I-Tea Roasted barley milk tea with grass jelly: Returning again to the Kearny St. location of this bubble tea chain, I decided to try a drink with 0% sweetness and opted for the roasted barley milk tea. Like the last drink I had from i-Tea, the grass jelly was excellent. However, I found the tea to lack flavor, verging on bland. This may be my fault, since there was no sugar, but places like Asha do a fantastic job with barely sweetened teas, so I think this particular flavor just might be not so great. Still, there are other better o... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks bubbletea milktea sanfrancisco itea roasted barley milk tea grass jelly 3.0
I-Tea Pomelo Green Tea with Aloe: I was super surprised to find an i-Tea at the San Francisco Premium Outlets and purchased a round of drinks for my family. This location, though, proved that not all i-Teas are created equal. The pomelo green tea I had was fairly average as far as fruit teas go, with an artificial citrus flavor that made the beverage more of a juice than a tea. Chewy and crunchy cubes of aloe were a bit better, though still not much different than what you might find at a normal Asian tea shop. The 3G, w... (read more) 2.5/5.0
drinks itea fruit citrus pomelo green tea aloe 2.5
Ito En Oi Ocha unsweetened green tea: A favorite at sushi restaurants, this bottled green tea drink is refreshing and thirst quenching, especially when chilled. The packaging says Japan's #1 green tea brand, but closer inspection reveals this product is made in Taiwan. A classic and pure tea product. 4.0/5.0
itoen tea greentea drinks japanese taiwanese recommended 4.0 oi ocha unsweetened green
Ito En Milk Tea: A "Hawaiian Exclusive," I was able to purchase this canned milk tea from Tokyo Fish Market in Berkeley. It is definitely sweet, like at 100% sweetness from a bubble tea shop that lets you adjust, but it does have black tea undertones and an herbal aftertaste. Now that I've had this drink, it will now be a baseline for how decent black milk tea is from a boba tea shop. As far as I'm concerned, if I can buy it for half the price at the local grocery store, it's not worth getting it "fresh." 3.0/5.0
drinks tokyofishmarket itoen milk tea 3.0
Japonaise Bakery Green Tea Cake: Located on Beacon Street in Brookline, this small bakery has an assortment of pastries as well as packaged Japanese snacks. Their green tea cake is multi-layered, with green tea creme and a layer of gelatin on top. While the matcha flavor was not bad, the cake was a bit dry, and the gelatin was largely for texture (it didn't have much flavor). It looked better than it tasted. 3.0/5.0
matcha desserts japonaisebakery green tea cake 3.0