Thirsty Buddha Sparkling coconut water with watermelon: Wa interested in trying this Canadian carbonated coconut juice brand, but the watermelon flavor tasted like liquid Jolly Rancher. Artificial taste, with none of the refreshing qualities of coconut water. 2.0/5.0
avoid drinks thirstybuddha sparkling coconut water watermelon 2.0
Bickford’s Creamy soda: In hindsight, there were a few warning signs: 1) the label has “with artificial flavors” in fine print, 2) the flavor is creamy soda and not cream soda (I thought maybe it was an Australian thing), and 3) when was the last time you saw a red-colored cream soda? Turns out it’s red because of Red 40, which of course impart no actual taste to the drink (also ironically the packaging states “a century of purity”). What I got instead was an overly sweet, mediocre cream soda. It just goes to show... (read more) 2.0/5.0
drinks avoid galcos australian bickfords creamy soda 2.0
La Croix Cran-raspberry sparkling water : Generally, I think La Croix is pretty good. But this cran-raspberry flavor has a medicinal quality to it, reminding me of children’s medicine masked with candy-like flavors. Would not drink again. 2.0/5.0
drinks avoid lacroix cran-raspberry sparkling water 2.0
Purple Kow Lychee slushie: I usually opt for milk tea or fruit teas when I go to bubble tea shops, but this time I went for the lychee slush at Purple Kow, a Bay-Area-based chain. Their drinks are served in a single-size short, fat bucket with substantially more than your typical cup. Their generosity was unfortunate in this case because even at 25% sugar, the drink was far too sweet, reminding me of the lychee mini jello cups you get at asian grocery stores. If you don’t like sweet, artificial flavors, don’t order th... (read more) 2.0/5.0
drinks berkeley purplekow lychee slushie 2.0
U-Cha Bomber Man milk tea with boba: After having a surprisingly good ginger milk tea last time I visited U-Cha in Berkeley, I decided to try one of their signature drinks, the Bomber Man milk tea. Unfortunately, the drink has nothing to do with our favorite Hudson Soft video game hero. Instead, the drink is essentially milk without tea. But even at 25% sweetness, the drink was overwhelmingly sweet as the honey boba has a caramel-like gooey outer layer. I wouldn't be surprised if even at 0% sugar, the drink would still be t... (read more) 2.0/5.0
avoid drinks milktea bubbletea ucha bomber man milk tea boba 2.0
Hanco’s Black milk tea with boba: Went to 5 different supermarkets in Brooklyn to look for fish sauce and could only find Thai Kitchen brand. Stopped by Hanco’s, a Vietnamese sandwich shop a few blocks from where I live, to ask where to find. They told me there were no asian grocery stores in the area and I would probably need to go to Chinatown. The sandwiches at Hanco’s were pretty good, but this bubble tea was quite bad - very diluted and milky tasting, with overly chewy boba. Might need to go to Chinatown for that too. 2.0/5.0
drinks brooklyn hancos black milk tea boba 2.0 bubbletea