Interviews
Superlatives
On May 23, 2017, I did a roundup of the cafes after hitting 100…
Enjoy.
Bubble Tea/Boba Tea
8/4/2023: Taro Bubble Tea from Taste of China (17 Main St, Tarrytown, NY 10591)
5/30/2022: Coffee Bomb=$6.30 from Raccoon Cave (275 Bleecker St)
8/18/22: Finally made it to KraveTea (839 S Orlando Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789). I only live a few blocks down...it's been a long time coming. And it was because of my notoriously picky mother. She suggested this place one afternoon. High praise. I got their signature Black sugar boba and fresh milk ($5.50). I forgot to ask for lowest sugar and ice level possible, but decided that it would be nice to try it how they would routinely make it. I'm not going to lie, I was impressed. Good flavor. Not sweet at all. Balanced density. A cool, rounded cup...I guess what I'm trying my hand at here is verbal applause.
5/4/22: You ready? This is a large Dalgona coffee with boba and coffee jellies (the amazing suggestion by the woman behind the counter), light ice, as little sugar as possible, all made with soy milk. "It's getting kind of weird towards the bottom," were the words that preceded diving into this beauty. And—without one ounce of a doubt—this drink BLEW MY MIND. The smell of coffee still lingered in the air as I sipped on the lightness of soy, the itty bitty coffee rectangles, and the familiar brown sugar boba. IT WAS SO GOOD. And then, I hit the coffee foam and my world joyously erupted. HITTING THIS SWEET/BITTER BIT AT THE END WAS FIRE. This drink just might become my routine route to decadence.
4/1/22: I don't come here to review corndogs, but it IS a thing now, and I have tried it. It's very much in the footsteps of the famous Vivi's popcorn chicken.
4/1/22: "Cool guys don't look at explosions," and, I'm here to tell you that, a cool mom doesn't look at the garage as she closes it. Put the taro boba tea that I just bought her in her hand, and she becomes unstoppable. But, in all seriousness, she REQUESTED the tea (my mom never requests anything), and she liked it. That's high praise. Her only real comment was that she thought they used whipped cream instead of milk. I think they use a mix of both...but don't get it twisted! It actually isn't all that sweet (even with boba and regular sweetness level). It isn't the kind of taro I prefer, but it's a solid (and pretty) choice.
3/20/2022: The strawberry milk tea with light ice and boba topped with salted foam is so so delicious. I had asked if there were other milk options, and the woman told me that all the teas—except the royal and roasted teas, which are made with condensed milk—use non-dairy creamer. At that point the woman, who has been there since the beginning, swooped in to say that no, the strawberry milk tea also has dairy. She didn't clarify how, but she got very nervous saying that some people had an allergy, so she wanted to make sure it was alright. It was very considerate. Basically, my advice is this: if you want to pick up strawberry tea anywhere, Shen Tea is the only place to go. Now that we've got that out of the way...
2/1/2022: Happy year of the tiger! They were running a special: BOGO tiger sugar milk tea with boba or tiger sugar milk with boba with a lucky money envelope for the first 25 customers. Of course, I had to stop in! I got my envelope—so festive and had me thinking of my Queens days—and did light sugar, light ice. I think that for this drink (since they reduce the amount of tiger syrup when you ask for less sugar), I'd get it maybe 75% instead of 25%. Nevertheless, it still had a sweetness, and i still enjoyed it. I can't say I'm surprised that this wonderful place makes a solid milk tea. It's a must! But, the real note was that my mom, a dedicated mocha drinker and taro preferrer, loved this. I was sure she would just tell me to take the other home with me. That my friends, when my mom—the ultimate critic—will drink it is when you know it wins the race.
1/20/22: Matcha Strawberry Latte – 10/10, 100%, undoubtedly delightful. Didn't change anything about it—sweetness, milk, boba, etc. I dragged a friend here for their BOGO, T–Th, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Note here: the BOGO has to be two of the same drink. One medium of these cost $6.39 with tax, so you end up paying about $3.20. The friend I took agreed, especially noting how the strawberry was more blended real strawberry rather than an added syrup or powder, and she thanked me for the new boba flavor.
12/5/21: THIS SPECIAL. Strawberry milk tea tasted like an alternate universe where you can just drink strawberry shortcake during tea time. It was so good!! If I got it again, I would not get boba (there was somehow like 1 ball in it amongst the strawberry popping pearls), but surprisingly I would get the whipped cream again. That's what really brought it into the cake-resembling realm. I got as little sugar as possible knowing how sweet the pearls would be. Maybe I'd try a nut milk...all in all, a success. P.S. My friend got taro milk tea, and he said he enjoyed it. The swirl effect they do is pretty cool, not going to lie.
11/5/21: Went back and picked up a hot taro milk tea with taro boba crystals (because they—1000% understandably—ran out of brown sugar boba by the time I galloped in at 8:15 p.m.). Wouldn't get again, completely my fault, but it wasn't by any means a bad Friday night treat.
Shen Tea's Hocus Pocus (Royal Thai Milk Tea with Black Sesame Foam and Brown Sugar Boba)
10/29/21: First time here, and I'm in love. They have punch cards and a super friendly staff! They made me the Halloween special, even though it wasn't Halloween 😭I ended up with the Hocus Pocus (10/10), and I'm just going to have to beg them to make me the Taroween (Taro Milk Tea with Brown Sugar Boba and Whipped Cream or Coconut Foam) at some point.
April 14, 2022: First time at The Teapsy in Astoria, NY (Queens). A friend of mine from high school insisted we stop in after bagels. I got the Peach Hibiscus Milk Tea (caffeine free, dairy free, and in a natural and romantic shade of purple, this milk tea is the sibling of their best-selling Peach Hibiscus tea) with boba and color me majorly impressed. At 0% sugar, with the pieces of real peach, it was the perfect amount of flavorful and sweet. I would pick up one again in a heartbeat.
5/24/2022: East Wind Snack Shop
Carroll Gardens, NY
Cold brew bubble coffee=$5.50.
I ordered this in an effort to save my life. While it did just that, I would not recommend it. Frankly, it was of poor quality and way too expensive. And to be abundantly clear this is a Chinese restaurant, not a boba shop. They have it as a courtesy, as a complement, and I’m just grateful that it meant caffeine.
CLOSED 1/12/22:
Matcha House
The first time I had come here on 7/22/21, there hadn’t been any coffee options. Then the second time I’d happen to stop by on 12/3/21, these had appeared, a mini chalk board with the words “Now Serving COFFEE” across the top. Unfortunately, I never had a chance to try it and subsequently review it. However, I will say that I adored their Fruity Pebbles (first visit) and Cookies & Cream (second visit) sundaes (both pictured below), and I am very sad to see this spot go.
I’m not one to head to a teahouse. As this blog so clearly demonstrates, they’re not really my thing. That being said, a friend of mine—a Wrocławian native if you will—took me to this place right outside of the city center. I itched to call it a “tea joint” just then, but the amount of hookah being smoked here made it feel much to ironic to do so. Seeing as the tea she and I shared wasn’t really anything special, let me just state one thing: the ambiance and setting were spectacular. A bite to the cold outside and yet, you could sit in their outdoor area with the heating lights on and the simply-patterned cushions between you and the patio planks and strip to your thinnest. Honestly, Monika and I didn’t even mind the tea’s lack of flavor too astounded by how the warmth seemed to radiate in all ways – mood included. Just an amazing place to kick back and chat. Besides, the menu is so extensive. I think that this, in conjunction with the tearoom’s feng shui feel, makes it worth another shot; not to mention worth an initial shot 😊
3/17/2023: Worth sharing: Taconic Coffee from Charlie O's
The 5$ Giddy-Up Mondays (now 6$) hold a special place in my heart. Whether salad or wrap form, with or without Goddess dressing, and always ordered with the house made hummus (don’t cheat yourself of the experience), it always did what it needed—and much more—to satisfy all that masticate in this converted house from the neighborhood. An organic haven and natural eatery where you take a number, probably run to an open seat, and wait for someone to smoothly set your food down and nab your number in one fell swoop.
That brownie—that is terrible, please don’t (I won’t even begin to describe its foulness)—that my brother chucked out of my sunroof while driving down Orlando Avenue is a lasting memory. You don’t forget smiling with each comment of disgust. And, you really don’t forget the rearview mirror shot of brownie pieces shattering into the sky behind your vehicle shooting down a 6-lane road. A door that, when opened, leads to a ladder that leads to another door; for all I know this newly accessible door could lead to an even longer ladder. Poetry night—sitting out front where a yard or cars should be stationed and instead finding tables with towering parasols snd a mic set up—and wondering whether in fact black dildos are bigger. Not to mention the live music set up in the living room under the red, orange, yellow fabric rays that don’t make the room shine, but liven. As though this is the only sun that suits us plants, where we can grow tall and find appropriate sustenance.
All of this in this green—so green—Keys cottage, where I have read that tea menu half a dozen times (and still ask for recommendations) and countless Young-Adult novels (thank you Sarah Dessen), will keep me coming back for brighter and hale days.
*Cinnamon-Strawberry cupcake…yummy.
Starbucks in Wrocław Dwórzec Główny
I just need to add this post. I know it may seem like I'm a coffee snob (which, guilty), but I also go to Starbucks or another chain every so often. I'm not above that. And, every summer, I have a tradition: I get a Frappuccino. I did it in New York. And well, since I'm not in New York this summer—and don't foresee that happening—I figured I could keep up tradition in Poland. So, while I needed to kill an hour till my bus, I stopped into this Starbucks in Wrocław's Main Railway Station. And three things:
One, the barista wrote my name on my cup right without any help from me, which is hard enough in the States, but in Poland where Maggie is very rare, it is a redoubtable feat.
Two, the Java Chip Frappuccino my fellow barman mixed me was the best I have ever had. Perfect balance between coffee and chocolate, the ideal amount of chips, a flavor aside from ice and sugar (that if you've ever gotten a Frappuccino you'll know is far too often the classic taste), and whip cream of the perfect amount and consistency. It was glorious.
Third, this is the most beautiful Starbucks I have ever been in. The walls painted royal green and trimmed in maroon, the ceilings with gold and bronze designs, the lanterns with Ticker Bell pixie dust, the expanse—just such a lovely place. A magical space very worthy of a good book—which is exactly the way the lady next to me, seemingly parked there for many hours, felt as she was deeply engrossed in a story herself.
Nowy Bufet
Okay guys and gals, hold onto your hats, this is something to get excited about. No, this is not a hipster coffee shop. No, this place isn’t an underwater cafe. No, this place isn’t open till Hell opens it’s gates.
No.
This place serves drip coffee.
You heard me. This place pours drip coffee from a pot.
And, I’m serious now sit down.
It comes with a free refill.
And and and it costs 4zł.
No cappuccinos or lattes, no iced coffee or milkshakes – just big or small, milk or no milk.
And there are American-style pancakes, and a Reuben, and Croquet Monsieur, and all the food makes no sense, but who cares.
The depressing part now: open M-F from 9-16:00.
However, I’m confident you’ll find time…
(3/14/2017)
Farbucks
Not as much of a blog as a dedication. I don’t rate Starbuckses.
But, the line at the Washington Square Park Starbucks is stuck in my memory.
The all-day hours during finals time (where the left picture comes from) gave me a place to find solace from Bobst or study till 8:15AM for International Economics.
The bathroom key—something I’ve come to accept as more of a figment of communal imagination than something I actually sought to find.
The clientele it kept caffeinated including celebrities that tended to waltz in and out on odd days of which you’d hear about mid-afternoon.
The entrance doors and then the actual entry doors. Not the ones that led to the basement and where I had my Prague orientation on the right, but the ones directly in front of you which will hit you in the face if you’re not paying attention.
If you’re wondering where the title of this blog comes from, see Urban Dictionary. It has an entry on it.
Don’t come here for service. Don’t even come here for Starbucks.
Come here if you’re a poor NYU student with only meal swipes.
Come here if you’ve been sexiled from your dorm room.
Come here if you have nowhere else to go.
CAFE BUSTELO POP-UP (OCT 19, 2014)
Here’s what you need to know about Cafe Bustelo: it is a very tropical espresso. No, it’s not citrusy and no it doesn’t have orange notes. I mean in branding and overall interaction with your palate. It doesn’t feel warm for Winter or even too wild in intensity. It’s laid back, but extremely flavorful. It’s an espresso that I used to purchase when making my Cappuccinos in New York on my home espresso maker (PILON was hard to find outside of Florida). Nevertheless, I found it to be quality for the home. It’s crowd pleasing and boasts a flavor that isn’t dull by any means, but it also doesn’t have the foreseeable potential to last with you much beyond the cup. Don’t worry though – if the opportunity presents itself, you’ll say yes to another one.
ONE-OFF EVENT: CENTRAL PERK (OCT 1, 2014)
What other time will you get to say you sipped a cup of coffee from Central Perk?
The coffee was coffee. Thankfully, no Rachels took my order and the menu was limited. Drinking coffee with New Yorkers.
Drinking coffee with die hards. Drinking coffee with the dedicated.
Drinking coffee with those who happened into the line that brought you to a replica of this icon of American pop culture.
Drinking coffee in the greatest city on earth with others fallen victim to the charms and aromas that—surrounded by tall buildings and dreams eternally bigger than yours—enchant.
11.22.2020: We’re lucky enough in Orlando to have a Vivi’s Bubble Tea (1111 E Colonial Drive), and I stopped in for a large ($1) black bubble tea ($4).
For old time’s sake...
Recently, I was home for the first time in over a year and hit up a place in my hometown of Orlando called Chewy Boba. You have this to thank for the above.
Note: They have amazing taro tea, Vietnamese coffee, and a punch card to boot.
You're welcome.
Boba Tea Blurb: Best NYC
Awhile back I wrote myself a list of what I considered New York's best. Living there for 4 years during college, I came to know the city and found out what it had to offer. A small part of that list was dedicated to Boba Tea—
Best Bubble Tea: DEPENDS…
Bananas a Modern American Diner 7/7/2013
A drag show and place for the books. CLOSED on 5/7/2014.