4.5 Stars. A few people in the "Eat Something New in Queens" FB group raved about the drinks at Arteasan (or is it Artisan on the cups?). One conveniently in LIC near the Queens Plaza & Queensborough Plaza stops.
After much decision paralysis scrolling through the menu...seasonal orange blossom foam, mochi teas, mashed chesnut, slushie with strawberry, mango, or durian!! I wanted to see how their basic Jasmine tea tasted. Chose the ($8.17 total, no tip) Mochi Milk Tea. "Drinkable mochi" seems like it's trending right now. I chose the Jasmine green tea option instead of the Oolong, and while I'm here! The Mochi + Taro combination (no extra charge), less ice, 70% sugar.
I wasn't too long of a wait (3-5 minutes)- even though there was a steady stream of on-person, pick-up & delivery orders.
The drink was big - taller than I expected (& came with a fun sleeve with a character on it). It was good, tastes high quality ingredients (medium/strong floral Jasmine flavor, bits of teeny taro cubes). I wasn't sure how to drink the mochi - didn't want to choke. I stabbed it a little & finally got some. It's a very thick marshmallow consistency. Really interesting & kind of a meal in itself. It was nice having the different taro & mochi textures together. The drink came in a paper cup (while others' orders were cold fruit teas in clear cups). I would have liked to see what I was drinking & sip from each part of the drink. Maybe the milk jasmine tea isn't that pretty.
My main complaint with these layered tea drinks is that each part tastes good & is interesting, but once you mix everything together or stir around to get to find the mochi/boba; the drink starts tasting like the strongest ingredient. It's probably always impossible to taste the delicate Jasmine flavor halfway through (or are you sipping the flavored syrup at the bottom of the cup first?) Halfway through, your mouth & the drinks gets cold anyway so it's hard to taste the flavors. BUT that's fine, I'm always easily influenced & supporting small business.
The shop is very small with 2 tables & a waiting area that doesn't fit probably more than 8-10 standing people. It's more of a to-go shop. The decor is industrial modern & fits the neighborhood's history, cute characters & staff sweatshirts too.
There's a lot of staff working on the drinks in the open kitchen, which take up most of the shop; but I didn't feel like anyone was happy or maybe they were tired. When I first walked in (11:30am) the atmosphere seemed off & silent (even though there was music on). Other than that, I'd recommend Arteassan & it's unique menu. IDK if you can get me to try durian though... read more