Shake Shack salted caramel hot chocolate: On cold nights, there's nothing better than a cup of hot chocolate to keep you warm. This seasonal item at Shake Shack hits the spot, with a rich but not too sweet chocolate and caramel combo and slightly frothy top. Highly recommended. 4.0/5.0
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Shake Shack black and white malted milk shake: A thick, rich milkshake made of high quality vanilla and chocolate ice cream. I love malted milkshakes, and the extra $0.50 for malted is definitely worth it. Needs to be paired with a tall glass of water. Definitely not for the faint of heart but a treat once in a while (it's about 1/3 of your daily calories). 4.0/5.0
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Shake Shack Black sesame milkshake: I hadn't been to a Shake Shack in Japan and stumbled upon one near Meiji Jingu, where I went to see the yellow autumn ginko trees. I stopped in to see if they had any exclusives, and their menu features a Japan-only black sesame shake. It was super satisfying on multiple levels: thicker than anything I've found in Japan, with a nutty and savory black sesame flavor that didn't taste at all artificial. Black sesame is one of my favorite flavors; I've had a lot of black sesame snacks over the ... (read more) 4.0/5.0
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Sharetea Hokkaido black milk tea with boba: I stopped by this branch of Sharetea to scout out tea shops in downtown Berkeley; this one is located right on the edge of campus. Coming in around lunchtime meant there was a sizeable line of college students, and it took about 10 minutes total from getting in line to retrieving my drink. Their menu has several variants of classic black milk tea, including Hokkaido black tea, which supposedly has a roasted brown sugar flavor. Though I ordered it at 30% sweetness, it was more sweet than I wo... (read more) 2.5/5.0
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Share Tea Mango green tea with lychee jelly: After attending an event in Palo Alto, I wanted to get a caffeinated beverage for my drive back to the East Bay. I found myself at Share Tea, whose Berkeley branch I had just tried several days before. This time, I opted for a fruit tea and ordered their mango green tea at 30% sweetness with lychee jelly. Even at 30%, I still found the tea to be too sweet, though it did have a nice herbal flavor that came through. I also liked the lychee jelly, which had a good amount of firmness. The m... (read more) 2.5/5.0
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Shen Zen Tea Ginger Kombucha: There are a lot of local kombucha brewers in Seattle, so I’m getting to expand my drink reviews. This brand, Shen Zen Tea, sells product at Uwajimaya but also holds a stand at the Ballard farmers market on Sundays. The drink combines ginger and lemongrass and is lightly sweetened. It has a prominently fermented sour and tangy flavor. I liked it the more I drank it, and the bottle, while on the expensive side, at around $6, lasted for multiple servings. 3.5/5.0
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