Beyond Fruit Tea: Sweet, Minty, and Unexpected
By Maya Grewal
This time around, I wanted to switch up from my usual fruit tea orders and get something different. I also happened to be dying for something on the chocolatey/sweeter side, and ended up caving into ordering the Mint Choco Frappe. Also, quick side note: I literally JUST found out that whipped cream on drinks at BobaTime is FREE!! Use this information at your will.
When I first saw the drink I was in awe—the lid had little teddy bear ears (which is the special lid given when you get whipped cream on your drink). It was absolutely adorable and definitely my favorite out of the already great presentations I’ve seen before. The entire drink was very aesthetically pleasing, and my brain just loved looking at it.
With my first sip, I was quite unsure of how to feel. My initial reaction was a mix of “ew” and “oh yum.” After a few more sips the drink grew on me and I was really enjoying it. If I were to give it a comparison, the drink perfectly captures a mixture of mint chocolate chip ice cream and cookies n’ cream ice cream. The drink was extremely sweet (which is what I was looking for), but if you’re not a sweet tooth, this definitely is not for you. However, I would like to mention that BobaTime does offer unsweetened or less-sweet versions of their sweet drinks, that way you can enjoy your favorite flavors without the unhealthy portions of sugar or overly-sweet taste.
The texture of the drink was nice and smooth, with a few bits of added texture from pieces of crushed Oreos and chocolate. I actually really loved the texture, but if you’re not into weird or rough textures, this may not be your cup of tea (haha, get it… sorry I’ll stop).
I did order boba with the drink, which surprisingly was the thing I disliked most about the drink. Don’t get me wrong, I rave about BobaTime boba to anyone and everyone who listens– it’s delicious, it just didn’t suit this specific drink. As I said previously, this drink was tremendously sweet, and out-sweeted (that’s definitely not an actual word) the boba pearls. They were just chewy rubber balls to me, and I couldn’t really enjoy them because they completely clashed with the taste and texture. This was especially upsetting when I got to the bottom of the drink, where there were mostly boba pearls remaining, which left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. If I were to order this drink again, I’d choose to remove the pearls.
Overall, I really liked the drink, and it definitely hit all my sweet cravings. This drink is not something I’d order often, but I would get it again for sure. I’d rate it a solid 8/10 with just the drink, but with boba pearls added I’d rate it around a 6.5/10.
Matcha and Floral FAIL
By Bethany Cazares
So for this review, I really wanted to go out of my way and see what all the fuss was about these matcha trends. I have not had matcha since 2021, so I was open to a possible difference in my opinion of it. I decided to get the matcha rose latte with strawberry popping boba.
Let me tell you, this was the absolute WORST drink I’ve ever had. I tried to be a cute instagram girly, but every single impression this drink left on me was not a good one.
The drink was a very pretty combination of green, white, and pink. It was very appealing, but little did I know I was being deceived by its meretricious colors.
My first sip, I cringed. I knew matcha was earthy, but it felt very bitter. I honestly felt like I was eating grass and flowers–a whole garden at this point–with this combination of the rose flavor. I did not like it at first sip, but continued to give it a shot because I thought that maybe it would get better.
At first, it started to grow on me for a little bit. Then I made the worst decision and thought that I should mix it. The green flooded the entire drink and as soon as I tried it, it somehow made it much worse.
I struggled to put this awful taste into words, but I realized that it tasted like spoiled milk mixed with grass. The bitter and sour flavor had now amplified and with every sip I felt like I was being punished.
Whoever decided matcha and rose would go together, I seriously hope you are okay and receiving help, because this was disgusting. (I appreciate the efforts but I think we need to reconsider our choices.)
I can say that my openness to matcha has definitely dwindled again, and I think this may have ruined it for me. I give this a 0/10, unfortunately a fail for this month.
(At least the drink was pretty.)
