Spillin’ the Tea: Tea & Others

Spillin' the Tea: Tea & Others

Tea & Others lies within a quaint building at the corner
of Haight and Divisadero. Upon entering, one is greeted by the
warm, enticing aroma of tapioca pearls, foreshadowing the
delightful concoctions to come.

On the wall adjacent to the counter, there was a glorious
selection of drinks, ranging from popular drinks such as the
classic black milk tea to unique drinks we have yet to have seen
elsewhere in the city, such as the Sunny Side Up, a drink made
with salted egg yolk and tea.

However, we were not so bold as to order such exotic
beverages, and thus we stuck to ordering the generic options: a
medium Thai tea, a dirty matcha latte with brown sugar, and a
strawberry matcha latte, all with tapioca pearls.

Despite some claiming that $7 for boba is unreasonable,
which it probably would be if you were living in the early 2010s, it
is quite reasonable in this day and age, considering its size.

The floral notes of the Thai tea were balanced by the
sweetness of the condensed milk. Thereupon our initial sip, we
could immediately tell that the tea was brewed with real Ceylon tea
leaves, not the powder commonly used by other establishments.
However, we also felt that the tea was a bit milky for our taste. We
would recommend the Thai tea though.

In addition to the Thai tea, we ordered the Dirty Matcha
Latte accompanied by oat milk. Upon sipping it, we detected a
distinct smooth matcha flavor that was not overpowered by the
sweetness despite having thoroughly mixed the brown sugar with
the matcha.

The final drink we ordered was the Strawberry Matcha
Latte. The drink consisted of a strawberry puree created with real
strawberries and incredibly smooth matcha. However, despite us
ordering with 100 percent sweetness, we thought it was not sweet
enough; thus, we advise ordering the drink with 150 percent
sweetness.

Overall, this aesthetic small boba shop offers a unique
selection of drinks at an average price. If you are looking for a
quiet setting with outside seating and a creative drink, we greatly
commend this place.