Furuta Green Tea Cookies: I was lucky to find these crumbly green tea sandwich cookies at Niniya Market for a very reasonable price just over $3. The biscuits are lightly sweetened and more substantial than normal Oreo-like sandwich cookies, and the cream filling has a much more natural matcha flavor than most packaged snacks I’ve had. Great value and taste! 3.5/5.0
recommended japanese matcha nijiya furuta green tea cookies 3.5
Abide Monarch black sesame and matcha bubble tea with boba: In the 9 years I spent in Cambridge, we never had a dependable bubble tea shop. The short-lived bubble tea shop in Kendall was just ok, but since it was close to lab, I’d sometimes find myself there for quick meetings. Upon returning to Cambridge for mystery hunt, I visited a pop up boba shop at the Middlesex lounge with a diverse menu of tea and fruit drinks incorporating ingredients like peppercorn and cloves and with names like Binary and The Monarch. I ordered the latter, a hot milk tea ... (read more) 3.5/5.0
drinks bubbletea recommended cambridge abide monarch black sesame matcha bubble tea boba 3.5
Pop & Bottle Matcha green tea almond milk: A pleasant but pricy matcha-flavored almond milk whose green tea flavor is relatively mild but enough to be identifiable. Bottle is misleading wrapped in a pastel green label; in reality, the beverage is a murky brown that’s significantly less appealing. A decent choice for those looking for a new flavored non-dairy drink. 3.5/5.0
recommended drinks popbottle matcha green tea almond milk 3.5
Happy Lemon Mango matcha slush: Matcha and mango seemed like an unlikely pairing, but I decided to give it a try as it was marked as a Happy Lemon top pick on the menu. Because of the way the drink is made, it’s not possible to adjust the sweetness, which I was a bit worried about since I usually get my beverages at 25% sweetness when possible. While the drink was on the sweet side, it also had a delicious creaminess that mellowed out the flavor overall. A thick base of mango at the bottom ensures that there is a bit of f... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended drinks berkeley happylemon mango matcha slush 3.5
Trader Joe’s Matcha Joe Joe’s sandwich cookies: Trader Joe’s delivers on this Japanese-take on the classic American sandwich cookie. A thick layer of matcha-flavored cream (~1.5x that of a normal Oreo) sits between two vanilla cookies. The interior has an icing-like texture and is very sweet. I wish there was about half the amount of sugar, but even so, I still found myself enjoying the snack overall. Would purchase again. 3.5/5.0
recommended tjs greentea traderjoes matcha joe joe’s sandwich cookies 3.5
Bubble Tea Sharetime Matcha milk tea with boba: This compact bubble tea shop on Shattuck in Berkeley, CA is best suited for ordering bubble tea to-go. Its proximity to my apartment, as well as its consistently good quality boba and drinks, have made it my go-to bubble tea cafe, particularly when it comes to milk tea (for fruit teas, Asha still wins). As far as Berkeley goes, the milk teas at Sharetime are better than UCha, Purple Kow, and Sweetheart Cafe, mostly because they aren't too sweet and taste more like tea than milk. On my last... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended bubbletea berkeley bubbleteasharetime matcha milk tea boba 3.5