Tartine Manufactory Blood orange sorbet and cardamom soft serve: Tartine Manufactory closes its bakery section, including soft serve, for dinner service, but if you ask nicely, they will serve it (as I found out last night). This swirl of blood orange and cardamom was one of the best things I ate all year, with potently spiced cardamom and sharp citrus. The texture was smooth and consistent. Often, independent flavors in swirled soft serve compete and don’t quite work in harmony, but this unexpected combination was both balanced and even better with one a... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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Matchabar Fuji apple ginger iced matcha tea: Was feeling sleepy, so I picked up this matcha beverage at The Foodhall en route to The Chapel. This dark green beverage is a mix of green tea, Fuji apple, and ginger. It has a fantastically clean and balanced flavor, where each component is easily identifiable. The ginger leaves a tingly spiced flavor in your throat, as any good ginger beverage should. And it definitely woke me up, but not in a way that made me feel jittery or gave me a headache. Super quality beverage that I would recomm... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional drinks matchabar fuji apple ginger iced matcha tea 4.5
Asha Tea Pineapple Oolong: I’m not a huge fan of pineapple but have exhausted the entire Asha tea seasonal fruit teas and decided to try this one. It was perfectly balanced - just sweet enough without being tart, with a very fragrant oolong tea. It’s no wonder I always bring visitors to this worthy Tea Shop. 4.5/5.0
exceptional drinks berkeley tea ashatea pineapple oolong 4.5
YakiniQ Strawberry yuzu lemonade: A remarkably thirst-quenching summer drink, with strawberry seeds mixed throughout and citrus rind (in the same pulpy form as Asian citron tea) at the bottom. Well balanced; sweet and tart, and ultra fresh. One of the best beverages I’ve had in recent memory. Seasonal offering from this small cafe in the heart of Japantown in SF. 4.5/5.0
exceptional drinks sf japantown strawberry yuzu lemonade 4.5
Roxbury Mountain Maple Maple Lemon Ginger Beer: Soda from farmers market are almost always a gamble. They’re rarely labeled with nutrition facts and sometimes don’t even have an ingredients list. Yet, the mere fact that they’re only available directly from small producers is often appealing enough for me to want to try them. There was no question when I saw this intriguing combination of maple with lemon and ginger. Remarkably, the soda tastes purely of those three flavors and nothing else. The ginger is prominent and spicy, the maple add... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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Bang Bang Ice Cream Avocado and Matcha ice cream: Redolent of butter and baked goods, Bang Bang Ice Cream is a small shop specializing in ice cream sandwiches and waffle cones all made in house. I was lucky enough to experience Bang Bang without having to wait in line, a rarity I'm told. I ordered one scoop, without a cookie or cone, combining two flavors: avocado and matcha. Both were excellent, with a distinct creaminess without being heavy or dense. Having had a lot of matcha ice cream, I was especially appreciative of the deep, rich her... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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