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
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Amausaan uji Matcha Matcha Ice Cream: Green-tea-flavored soft serve from Japanese sweets stand Amausaan uji Matcha in the Richmond district of SF (they also have a location in Berkeley). At $5, this large portion comes in a waffle cone and is topped with matcha powder. Most of the bitter matcha flavor comes from the powder, but the ice cream is creamy and smooth; the cone is standard in both flavor and texture. I enjoyed it overall, but sampling it at the Berkeley location the next day, I found the ice cream to be too sweet, ... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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Asha Tea Matcha: While I enjoy matcha-flavored snacks, it's rare for me to get matcha full on. I decided to give the matcha tea at Asha Tea in Berkeley a try and found myself reacting to the caffeine levels after only drinking half of the regular-sized portion. Symptoms including jitteriness and high distractibility. The matcha flavor itself was prominent and clean, but this drink is surely for those with higher caffeine tolerance than me. 3.0/5.0
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Azabu Sabo Matcha Ice Cream: Azabu Sabo is an ice cream stand located in Akihabara station that offers a variety of classic flavors as well as several green tea options. I ordered their stronger matcha flavor, which had a solid balanced bitter green tea flavor. The texture of the icy was fluffy, which was pretty surprising, but you could also taste the sugar crystals so it wasn't entirely smooth. Overall, not bad but not one of the better options in Tokyo. 3.0/5.0
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Bang Bang Ice Cream Avocado and Matcha ice cream: Redolent of butter and baked goods, Bang Bang Ice Cream is a small shop specializing in ice cream sandwiches and waffle cones all made in house. I was lucky enough to experience Bang Bang without having to wait in line, a rarity I'm told. I ordered one scoop, without a cookie or cone, combining two flavors: avocado and matcha. Both were excellent, with a distinct creaminess without being heavy or dense. Having had a lot of matcha ice cream, I was especially appreciative of the deep, rich her... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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Beard Papa's matcha cream puff: The Japanese cream puff chain Beard Papa's has made it to Boston, with a shop in the heart of Chinatown. I purchased a green-tea flavored puff, which was flaky on the outside and soft on the inside. The puff oozed cream, but the flavor was very light. So light there was basically no discernible green tea flavor. The color is the only indication of its supposed flavoring. Overall, it was not bad for a cream puff, but disappointing as a matcha dessert. 2.5/5.0
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