Heart of Tea Peach tea: Purchased from the nice vending machine at work, this bottle of tea stands out with its well designed packaging. The drink has a round herbal black tea flavor that I enjoyed, but the peach flavor was too sweet overall. If they had an unsweetened version, I would probably purchase it again. Until then, probably best to stick with Honest Tea (the barely sweetened kind in the glass bottles, not the plastic ones post-Coca-Cola acquisition). 3.0/5.0
drinks tea heartoftea peach 3.0
Asha Tea Pineapple oolong tea: Another solid take on fruit tea, Asha's pineapple oolong features pureed Hawaiian pineapples that add tanginess to their robust and refreshing iced herbal tea. Both flavors are represented faithfully and unambiguously. Easy to recommend. 4.0/5.0
recommended drinks berkeley fruit ashatea pineapple oolong tea 4.0
Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous Cookies and Cream Ice Cream: An all-too-familiar story: San Francisco ice cream shop with a 15 minute line, wrapping around the corner. Organic Strauss milk and cream sign. $16 bag of peanut brittle, $9 bag of chocolate malt balls at the register. $5.50 for a single scoop. Really creamy but otherwise unremarkable set of everyday ice cream classics (I ordered the cookies and cream - other flavors on the day I went included chocolate chip, sweet cream, burnt sugar, e.g., flavors you can easily find in the grocery aisl... (read more) 2.5/5.0
icecream dessert sanfrancisco sf mrandmrsmiscellaneous cookies creams ice cream 2.5
Purple Kow Roasted oolong tea with boba: A so-so cup of bubble tea at this downtown Berkeley location of Purple Kow. Too milky to have much herbal flavor; the boba is slightly chewier than average. Generous cup given the price. 3.0/5.0
drinks boba bubbletea berkeley purplekow roasted oolong tea 3.0
Lundberg Mochi Sweet Organic Rice Cakes: Made with whole grain brown rice, these "sweet" rice cakes are actually more savory than sweet since they are lightly salted. I was hoping they would have a different taste than normal plain rice cakes, but they are essentially flavorless (minus the salt). 2.5/5.0
organic berkeleybowl lundberg mochi sweet rice cakes 2.5
Uji Lavender soft serve in Taiyaki cone: The best lavender ice cream I've ever had was in Hokkaido, Japan at Farm Tomita, where their lush, seemingly endless fields of lavender are the basis for wondrously floral and creamy soft serve. I have yet to find anything that comes close, but the seasonal lavender flavor at Uji, a Japanese ice cream shop in Berkeley, is a strong contender. The trick is their careful balance - the lavender does not overpower (which otherwise would lead to a mouthful of perfume-flavored cream), yet the flav... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional uji lavender soft serve in taiyaki cone 4.5 ujitime