Steap Lychee Love Tea: I’ve been searching for a quality bubble tea shop in Chinatown, San Francisco and tried this modern bubble tea spot on my most recent visit. Steap prides themselves on highly customizable fruit and herbal teas. The lychee love drink is a jasmine and green tea mix containing lychee jelly (I also ordered boba as an add-in). You could taste the ambition, as the tea was not as sugary as what you might find at a nearby chain, but it taste a bit diluted, and the boba was too soft. The search conti... (read more) 2.5/5.0
drinks bubbletea greentea jasmine chinatown sf boba steap lychee love tea 2.5
Asha Tea Kiwi green tea: I’m pretty certain this is the last seasonal flavor of fruit tea I had yet to try at Asha, the Bay-area-based tea shop. Like the others, this tea has fresh fruit mashed to a pleasant pulp, which adds texture to each sip. The herbal tea is of clear quality, and the kiwi flavor is slightly tart and fully refreshing. 4.0/5.0
recommended drinks berkeley ashatea kiwi green tea 4.0
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
Icha Tea Chrysanthemum pu’er tea with boba: Icha Tea in Toronto bears a strong resemblance to Asha Tea in Berkeley; it brews all its tea in house and has a special tea bar for sampling an assortment of hot teas. It takes it one step further by offering house made pastries like black sesame tofu cheesecake. I didn’t get any desserts this time around but purchased an iced chrysanthemum pu’er milk tea with boba. They brewed the tea in front of me before mixing it with chilled milk, a process which took over five minutes. Somehow, though,... (read more) 2.5/5.0
bubbletea Toronto drinks ichatea chrysanthemum pu’er tea boba 2.5
Boba Guys Jasmine Milk Tea: I was pleasantly surprised with how solid this bottled Boba Guy’s jasmine milk tea was. Creamy and rich milk tea with a distinct floral jasmine flavor. Sweeter than I would order on my own, but a good drink nonetheless. 3.5/5.0
recommended milktea bobaguys jasmine milk tea 3.5
Minamoto Kitchoan Green tea mochi: Minamoto Kitchoan is a Japanese sweets shop that is one of my favorite places to purchase gifts. This was a box gifted to me, containing a set of green tea mochi with red bean filling. Matcha is both mixed into the glutinous rice “pouch” but also dusted as a coating, giving the dessert a slightly bitter flavor that balances well with the sweet red bean paste. This is not my favorite mochi, but it’s definitely solid. 3.0/5.0
recommended matcha mochi minamotokitchoan green tea 3.0