Wanpo Tea Shop Oolong milk tea with boba: I've had bubble tea in Japan at a handful of shops, and most have been very disappointing, with watered-down powdered tea and overly soft boba. When I saw that there was a Taiwanese chain of bubble tea shops near Ueno station whose wall is lined with loose-leaf tea canisters, I thought they might be different. Luckily, my suspicions were confirmed, and I was actually able to communicate with the shop in Mandarin, a big win for me as I normally feel pretty useless with the little Japanese I... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended bubbletea japan wanpoteashop oolong milk tea boba 4.0
Lipton Tea Ice Bubble Tea Ice Bars: I like seeing how American brands reinvent themselves abroad, offering products especially for foreign markets. I see Lipton tea bottled beverages sometimes in vending machines, for example, where as in the US, I only ever associate the brand with tea bags. Their black milk tea ice cream bars are miniature, about 2/3 the size of American fruit bars, and at 45 calories each, I don't feel bad having them. They have a familiar black milk tea flavor with boba pieces throughout that are actual... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended japanese lipton tea ice bubble bars 3.5
UHA Tea Gummies: An impulse buy at 7-11, these are miniature gummy candies about half the size of a typical gumdrop. There are four different flavors: brown sugar, milk tea, mango tea, and orange tea. They seen extra chewy and dense. My favorites is the milk tea and mango, though they all have a definitively artificial candy flavor. I'm not sure it works collectively since milk tea is pretty different and someway clashing in flavor with free teas. 3.0/5.0
japanese candy 711 uha tea gummies 3.0
Bao Tea House Jasmine peach milk tea: Bao Tea House is a small shop in the West Village close to the West 4th subway stop, and it's my favorite place in the city for tea. Their jasmine peach milk tea was very well balanced, with a fragrant, creamy, floral, and fruity flavor (a combination I imagine most places would not get right). The drink came with brown sugar aloe cubes, with a slightly chewy texture that still has a bit of bite. Though it's an entirely different type of dish, the closest analogy I can make in terms of textu... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended drinks nyc milktea jasmine baoteahouse peach milk tea 4.0
Tea Era Apple Seed Green Tea: Got to visit an old favorite with old friends on my last trip to the South Bay. Tea Era is a bubble tea shop on Castro in Mountain View that always has an expansive menu of uniquely-flavored beverages. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the apple seed green tea, which is why I decided to purchase it. The least amount of sugar they could do was 50%, and I purchased the tea hot on a brisk evening (though you could also get it cold). Half sugar was the right amount, as it had a somewha... (read more) 3.5/5.0
mountainview california recommended drinks chinese teaera apple seed green tea 3.5
Rabbit Rabbit Tea Japanese buckwheat milk tea with almond pudding: A caffeine-free option at bubble tea shop Rabbit Rabbit Tea, located at the edge of Union Square. It tasted more of milk than buckwheat, but it did have a familiar Asian breakfast porridge vibe to it, reminiscent of powdered grain packs you mix with hot water. The tea was so so, but the almond pudding was quite good - it had a distinctly non-dairy-milk nutty quality and a soft, slick texture. Overall, though, I probably wouldn't come back to Rabbit Rabbit gven the quality of this drink alone. 3.0/5.0
drinks milktea nyc rabbitrabbittea japanese buckwheat milk tea almond pudding 3.0