Kirin Rich Green Tea: If you can believe it, I have a months-worth of backlog for snack reviews. I purchased this bottle of green tea back when I was doing a retreat at the Recurse Center. I liked buying large bottles of green tea to drink at work for cost-effectiveness, and I found that the best selection could be found at Hong Kong Supermarket in NYC's Chinatown. I typically purchased Ito-En teas, but I decided to give this slightly less expensive bottle of green tea a try. It was decent, but more bitter th... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks matcha chinatown kirin rich green tea 3.0
Trader Joe's Matcha Almond Beverage: I was really excited to see this Matcha-flavored almond milk at Trader Joe's because I've recently become accustomed to making chia-seed pudding at home, which requires the use of non-dariy milk. As a beverage on its own, it's just ok - the matcha doesn't have the distinct bitterness of a quality matcha drink, but it does taste familiar. They're like the Trader Joe's Matcha Joe Joes - they're perfectly enjoyable as a snack but the matcha flavor is not very good if you really judge it solel... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks greentea nondairy traderjoes matcha almond beverage 3.0
Coca Cola Ginger lime diet coke: I drink diet soda every day, which I’m not particularly proud of. If I had a choice, it would be Diet Dr Pepper, but my office stocks Diet Coke. I only found out there is flavored Diet Coke at my new job since it was stocked in our fridge. This ginger lime flavor tastes like a tepid combination of aspartame-flavored cola, ginger ale, and Sprite. It actually is a nice change of pace if you find yourself getting bored of classic Diet Coke, by I wouldn’t rush out to buy it myself. 3.0/5.0
drinks soda dietsoda coke cocacola ginger lime diet 3.0
Happy Lemon Kiwi Matcha Slushie: I didn't expect to enjoy the mango matcha slush I had a few months ago at the Happy Lemon in Berkeley, so I decided to try the kiwi version in New York (I'm pretty sure this wasn't an option in California). Alas, despite the similar green color, this is not a match that's meant to be. If it were just a kiwi slushie, it would be pretty good because it had kiwi seeds for texture and was remarkably tart. But the addition of matcha threw it off balance. At Happy Lemon, I would stick to just ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks slushie happylemon kiwi matcha 3.0
Hanco's Honey Green Tea with Lychee Jelly: I'm not homesick per se, but I do find myself frequently sad about the lack of good bubble tea options in NYC. I think I had 5 different bubble tea stamp cards in the bay area, and I only have one for NYC, at a bubble tea shop that closes at 8pm during the week (Mr. Wish). Given that most of my bubble tea purchases in Berkeley or SF were late night impulses, I don't get to drink much of it here. Hanco's, a Vietnamese sandwich shop close to me, has pretty bad boba from my previous experie... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks brooklyn hancos honey green tea lychee jelly 3.0
Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray Celery Soda: I recently had my first celery soda from Court St Bottlers, so when I saw this old-school Dr. Brown's can, I decided to do a comparison. While Dr. Brown's design aims for nostalgia and the company has been around since 1869, it's also helpful to know they're now owned by Pepsi-Co. This celery soda was less balanced than the Court St Bottlers one, tasting more like a peppery Sprite because of its sweetness. You could taste some anise flavor, so it wasn't all sugar water, but it was just OK... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks drbrowns cel-ray celery soda 3.0