Albert T.
Yelp
A friend recommended Don't Yell at Me for some good boba and we had a chance to drop by while driving through Kirkland. Ordering is at a kiosk and while the line does get pretty long at peak times, the wait isn't too bad at all since they churn through drinks quickly.
Traditional Milk Tea, Less Ice, 50% Sweet, Lactose Free Milk w/ Golden Honey Pearls ($6.25) - This is an excellent milk tea. It has a very distinct malty, roasty flavor, almost reminding me of coffee a bit. There's a bit of a caramel undertone throughout, making each sip very pleasant to drink. The milk is only included to add body and thickness to the drink, rather than adding much flavor, and the sweetness at half is quite a bit over slightly sweet, but isn't too overpowering. I got the drink with less ice which is pretty much perfect. There's just enough to cool down the drink completely leaving only a couple of small chips left in the drink. The golden boba has a very nice chew, almost perfect. It's smooth and easy to flatten on the tongue, with great mouthfeel. Compared to the brown sugar boba, I'd get this every time. I did find there were small strands of tapioca that seem to have sloughed off from the pearls. Not unpleasant to drink, but definitely noticeable.
Milk Tea Rating: 5/5
Boba Rating: 5/5
Osmanthus Jasmine Milk Tea, Less Ice, 50% Sweet, Lactose Free Milk w/ Brown Sugar Pearls ($6.70) - Another excellent drink. Great flowery jasmine taste boosted by osmanthus petals. The petals aren't strained out of the drink, so in between sipping up pearls comes small bits of flower petal. I did find this drink to be a bit sweeter than the other - if I got this again, I'd probably go with 25% sweet. But again, the drink it quite well balanced between sweetness, milk, and tea, really allowing the tea taste to shine. The brown sugar boba is a step down from the honey boba. It's not only a bit firmer and harder, but also has much more of those small pieces with even more inconsistency in size. The pearls are still nice to chew, but just can't hold a candle to the honey boba.
Milk Tea Rating: 5/5
Boba Rating: 4/5
This particular DYAM location is the most inconvenient for me to reach, so while the drinks are excellent and I would revisit in a heartbeat when I'm in the area, I'm more likely to go to the other locations. For anyone living in Kirkland or adjacent, this location is an obvious recommend.
Bathrooms - Two unisex rooms