the staff and the drinks are made pretty quickly. Located in 99, it’s easy to get your shopping done and get a nice drink. Their tapioca is chewy but sometimes not that soft but I usually just get their lemonade. They have lactose free smoothies and they can add extras like creatine or far burner. It’s good tapioca at a reasonable price.

I been going to Smoothy Bee since I have been working next door. It’s very convenient and they do customize to your liking. I usually get mango jasmine green tea with mixed fruit jelly. I prefer softer tapioca than Smoothy Bee. I enjoy going there because of the staff. The owner is very nice including her family that works for her. I sometimes get fresh fruit drinks like coconut. I also heard the strawberry lemonade, avocado and strawberry banana smoothies are good too from customers and friends. It really depends what you like. It’s convenient to get drinks from them in the food court of 99 Ranch Market. I recommend this place for convenience and great customer service.
Also you can order their drinks in Phở Quynh which is also in 99 Ranch Market.

they were out of tapioca balls! when i was paying for the drink, some old lady was standing inside saying to pay in cash. what? then don’t accept credit card!

A tapioca smoothie was a great cool, sweet way to finish the assault to our tastebuds courtesy of LA Crawfish located around the corner.
We shared a mango smoothie with tapioca. It was well blended and used fresh fruit, but was a little skimpy on the tapioca and smallish for the $ 4 price. The cashier did confirm very politely that we wanted a creamy smoothie and not the icy slushy, so I appreciated that.
Better than Jolly Cup up the road on Blalock, but not as good as Teahouse.

I would rate this one more star but I’ll have to make another visit to confirm it wasn’t a fluke.
I would not call this a dedicated tapioca place but they do pretty good. Are you around the Blalock/​I 10 area and don’t want to drive all the way to Bellaire of even Westheimer for your tapioca fix? Well slide right into the King 99 international food store that used to be a Fiesta Food Mart.
I found a secret to get my tapioca fix for less than $ 3, that is why I’m a fan. You see, on the menu they have fresh squeezed lemonade. Even pink if you desire, just ask for a tapioca scoop and walah, it’s about $ 2.86.
They have other things as well, my son got the oreo cookie mix.
Did not experience any rude employees but I do remember they were pretty much informative.
You will find this spot towards the right when you walk in through the supermarket door. You’ll pass a bunch of restaurants and a cafeteria looking style place as well, turn to your left and there it is.

Flavors are good and prices are decent. Although, there are not as many choices as other tapioca places. If you want to use a credit/​debit card, you have to spend over 5 dollars.

Poorly made drinks.
I asked for a mango SLUSHIE and got a mango SMOOTHIE.
I asked for a FRESHLY SQUEEZED orange juice and half the cup was ice!!!
On top of that, the orange juice cost $ 4.69. I can get cheaper drinks at jamba juice that is NOT iced down!!!
If you are there to get food from the food court, this is the last place you want to get drinks. You might want to save your money and get a drink from the supermarket instead!!!