I-Tea Pomelo Green Tea with Aloe: I was super surprised to find an i-Tea at the San Francisco Premium Outlets and purchased a round of drinks for my family. This location, though, proved that not all i-Teas are created equal. The pomelo green tea I had was fairly average as far as fruit teas go, with an artificial citrus flavor that made the beverage more of a juice than a tea. Chewy and crunchy cubes of aloe were a bit better, though still not much different than what you might find at a normal Asian tea shop. The 3G, w... (read more) 2.5/5.0
drinks itea fruit citrus pomelo green tea aloe 2.5
i-Tea Avocado slush with grass jelly: If you follow Tasty Snacking, you will have gathered that I am in love with this Bay Area bubble tea chain. I've had a lot of bubble tea in my life (an embarrassing amount, in fact), both in Asia and in the US, and i-Tea is as good as it gets. On my last visit, I ordered an insanely good avocado slush with a generous helping of grass jelly. Very fresh and creamy, and pleasantly sweet at 30%. The grass jelly had a delicious herbal flavor that complemented the creamy avocado well. Their j... (read more) 5.0/5.0
exceptional taiwanese drinks itea avocado slush grass jelly 5.0
I-Tea Roasted barley milk tea with grass jelly: Returning again to the Kearny St. location of this bubble tea chain, I decided to try a drink with 0% sweetness and opted for the roasted barley milk tea. Like the last drink I had from i-Tea, the grass jelly was excellent. However, I found the tea to lack flavor, verging on bland. This may be my fault, since there was no sugar, but places like Asha do a fantastic job with barely sweetened teas, so I think this particular flavor just might be not so great. Still, there are other better o... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks bubbletea milktea sanfrancisco itea roasted barley milk tea grass jelly 3.0
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
i-Tea Honey Brown Rice Milk Tea with Basil Seeds and Agar Boba: From Taiwan, this bubble tea chain has all the signs of an authentic Taiwanese tea shop: its menu is ridiculously long; you can customize sweetness, ice, and toppings; it's cash only; there's absolutely no place to sit and chat (you purchase your drink and enjoy it elsewhere); and while there are lines out the door, service is fast. Drinks only come in one (large) size but are very reasonably priced. I ordered their honey brown rice milk tea at 30% sweetness, and the drink was one of the b... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional drink boba itea honey brown rice milk tea basil seeds agar 4.5 bubbletea