WOW Bubble Tea
Location:
4553 University Way NE (the Ave)
Seattle, WA 98105
Hours:
1PM-12AM Daily
Cost:
$3.01 for basic iced tea with tapioca (Like Pochi's, they didn't charge me for the penny)
First off, let me try and explain to you the concept of WOW. This is rather hard to explain, mind you, as numerous web searches turned up miniscule information. However, some of my devote Christian sources have explained to me that WOW stands for Wonder of Worship. Unfortunately, my sources both said they were unfamiliar with WOW and had only heard mention of it. All of my web searches returned information about music cds and concerts for WOW, but there was nothing about the organizations mission. So, until I find their mission statement, I am going to describe them as capitalistic Christians who want to take over the world with their music. So how, exactly, does bubble tea fit into this?
I'm not quite sure, other than a bubble tea café on the Ave attracts more attention than a new generic café that must compete with the plethora of much more established haunts like Solstice or Perkengrüven. Having a bigger consumer draw and less competition also means that one can install a massive collection of TVs stacked atop one another with brilliant decorative skill and play a constant barrage of Christian soft rock music videos at a noise level where the sound of shitty music isn�t grating, but can still brainwash customers.
But really, the overall ambience of WOW is nicer than most of the gritty restaurants on the Ave. The interior design consists of simple, stark modern lines without sacrificing comfort. Everything is white, clean, and uncluttered with fancy glass tables set between large over-stuffed booth-style chairs. With the whiteness and cleanliness of everything, I couldn't help but think they were going for the standard "purity" motif, which I found to be unsettling. The TVs bothered me as they were the focal point of the café and incredibly hard to ignore. I also didn't see the requisite board games anywhere, but they could have been hiding behind the TVs. The staff was friendly- as Christians should be- and the music was at a soft level that my Muzak trained ears could ignore.
As for the actual drink I ordered, they did offer my control flavor (lemon iced tea with a jasmine base). However, the jasmine base wasn't really jasmine tea, but more a blend of jasmine and black tea. It wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't what I was expecting when I chose jasmine instead of green tea or black tea. The flavoring was rather strong, as well as the tea, so the overall drink had a funky taste since the tea and powder competed rather than complimented each other. WOW also cooked their tapioca balls almost too long so that they had a deteriorative squish and were almost too big to be sucked up the straw.
The Rating
Ambience: 8 out of 10 (the TVs and music were a little too much)
Tapioca Texture: 9 out of 10
Drink Quality: 8 out of 10
Recommendation: If Christians, capitalistic Christians or Christian soft-rock scare you, stay away.
This is an ongoing series of bubble tea reviews in Seattle. The control tea for each review is a basic lemon iced tea with a jasmine base (when available). Clearly, the ideas expressed here are my personal opinions and thus are not the end of your world should you disagree.
Pochi Tea Station
Location:
5014 University Way (the Ave)
Seattle, WA 98105
Hours:
1PM-12AM Daily
Cost:
$3.01 for basic iced tea with tapioca (they didn't charge me for the penny, though)
Good ol' Pochi's is an established business that's been around for years as far as commerce on the Ave is concerned (hardly any of the businesses make it past a year). In fact, I owe my first brush with bubble tea and my subsequent crazed bubble tea neurosis to Pochi's.
The first time I had tried bubble tea was when a group of friends and I were hanging out at the Mix, and another friend joined us with an opaque plastic cup full of brightly colored liquid in tow. Curious about this strange concoction (the bubble tea craze was to come a year later), we inquired about what he had. He explained to us that while he was living in Hong Kong for a year, he had encountered this popular drink and used to drink it every day after school. He was quite enthusiastic about bubble teas debut in the U-District and encouraged those brave enough (and stupid enough to swap germs with five other people) to try his drink. I was one of those brave and stupid people- in fact, I was the only one, so I guess my stupid level isn't so high since I only swapped germs with one other person. The others opted out, claiming they couldn't stand tapioca and that seeing it the size of marbles was quite distressing. I, having led a sheltered childhood, had never had tapioca and to this day still have not had it in its intended form. Perhaps this contributed to my ability to try the drink unhindered, or perhaps I'm just strange enough that I'll try about anything food related. Whatever the case, I tried it and was shocked by the sheer size of the tapioca. It's one thing to see thin outlines of the tea-infused balls through a thick fruity liquid, it's yet another to actually have one of those things invade your mouth and flee into your stomach byway of the throat without your permission. I remember the drink, on the other hand, having a wonderful combination of tea and sweet flavoring. But even so, I was disturbed by the tapioca flotsam one was meant to suck through with extra wide straws. It wasn't for another year until- with a different friend- I tried bubble tea again. I knew to expect the silken texture of nuclear lambasted tapioca balls (or can one just say "tapioci"?) and to go easy on the straw as not to accidentally swallow and choke on un-chewed balls.
So, Dear Reader who e-mailed me asking what the hell bubble tea is, does that answer your question? Sorry if it doesn't, I suppose you'll have to read this article or this one and perhaps search the internet for some pictures.
Now, as far as the general performance review is concerned, Pochi's earned mixed results. I tried them much earlier this week, receiving a rather watery sinking-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach saccharine concoction. Having the advantage of purchasing quality tea from them on a number of prior occasions, I decided to grace them with a repeat taste test. The second time I ordered, someone different made my drink and it was much better. The drink I ordered was a lemon iced tea with a jasmine base and it was less on the sweet side, more on the tea side. Unlike Yunnie's, who makes consistent drinks, it seems that with Pochi's you're depending on the luck of the straw with which employee serves you. Both trials found the tapioca to have just the right consistency; the balls were smaller than most, which made them more on the chewy side. I personally enjoy this more than the larger ones that have a deteriorative squish to them.
Not only do they offer tea, but they also offer WiFi, vibrant green walls, a vibrant orange counter, the usual selection of games to be used by customers, and uncluttered windows with lots of daylight- something particularly important in Seattle. Oh, and the staff is really friendly- a refreshing change after the bitchy Gingko Tea lady who tapped her foot and got pissy because I didn't know they only offer lemon-lime flavoring, not lemon. The general layout is rather oblong, so it would be to your advantage to hang out there with only one other person as seating for large groups is limited. The furniture is uniform black mission-style chairs with small matching tables. It looked rather uncomfortable, and the tables were much too small for a board game with ample room left for your drink and elbows. As far as comfy lounge seating is concerned, it's limited. I believe there were only two relaxed chairs and a padded window seat in the entire place. My first trial taste found the café to be jammed up the walls with rambunctious Greeks (the college kind, not the cultural kind). The noise levels were incredibly high- without the TVs and Asian pop music turned on- and the place felt like a sweltering tropical jungle. My second trial taste found nary a customer and the temperature levels at a comfortable 65 F. Again, the TVs weren't on, but the Asian pop was at a low and tolerable level.
Pochi's, you were a balm that soothed and healed my puss-filled broil. Thank you for guiding me to the light that is bubble tea.
The Rating
Ambience: 8 out of 10
Tapioca Texture: 10 out of 10
Drink Quality: 7 out of 10
Recommendation: Try it out. Pochi's iced tea has more tea and less sweetener than that of others I've had, so if you like your bubble tea sweet it might not be the place for you.
This is an ongoing series of bubble tea reviews in Seattle. The control tea for each review is a basic lemon iced tea with a jasmine base (when available). Clearly, the ideas expressed here are my personal opinions and thus are not the end of your world should you disagree.
Gingko Tea
Location:
4343 University Way Northeast (the Ave)
Seattle, Washington 98105
Hours:
Um... where did my notes go?
This was the first time I had stepped into Gingko Tea since the spring of 2001. Given how cluttered the windows became one random day a year or so ago, the shop is clearly under a different management than when I last visited. I'm not really sure on the details of all of that as I never paid much attention to the place after I last visited (bad associations due to no fault of the employees/owners of the shop).
Back in the good ol' days, Gingko Tea had a clear and easy to read menu and a wonderful ambience. The atmosphere was relaxed and had a large wall full of magazines and books for one to browse at their leisure. Games were neatly stacked near the magazines and books and the caf� layout was inviting and warm. The menu is no longer clear and easy to read and the ambience is but a former shade of what it once was. Granted, bubble tea has been added to their menu, their magazines and games are still present, and they now offer free WiFi, but the overall tone of the place has shifted. I believe this was mostly due to the bad vibes that having cluttered café windows induce (never clutter your windows, café owners!) and the overall bitchiness of the woman I ordered from. I also couldn't help but notice the noise levels were incredibly high. Part of this is due to the fact that the café is solely counter-based and thus the noise of bubble tea preparation invades the general seating, but the majority of blame can be pointed at poor acoustics. It seemed impossible for anyone sitting next to each other to hear one another, so they had to raise their voices rather high.
To get this review series off to a rough start, my control tea (basic lemon iced tea) was not available. Instead, I opted for the only relative in the lemon flavor species they had available and ordered a lemon-lime iced tea. Once I had my drink in hand, I gratefully exited into the bustling (but less irritating) world of the Ave and took my first savoring sip. And...
It had to have been the most disgusting bubble tea (much less food product) I have ever had! The tapioca was cooked too fast so that it had a molted rock-hard and biodegraded texture that reminded me of things one would never want in their mouth. I could have forgiven the woman behind the counter if only the tapioca was disgusting, but the actual tea was far worse. The taste was so saccharine and sharp that I'm convinced it was straight-up artificial fruit flavoring without tea- it certainly left that sinking-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach feel that a cup of pure saccharine syrup would. Of course, my stomach was not the only part of my body adversely affected; the back of my tongue and throat were plagued by the sharp sting of nastiness until I was able to cleanse my palate with a good dousing of two full glasses of water and Listerine.
Gingko Tea, you were a puss-filled broil in my side. Shame on you for violating my love for bubble tea.
The Rating:
Ambience: 7 out of 10
Tapioca Texture: 0 out of 10
Drink Quality: 5 out of 10 (as cat piss would have been worse)
Recommendation: Flee!
This is an ongoing series of bubble tea reviews in Seattle. The control tea for each review is a basic lemon iced tea with a jasmine base (when available). Clearly, the ideas expressed here are my personal opinions and thus are not the end of your world should you disagree.
Bubble Tea Break
Instead of traveling somewhere new and exciting and dancing around in a bikini this spring break, I'm staying in Seattle and working. Oh, and the boyfriend left to visit his folks (and dentist) and it looks as if all of my friends are traveling around Europe or working. But who needs that dumb MTV Spring Break beach party crap anyway? I certainly don't when I'm so fortunate to have a myriad of bubble tea places to fill the void!
So why bubble tea of all the things to obsess over in Seattle? Because the moment I first discovered the wonders of Bubble Tea, I quickly dubbed it my "liquid sunshine". There's nothing more soothing on a cold, rainy, depressing day in Seattle than one of those perky bubble tea cups and their vibrant colored straws- half the fun is choosing which colored straw looks best with your tea. Also, I'm quite addicted to the lemon with the fragrant jasmine tea base flavor that the best of the best offer. And of course, the flexibility of drink types is quite handy; if it's too cold outside for you, then get a hot tea. If it's too hot outside, then get the iced tea or milkshake or smoothie. There's also something quite satisfying and soothing about chewing those tapioca balls- the number one turnoff for most people who try bubble tea for the first time (me included). It seems that no matter how high the stress level is when I walk into Yunnie's (my favorite place of all) the stress melts entirely away after a couple of chews on those tasty tapioca balls of strangeness.
So, this week is my official Bubble Tea Break! Are all five of my readers out there ready to have a rockin' good time? Yeah? Well let's go party with the BT! Woohoo!
