New Boba Shop Brings Culture and Exciting Unique Flavors to Denver

Photos courtesy of Chris Mercado

All around Colorado you will see many boba tea shops but one local Denver shop brings culture and interesting flavors to the table. Called sago (sah-go) in the Philippines, this clear tapioca was just the beginning of something amazing. With their recent grand opening FlipnBoba has introduced something new and unique to the boba community. 

Born in the Philippines, Cecile Ocampo has loved boba ever since she was a child. After recruiting best friend Karla Luna and her two sisters Karmina Luna-Dominguez and Katrina Luna-Mercado, these powerhouse entrepreneur women decided to open their own family run business, FlipnBoba.

Photo courtesy of Josie Cisneros

We sat down with these lovely ladies to get some in-site on the making of FlipnBoba and what makes it so special. 

How would you describe FlipnBoba?

I would say it’s our version of boba because you’re not going to find one like this anywhere here in Colorado. It’s really unique because we put our own touch and flavor into it, as well as our culture and we keep adding to it. The fact that we are not a franchise, we are able to have the freedom to do what we want in terms of recipes, have fun and support each other and our business. 

Maiz con yelo

What would you say makes your boba stand out vs other places?

The way that we could describe our store is that we are no ordinary boba. Compared to others that are similar and consistent, FlipnBoba incorporates our culture. There are certain drinks and desserts that are Filipino and popular in the culture, such as halo-halo.

Ube supreme halo-halo

Halo-halo is a popular Filipino dessert that is mixed with jellies, boba and sweetness that needs to be mixed, hence why this drink is called halo-halo, meaning mix-mix. After mixing everything together, you are able to have all the flavors in one scoop.

When customers come in, they are happy that we are here and serve halo-halo because nobody else has this, and they can’t find it anywhere else. It brings joy and comfort and reminds customers of home when they have it.

How did you come up with your recipes?

I love boba so much so I actually know every boba shop in Colorado. So what I did was I took little pieces from each and that was it. Learning from experience and putting our own twist and culture into the recipes is what makes these drinks really stand out.

Avocado coffee

We try to avoid powdered flavors and mostly everything is handmade like the toppings and foams. Anything that is not handmade, the store gets sourced directly from Taiwan such as the syrups, boba and jams. 

The ube is freshly made here in house as well. Ube is a purple yam native to the Philippines, similar to a sweet potato. When added with sugar it becomes a sweet tasty treat that we can add into recipes for the Halo-halo and ube ice cream.

Waffle bubbles with ube ice cream

How do you want people to feel when they walk into FlipnBoba?

We had a saying when we were actually having the meetings in the very beginning when we first introduced this whole thing. You walk in as a guest, and leave feeling like a family.

To these four female entrepreneurs it is important to have support and support others as a family and a community. Everyone is welcome and included no matter your age, ethnicity or background. To be able to support their local community, represent their Filipino culture and have the community support them in return is what it’s all about.

If you’re ever craving something sweet, refreshing or new, this is one place you don’t want to pass up.  

DETAILS

FlipnBoba
655 South Federal Boulevard, Denver, CO 80219
(720)-900-1022
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flipnboba@gmail.com