berkeley (61)
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2017 04 30 13.08.23

Sliver Ginger Mint Lemonade: Sliver is the Cheeseboard knockoff started by Cheeseboard alums, serving essentially the same exact product (even down to the same green salsa) minus the lines, and with the added benefit of proximity to campus (at least for Berkeley students). Which is to say that the owners made a smart business move, though it seem unfair and disloyal to say the least. As far as the pizza goes, I have no comment, for both Cheeseboard and Sliver. But I was impressed with their Ginger Mint Lemonade, whic... (read more) 3.5/5.0

recommended drinks berkeley sliver ginger mint lemonade 3.5
2017 04 28 21.24.37

Purple Kow Roasted Oolong milk tea with boba: Originally from San Francisco, Purple Kow is a bubble tea shop that also has a location in downtown Berkeley directly adjacent to Top Dog. It serves its drinks in distinctly short and stout containers that are more like buckets than cups. Many of their milk teas are made using organic milk products. I ordered my roasted oolong milk tea with soymilk and 20% sugar and ice. The drink was very mild, tasting mostly of faintly sweetened milk and less so of tea. Their boba are miniature compar... (read more) 3.0/5.0

drinks boba bubbletea pearls oolong milktea asian berkeley purplekow roasted milk tea 3.0
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
2017 03 18 21.17.26

John's Ube Ice Cream: Neighboring the Berkeley Bike Station is a small ice cream shop named John's with barely enough room for two sets of freezers and a single-file queue that regularly extends well past the doors. Given the size of the establishment, it wouldn't be inaccurate to credit these lines simply to space limitation rather than the quality of John's products. But a comic-sans printed sign outside the door advertises what is likely the biggest draw: $1.50 scoops (the $0.50 handwritten and appended to t... (read more) 2.5/5.0

berkeley icecream longreadsunday johns ube ice cream 2.5
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Tara's Organic Ice Cream Jasmine green tea ice cream: On the northern edge of the Elmwood district, at the border of Oakland and Berkeley, is a small ice cream shop called Tara's Organic Ice Cream. They feature a rotating menu of ice creams and sorbet. I was hoping they would have black sesame ice cream, but I was out of luck on the day I went and got a scoop of jasmine green tea instead. The texture was not as smooth as it could be, but the subtle herbal flavor was unique - clean but also very creamy. The type of ice cream that needs to be acc... (read more) 3.0/5.0

icecream berkeley tea dessert sesame tarasorganicicecream jasmine green ice cream 3.0
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Asha Tea Matcha: While I enjoy matcha-flavored snacks, it's rare for me to get matcha full on. I decided to give the matcha tea at Asha Tea in Berkeley a try and found myself reacting to the caffeine levels after only drinking half of the regular-sized portion. Symptoms including jitteriness and high distractibility. The matcha flavor itself was prominent and clean, but this drink is surely for those with higher caffeine tolerance than me. 3.0/5.0

drinks berkeley tea ashatea matcha 3.0