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
Boba Ninja Pudding Milk Tea with Boba: Right around the corner from Sweetheart Cafe on Durant (in Berkeley) is a competitor named Boba Ninja, which has barely enough standing room to accommodate a single-file line. Lining the interior is a shelf of flavor powders in small tupperware containers. The pudding milk tea is a regular black milk tea with large pieces of pudding (I added boba as well). The pudding had an inconsistent texture, as if the mix had not been fully stirred, and the boba was overly soft. Not much to say abou... (read more) 2.0/5.0
drinks berkeley bubbletea bobaninja pudding milk tea boba 2.0
Tara's Organic Ice Cream Jasmine green tea ice cream: On the northern edge of the Elmwood district, at the border of Oakland and Berkeley, is a small ice cream shop called Tara's Organic Ice Cream. They feature a rotating menu of ice creams and sorbet. I was hoping they would have black sesame ice cream, but I was out of luck on the day I went and got a scoop of jasmine green tea instead. The texture was not as smooth as it could be, but the subtle herbal flavor was unique - clean but also very creamy. The type of ice cream that needs to be acc... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream berkeley tea dessert sesame tarasorganicicecream jasmine green ice cream 3.0
Sweetheart Cafe Taiwan Style Milk Tea with Boba: This hole-in-the-wall on Durant in Berkeley features a small counter overflowing with asian snacks and walls plastered with laminated drink menus (items listed in Chinese followed by English). The first time I stopped by shortly after it opened its doors for the day, I was informed that the boba had not yet been delivered from Oakland, where they have a sister cafe. Returning several weeks later on an impulse at around 11pm (they are open past midnight on the weekends), I opted for their T... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended drinks bubbletea boba sweetheartcafe taiwan style milk tea 4.0
iTea Lychee Green Tea: A rare miss at my go-to boba shop, I found the lychee green tea at iTea to have an overly sweet artificial flavor and very little herbal taste. The boba was also too soft, though the lychee jelly that comes with the drink had a nice bite and satisfying fruit flavor. I've generally found that the more traditional tea drinks are better than their fruit teas. 2.5/5.0
drinks itea boba bubbletea lychee green tea 2.5
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
drinks berkeley tea ashatea matcha 3.0