Indigo Cow Hokkaido Milk soft serve with shiratama kuromitsu kinako: I haven't experienced many long lines in Seattle, but Indigo Cow, a soft-serve "window" adjacent to the Japanese restaurant Yoroshiku in Wallingford, had an impressive showing for their Hokkaido milk treat. The line took about 40 minutes, even right after an afternoon shower, and unfortunately they were out of mochi for their classic Japanese topping (which normally comes with soybean powder and brown sugar syrup) by the time I got to the front of the line. The humble shop is literally one... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended wallingford japanese indigocow hokkaido milk soft serve shiratama kuromitsu kinako 3.5
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
iTea Roasted Oolong Milk Tea with Boba: While I previously have had very good experiences at iTea in San Francisco, I've found that the quality has seemed to decline over time. On my last trip, I ordered their Roasted Oolong Milk Tea with little sweetness and ice, yet the drink was still sweeter than I would expect and diluted tasting right from the start. The boba, too, was overly chewy without much character. I typically like to order new things every time I go, but if I find myself at iTea again, I will likely order one of m... (read more) 2.5/5.0
drinks boba milktea bubbletea itea roasted oolong milk tea 2.5
iTea wintermelon milk tea with grass jelly: I ordered this drink out of curiosity, but the wintermelon didn’t have too much of a distinct flavor compared to regular black milk tea. The herbal grass jelly was very good as always, though Purchased at I-Tea in Kearny in SF. 3.0/5.0
milktea drinks itea wintermelon milk tea grass jelly 3.0
iTea Matcha milk tea with boba and red bean: This matcha drink from iTea in SF contains red bean and boba as default toppings. While the matcha milk tea was decent, the red bean was heavily sweetened so that this 30% sweetness beverage tasted more like a normal 100% sweetened drink. Texturally, the red bean also seemed canned as it was slightly too soft. As a result, I’d recommend getting the drink but skipping the red bean topping. 2.5/5.0
drinks sf milktea itea matcha milk tea boba red bean 2.5 bubbletea
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