(San Francisco/Berkeley)
Asha has one of the best matcha lattes in the city! They hand whisk every matcha latte to order and use Uji matcha. They also offer a lot of ceremonial teas since they are a tea house, but they do get quite pricey. Asha also has another location, their first one, near the UC Berkeley campus.
- Matcha Latte (Hot/Iced): Whether it’s hot or iced, the matcha taste is very apparent. If you haven’t tried their seasonal fruit purees, I suggest adding it to the iced version for some flavor 🙂
- Hojicha Latte (Hot/Iced): The hojicha taste isn’t very strong, so I don’t recommend it. I feel like there’s more milk than there is tea, so I could barely taste the hojicha.
- Seasonal Drinks I’ve Tried:
- Blood Orange Oolong Tea (Iced) Jan-April: This was interesting, but I prefer the citrus taste to be stronger.
- Yuzu Green Tea (Iced) Jan-April: Although the yuzu isn’t bad, they don’t give you much 🙁 I remember adding this to my iced matcha latte too and you could barely see the yuzu at the bottom.
- Strawberry Black Tea (Iced) May-Aug: There is a good amount of strawberry bits in there!
- Asian Pear Oolong (Iced) Sept-Dec: This was very refreshing when paired with the green tea.
- Grape Oolong (Iced) Sept-Dec: I couldn’t really taste the grape for this one 🙁
- Boba (only available noon and after): pretty chewy but not my favorite
Hot Yuzu Green Tea 
Iced Matcha Latte w/ Boba 
Asian Pear Oolong
They also offer mochi muffins from Third Culture Bakery and a few pastries from Firebrand.
Website
Urban Ritual
(San Francisco)
Urban Ritual is my FAVORITE place for tea/boba! They have great specialty drinks that you can’t find anywhere else, and their drinks are made very well. I haven’t tried everything on their menu, but below are some of my favorites:
- Matcha Latte (Iced): Classic matcha latte with the shot poured on top of the milk. They use a decent amount of matcha so I can taste the bitterness of the matcha! Bonus: get this with oat milk 🙂
- White Grape Yuzu: This drink is definitely one that you won’t find anywhere else! Yuzu is a rare find and it pairs fantastically with their white grape oolong tea. Super refreshing and you get pieces of yuzu I always ask for extra! 😀
- Forever Young: Another drink that you can’t find anywhere else is their non-alcoholic sangria! It’s on the tartier side, so if you like your drinks sweet, I’d get a little more sugar. The fresh berries add a great touch to this drink.
- Hojicha Latte (Hot) SEASONAL: I had this for the first time last fall, and it was seasonal then, but they’ve also made a hot chocolate version so it might be here to stay! I personally prefer the hot hojicha latte because I think that brings out more of the flavor. This is definitely the strongest and best hojicha latte I’ve ever had! Besides this place, there are only two other places in the city that offer this drink: Stonemill and Maiko.
Matcha Latte 
White Grape Yuzu 
Forever Young
Toppings (FREE if you check-in):
- Honey Boba: not the best I’ve had, but pretty good
- Aloe Vera: this pairs well with their white grape yuzu
- Creme Brulee: this is similar to getting pudding in your drink but it’s very sweet and has a creamier texture
They also offer mochi muffins and custard cakes from Third Culture Bakery.