berkeley (61)
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Happy lemon Jasmine lemon slush: This drink was about as good as this picture, which is to say not very good. Even at 25% sugar, it was overly sweet, and while it was supposed to have jasmine tea, it did not taste of anything but lemon. Do not recommend this particular drink at the normally solid Happy Lemon. 2.5/5.0

drinks berkeley happylemon jasmine lemon slush 2.5
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U Cha Barley milk tea with boba: Continuing my bubble tea taste test across Berkeley, I found myself at a popular tea shop named U Cha on Bancroft. Their expansive menu has the fruit and milk tea flavors you expect from a Taiwanese-style chain. I ordered their barley tea with boba at 20% sweetness with little ice. The flavor was familiar but watered down and over-sweetened; the boba was too chewy. With better options, this one is a pass. 2.0/5.0

drinks berkeley bubbletea ucha barley milk tea boba 2.0
2017 03 24 23.27.07

Boba Ninja Pudding Milk Tea with Boba: Right around the corner from Sweetheart Cafe on Durant (in Berkeley) is a competitor named Boba Ninja, which has barely enough standing room to accommodate a single-file line. Lining the interior is a shelf of flavor powders in small tupperware containers. The pudding milk tea is a regular black milk tea with large pieces of pudding (I added boba as well). The pudding had an inconsistent texture, as if the mix had not been fully stirred, and the boba was overly soft. Not much to say abou... (read more) 2.0/5.0

drinks berkeley bubbletea bobaninja pudding milk tea boba 2.0
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King Pin Donuts Plain donut: Every few weeks, I end up hungry for an after-dinner snack at around 10:30pm. These sudden cravings typically lead to visits to Telegraph Ave, with its late-night fast food options aimed towards Berkeley undergrads. On my last trip, I paid a visit to King Pin Donuts, a longstanding independent donut shop open until 3am. While the donuts are made fresh all day, the plain donut I had must have been sitting out for a while. It had a weighty pound-cake like interior and slightly crispy but also ... (read more) 2.0/5.0

dessert berkeley kingpindonuts plain donut 2.0
2017 08 02 20.22.48

Purple Kow Rosie Oolong Tea with Brown Sugar Jelly: Somehow, I kept finding myself at this bubble tea shop in Berkeley, likely because of its proximity to the downtown BART station. Purple Kow serves its bubble tea in "chubby" cups (essentially stout buckets) and uses organic milk products for its milk teas. I think they're a little too proud of this fact given that the last few milk teas I've had have been overwhelmingly milky to the point that you feel like you're having sweetened milk. Even with the "micro sugar option," it was too swee... (read more) 2.0/5.0

drinks milktea berkeley purplekow rosie oolong tea brown sugar jelly 2.0
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Happy Lemon Lemon black tea: Textbook mediocre black tea. Tastes like Lipton, and it probably is. On the plus side, the drinks contains an entire lemon, sliced into wedges. But the overall effect is black tea I can easily make at home. Good thing it was free (from the buy one get on free promotion during Happy Lemon’s opening weekend in Berkeley). 2.0/5.0

drinks berkeley happylemon lemon black tea 2.0