Avoca-Don’t: The Drink That Defeated Me
By Maya Grewal
With this being my last BobaTime review, I wanted to go out with a bang—or well, an interesting drink to review. I chose the Avocado-Berry Smoothie with boba pearls. I was definitely skeptical trying this, but also hopeful. I do love avocado, but never had it as the focal point of a smoothie.
The presentation was, in simple terms, the worst presentation of a BobaTime drink I’ve seen. The drink was just unappealing to me. The photo on the kiosk looked way better than what I received: the drink was mostly green (which isn’t the problem), but the berry portion was chunky and hidden in the smoothie, with a few chunks shown sporadically throughout the bottom of the cup. The boba pearls also rested in the middle of the cup, and it just looked unconventional.
My first sip was honestly not bad. The drink wasn’t overly sweet, and the avocado wasn’t overpowering. The berries took over with a good ratio between that and the avocado. The consistency was your usual smooth smoothie (haha, get it?) with added texture from the chunky berry mixture at the bottom. However, once that berry part was gone, it was just straight avocado to the taste buds. Even though I love avocado, I HATED this as a smoothie. It was just gross, and I couldn’t bring myself to finish it.
Overall, if you’re a die-hard avocado fan, maybe this is for you. Otherwise, don’t waste your money. I’d rate it a 3/10.
Ending With Berry Much Love
By Bethany Cazares
As my time in Clarion comes to an end, so do my Boba Time reviews. I have been honored to share my opinions on these silly little drinks, and I’m very appreciative to those of you who always looked forward to reading them. I am so excited to introduce the new Co-Editor-in-Chief that will be taking my place as I move on from this chapter, Dilpreet Chana. I know that she will do an amazing job as chief and that she will continue to shine bright in her craft.
Now onto the review.
For my final review, I chose the strawberries and cream slush. As a kid, I LOVED eating strawberries and cream all day, everyday. I would literally go through a tub of cool whip or whipped cream and containers of strawberries in less than a week (which is why my parents stopped buying them). But that is why ordering this felt pretty nostalgic to me, and I think it was a perfect, bittersweet way to do my last review.
Regarding appearance, the drink kind of looked like pink mountains. It looked like a mix of pink snow and fluffy clouds.
The drink tasted like a popsicle and kind of gave melted Mexican paleta and shaved ice vibes. The taste of fresh strawberries was very strong and was quite refreshing. Honestly, it just felt like I was drinking a regular smoothie. Although, I do wish that there was more cream because I feel like the frozen strawberries were a bit overbearing.
Overall, this drink wasn’t too crazy, but definitely reminded me of my childhood. I loved getting a reminiscent taste of a time where I could see more rainbows in the sky and cartoon characters in the clouds. I’d rate it a 6/10.
Tasting the Cosmos
By Dilpreet Kaur Chana
After such an ecstatic day, I wanted to find a drink that reflected the overwhelming emotions I had felt. Being honored to be the next Co-Editor-in-Chief, I started my journey through the menu. As I explored deeper into the vast options, my eyes landed on the Galaxy Iced Tea. I have never been the greatest fan of iced tea, but when I saw that strawberry lemonade was a part of this fruit filled drink, I had to get it.
From the looks alone, the drink was very appealing. It had a gradient effect that just leaves you in awe. On the top, it is a dark galaxy purple, in the middle it is a sunset pink, and at the very bottom a starry yellow. However, because I had the bright idea to get boba in my drink (I don’t like boba much, but I freaked out when the cashier asked me if I wanted it) at the very bottom of the drink was black. It was breathtaking how pretty it was, it looked like a deep, pink sunset, I seriously could not look away. And the cutest part (and most delicious part) there were mini star cuts out of mangos. The star cut outs were what made up the yellow at the bottom and were scattered throughout the drink. It was adorable! The drink reminded me of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, one of the reasons I reached for it. The mango stars looked like Lumas and the color of the drink reminded me of the Meteor shower scene. The drink sounded like “See You Again” by Tyler, The Creator, and it looked so calm and harmonized. Every aspect went complete with each other and created a popping drink.
For the taste, I was skeptical about it. Who in the world mixes ice tea and lemonade together? Trust me, it is very good! I was worried about the organic butterfly pea tea, which had made up the purple part of the drink. I had never heard of it before and was hesitant to drink it. In context, I’ve only had In-N-Out iced tea with my dads customizations, but the butterfly pea tea did not disappoint. It had a healthy amount of contrast and friendship with the lemonade. It was very flavorful and had an energetic touch to it. I could taste the happiness of childhood from each sip. It tasted like a deep purplish-pink sunset viewed from the peek of a ferris wheel. The mango did not disappoint either. I thought it would be dry and I would be cheepstaked of the amount of mango stars, but a good ¼ of my cup was filled with juicy, perfectly cut out mangos. I was savoring every bite. Oh, and the ice, the crunch was immaculate (I want to get more of just the ice). I personally don’t like boba, but the boba did add to the aesthetic and actually started tasting good at the end of it. (They should add a popping boba option). I am giving this out of this world drink a 9.5/10!!!!
