Hakkaisan Purple Amasake: This is a sweet drink made with fermented purple rice, giving it its distinctive color. I tried the regular version made from white rice rice previously in Brooklyn (by way of Japan), but without trying both side-by-side, it's hard for me to say if the flavors are different. I can say that this beverage has a nice acidity and natural sweetness that comes from the koji rice itself (no sugar is added), and it's a fresh refreshing drink. I don't know if most people would enjoy the acidity, b... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended japanese drinks rice koji Daiei hakkaisan purple amasake 3.5
Uji Purple Potato Soft Serve: Returning to this small ice cream shop on Shattuck to sample additional soft serve flavors, I tried their seasonal purple potato ice cream, which came in a lovely shade of lavender. The ice cream had a rich milk flavor with only a hint of potato at the end. Given that the tofu, black sesame, and matcha flavors from Uji are all vastly superior (I've sampled all three flavors by now), I wouldn't recommend the purple potato ice cream, but it's decent. 3.0/5.0
icecream japanese berkeley uji purple potato soft serve 3.0 ujitime softserve
TeaOne Buckwheat Purple Yam Milk Tea with Boba: Located on Telegraph on the edge of Berkeley's campus is TeaOne, yet another bubble tea shop in Berkeley. I decided to try their Buckwheat Purple Yam milk tea because it's a flavor I haven't seen elsewhere. Unfortunately, it is a flavor that probably shouldn't exist elsewhere because it has a starchy, grainy texture almost reminiscent of sesame breakfast porridge you get in powder packs at Asian grocery stores. The boba was also overly soft, with little discernible taste. 2.5/5.0
drinks boba bubbletea teaone buckwheat purple yam milk tea 2.5 berkeley
Yomie's Rice Yogurt Haw Purple Rice Yogurt: This shop features a drink menu dominantly in Chinese, with a sprinkling of English just so you know how to order. They make yogurt drinks that verge on porridge territory, with a thick consistency that you can just manage to consume from a straw. Their most popular drink is purple rice yogurt, but I opted for the haw flavor, a popular berry used in Asian desserts. Made to order, it took about 10 minutes to arrive in a boba-tea-like plastic packaging with a sealed off top you puncture wit... (read more) 2.5/5.0
drinks chinatown seattle chinese yomiesriceyogurt haw purple rice yogurt 2.5