Taiwan Bento Soymilk: When it comes to beverages, the Taiwanese just do them better. Classics like Apple Sidra and Hey Song are much less sweet than American sodas, taste crisper, and are simply more interesting. What I'm rating today isn't a bottled or canned product, but it's representative of the same qualities. At Taiwan Bento, a shop close to the 19th street Oakland BART station that specializes in Taiwanese street food like gua bao and five-spice fried chicken, they make an excellent housemade soy milk. ... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended drinks taiwanese taiwanbento soymilk 4.0
Almdudler Soda: Considered the national beverage of Austria, Almdudler is a caramel colored carbonated drink that comes in a glass bottle with two dancing figures printed on the side. It doesn't taste much like anything, to be honest, with faint traces of fruit, caramel, and herbs, but none prominent enough to carry the soda towards any particular identity. Purchased at the German restaurant Suppenkuche in San Francisco. 2.5/5.0
drinks soda austrian almdudler 2.5
Sweetheart Cafe Taiwan Style Milk Tea with Boba: This hole-in-the-wall on Durant in Berkeley features a small counter overflowing with asian snacks and walls plastered with laminated drink menus (items listed in Chinese followed by English). The first time I stopped by shortly after it opened its doors for the day, I was informed that the boba had not yet been delivered from Oakland, where they have a sister cafe. Returning several weeks later on an impulse at around 11pm (they are open past midnight on the weekends), I opted for their T... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended drinks bubbletea boba sweetheartcafe taiwan style milk tea 4.0
iTea Lychee Green Tea: A rare miss at my go-to boba shop, I found the lychee green tea at iTea to have an overly sweet artificial flavor and very little herbal taste. The boba was also too soft, though the lychee jelly that comes with the drink had a nice bite and satisfying fruit flavor. I've generally found that the more traditional tea drinks are better than their fruit teas. 2.5/5.0
drinks itea boba bubbletea lychee green tea 2.5
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
Asha Tea Blood Orange Oolong Tea: Blood Orange (one of my favorite citrus) + oolong (one of my favorite teas) somehow, in combination, doesn't reach the heights I was hoping for. The orange is faint, and the pulp is not as substantial as other fruit teas I've had from this establishment. It's not bad, but I wouldn't get it again. 3.0/5.0
drinks berkeley asha citrus tea ashatea blood orange oolong 3.0