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Berkeley offers a plethora of refreshing treats for the student snack budget, but college kids’ love for frozen yogurt and coffee has got nothing on our obvious preference for tapioca, bubble tea, pearl tea or boba (whatever you want to call those luscious balls).
For the Clog’s last food crawl of the semester, we held tastings at four Berkeley boba establishments. All are located within a 5-minute walking distance from Sproul Plaza. Yes, this means we did not retrieve the stats for Tapioca Express on Shattuck Avenue, or that other place you like on Northside–mostly because we are lazy asses. We figure you are, too, anyway.
Everyone’s favorite Southside dig, Sweetheart Cafe, was our first stop on the tapioca tour. Sweetheart’s is nestled in the Asian Ghetto (formally known as Durant Square) on Durant Avenue. It’s home to the “Best Burger” in Berkeley and a very extensive drink menu of milk teas and smoothies, including the intriguing “Soyberry Surprise.”
To keep our reviews consistent, we stuck with your basic milk tea–with four straws, in case other Cloggers had mono and/or herpes (two admitted to possessing such ailments, albeit jokingly. We think.)
The service was snail-like. Then again, we did go at prime boba-munching time: 3 p.m. on a Friday afternoon. The Clog also spotted some blatant McDonald’s product placement on their fancy tops.
Danica Li: In Chinese we say how “cue” the ball is, which is hard to translate but it’s basically how chewy it is.
Christine Borden: Points off for the long-ass wait.
Jill Cowan: I like the boba … it’s really chewy and sweet.
CB: That’s what she said.
Price: $1.55
Overall: 9/10
Consistency of Balls: springy
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Next, we ventured a good 20 feet to Quickly, whose menu also includes squid balls and popcorn chicken. We decided that Quickly’s boba was more milky, while Sweetheart’s had more of that tea taste. The service at Quickly’s was bleak, but faster.
Patrici Flores: It tastes like Ovaltine, except more bland.
CB: The boba’s half-baked. Gives your mouth more of a workout.
PF: Some people like it like that.
Price: $1.60 (99 cents without tapioca, but what’s the point of that?)
Overall: 5.5/10
Consistency of Balls: half-baked
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Another 20 steps, and your dear Clog arrived at Lotus House. The boba wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t excellent, either.
DL: Too much ice.
JC: This one tastes like mocha. And the balls are bigger and stickier than the other places.
CB: That’s what she said.
Price: $1.70
Overall: 7/10
Consistency of Balls: bigger and stickier
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After chillin’ at Lotus House, we headed to Mocaccino, which was more than 20 feet away on Bancroft Avenue. The happy, neon-lit store boasted an assortment of Asian snacks, including Men’s pocky. They had a 2 bobas for the price of 1 deal, too–but clearance boba sadly tastes just how it sounds: not-so-delicious.
The Clog ordered a milk tea and a Thai iced tea. But even with the deal and a cute, colorful ambiance, Mocaccino’s score stayed crappy because of the watery tea.
JC: The boba-tea ratio sucks.
DL: They play happy Asian music!
JC: And debatably Shania Twain. Or Faith Hill.
DL (shoots boba from straw): Poink.
JC: Shitty boba.
[later]
CB: I don’t feel like moving.
JC: You know Beetle? Let’s just say he’s not the poor man’s Oscar Wilde.
From here, the discussion turned to the words for penis and vagina in various international languages–and that boba is actually Mandarin for “nipple.” Surprise, surprise.
Price: $2.50 (buy one, get one free!)
Overall: 5/10
Consistency of Balls: clam-like
Oh, the conversation topics you can deliberate over a nice cup of tapioca are endless! That’s what tapioca is, after all–a social trend shared among the freshest of youth. Along with a greater appreciation for quality boba, which is apparently only available at Sweetheart’s, it’s safe to say that the Clog staff walked away from this experience with many things. This includes knowledge of new words and an exploding bladder, but hopefully not a collective case of herpes (or mono).
Image Source: Patrici Flores
Earlier: Crawling Berkeley: You Want a Pizza Me?
Tags:boba, bubble tea, Lotus House, Mocaccino, pearl tea, Quickly's, Sweetheart Cafe, tapioca
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Comments:
May 7, 2008 at 4:25 pm
You forgot the boba place in Mandarin House…