Wild California Mango Jalapeño Crisps: Purchased from Monterey Market in Berkeley, these fruit crisps are a great snack in many ways. They’re sliced just right so that they’re crunchy but not hard to bite into, and the amount of spicy heat is surprisingly potent but well balanced with the sweetness of dried mango. While crisps like these tend to be paired with cheese or dip, I found them to be satisfying all on their own. 4.0/5.0
recommended montereymarket fruit spicy wildcalifornia mango jalapeño crisps 4.0
Happy lemon Jasmine lemon slush: This drink was about as good as this picture, which is to say not very good. Even at 25% sugar, it was overly sweet, and while it was supposed to have jasmine tea, it did not taste of anything but lemon. Do not recommend this particular drink at the normally solid Happy Lemon. 2.5/5.0
drinks berkeley happylemon jasmine lemon slush 2.5
Quadratini Raspberry Yogurt Wafers: I generally enjoy Quadratini wafers for their consistent quality and solid flavor. The square shaped wafers are crispy and thick, and this raspberry yogurt version was definitely tangy enough to distinguish itself from a pure raspberry fruit flavor. Well balanced overall, though it isn’t one of my favorites. If you enjoy berry flavors that have some depth, this one is worth trying. 3.5/5.0
recommended sweets quadratini raspberry yogurt wafers 3.5
Annie’s Organic white cheddar bunny tail puffs: I haven’t purchased boxed mac and cheese since I graduated from school, but I’m not ashamed to admit that this cheap and quick staple was a regular in my pantry all throughout college and grad school. I generally preferred the white cheddar kind, like the white cheddar shells from Trader Joe’s and the Yummy Cheese flavor from Annie’s. Recently, I found that Annie’s is actually owned by General Mills, which gave me some pause when considering whether to purchased this snack. But given how muc... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended cheese cheesepuffs annies orange white cheddar bunny tail puffs 4.0
Ucha Tea Ginger Milk Tea with Boba: Back when I first moved to Berkeley, UCha was one of the first bubble tea shops I tried given its high reviews online. I didn't find their barley milk tea to be very compelling though, so I never went back. Recently, on my way home from Pegasus Books, I had a sudden craving for milk tea and decided to give it another try since it's just a block away. Their ginger milk tea, which I ordered at 25% sweetness, was surprisingly good and spicier than most ginger teas I've had from boba tea shop... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended milktea bubbletea uchatea ginger milk tea boba 3.5
House Kombucha Ginger Fire Ginger and Green Tea with Hot Peppers: The first time I had kombucha six years ago, I found it so disgusting that I hadn't touched it since. But I do like ginger a lot, and this brand of House Kombucha was offered for free at work, so I decided to keep an open mind and give it a try. I expected it to have a very spicy flavor given the flames on the packaging, but it was much more mild (even if the heat built up a bit over time). Despite the lack of ginger heat, I was pleasantly surprised with the overall flavor, which was sligh... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended drinks sf housekombucha ginger fire green tea hot peppers 3.5