Corner of Vermont lemonade with maple syrup: Corner of Vermont is a small shop in Brooklyn selling Vermont maple syrup and other specialty items as well as maple-syrup enhanced dishes including hot dogs and ice cream. I ordered their lemonade with maple syrup and found it to be a perfectly balanced drink. The acidity level was very nicely paired with a mild sweetness from the maple syrup, which, despite my concerns, did not overwhelm. Served cold, it is an entirely satisfying summer drink. 4.5/5.0
cornerofvermont drinks lemonade maplesyrup exceptional 4.5 maple syrup
Foco coconut water with pink guava: Great guava flavor. Intensely hydrating. 390% daily serving of vitamin c. Just enough sugar (17g). Coconut water flavor plays a backseat to guava purée, but I'm not complaining. 4.5/5.0
foco guava exceptional coconutwater drinks 4.5 coconut water pink
Asha Tea House strawberry black tea with grass jelly: A small tea shop with locations in Berkeley and Sam Francisco, Asha offers several milk and fruit tea options. I was thoroughly impressed with the strawberry tea I ordered, which contained real crushed strawberries. The strawberry seeds added great texture, and the grass jelly complemented the herbal black tea. While the strawberry "purée" was on the sweet side, the rest of the drink appeared to be unsweetened. Highly recommended. 4.5/5.0
ashatea sanfrancisco blacktea strawberry drinks 4.5 exceptional grassjelly ashateahouse black tea grass jelly
Kelvin Slush ginger and white peach slush: This Brooklyn-based company has a truck that makes its way around the city. You purchase a slush by first picking a base and then adding a fruit mix-in. At Smorgasburg, I selected ginger with white peach, and the combination was exceptionally good. They add the mix-in halfway through so the flavor is more distributed, and the texture of the organic slush is impressively smooth. A spicy ginger kick finishes the frozen treat and is remarkably potent but well balanced. Would definitely purchase... (read more) 4.5/5.0
kelvinslush ginger whitepeach slush frozen drinks 4.5 exceptional white peach
Mr Bartley's Black and White Malted Milkshake: For my last official snack in Cambridge, I had to get one of Bartley's famous malted "frappes" (milkshakes). Over the 9 years I've lived in Cambridge, I've had their milkshake a few times, spaced several years apart. One of my earliest memories is going on a trip with a few members of my undergraduate dorm, walking from MIT to Harvard Square just to get milkshakes to go. Their legendary shakes are thick (and stay that way, due to the incorporation of soft serve instead of ice cream), and ... (read more) 4.5/5.0
drinks cambridge harvardsquare exceptional mrbartleys black white malted milkshake 4.5
I-Tea 3G milk tea with boba, grass jelly, and pudding: I made a dangerous discovery that my new favorite bubble tea shop has a location in San Francisco, much closer to work than the Downtown Oakland spot. I ordered their third most popular drink, the 3G, named because of its three toppings: boba, grass jelly, and pudding. It comes with classic milk tea, and, by default, is served in a "chubby" container that's short and squat. I opted for the more portable standard cup (all drinks come in a single size). The black milk tea was done just right -... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional drinks tea sanfrancisco itea 3g milk boba grass jelly pudding 4.5 bubbletea