Beautiful cafe shop!…read more Coffee was super good! I've gone to bu ch of spots so I'm super pleased with the service, the place being so clean and friendly. Highly recommend to visit.

This place is precious. Absolutely adorable - very dark academia vibes... love love love…read more They made a good cappuccino - cup was tiny for the price but it's ok. They also have a pretty tasty egg salad sandwich which is the only thing you will get in terms of actual food - besides a few other pastry selections. There isn't much. No avocado sandwiches here! Seating is very limited. If you don't get a window seat (like I did!) you will sit at a communal table with 10+ people. Otherwise you're sitting outside. Plenty of space there. Come for the atmosphere it's worth it. And hope it doesn't rain! Unless you get a window seat inside- then it's amazing.

Calm, beautiful space and great selection of teas. Great service and knowledgeable staff. Came here…read morewith my husband as a final "peace and quiet" before our baby arrives and really enjoyed our time here. Will definitely come back another time!

My best friend and I were so bored this summer, we made it our mission to find experience based…read morefood/eats. We stumbled upon this place on social media and wanted to check it out. It is such a vibe. There's street parking (limited) we ended up parking 10 mins away from a public parking spot. We got the four seasons tea (they charge $3 per extra person for a cup) so for us two, it was only $3 extra on top of cost of the tea. We ended up spending $20 for tea for us both and the little snacks (pineapple bites and mochi). For the experience I'd say the pricing was worth it and especially if you are a tea connoisseur. Keep in mind, if you do go, you have to talk quietly since it's a quiet ambient atmosphere

Absolute gem that is part of a strong teaspot dynasty in West Berkeley, if we consider Far Leaves a…read morepart of it :P Service is next-level, ambiance is lovely, and as far as I can tell, the menu is enormous. Truly unique iced tea creations for reasonable prices here!!

Blue Willow Teaspot is a charming little nook to grab tea with friends. There's a register up front…read morewith a few pastries, and you could set yourselves up in the groupings of cozy seating in the back. I was craving a small dose of caffeine, and was recommended this spot from another Yelper. I was intrigued by the tea flight and selection, but didn't have time for a sit-down experience this time around. The takeout hojicha latte was fine, I could taste a slight nuttiness, and the light date syrup I requested also added some sweet depth. You could also choose between regular milk or oat milk for the latte. I should have requested more date syrup, the hojicha ended up being a bit bland for my liking, and the nuttiness was also quite light. I might try the tea flight experience in the future if I'm passing through, though may pass on the hojicha next time.

Very helpful, friendly and informative, great selection of teas. Love the look of this place.read more

Ended up here for an impromptu tea experience because we had no idea what we were doing. We tried…read moretwo different tea leaves; I only remember mine being the duck sh!t one. Wasn't blown away by it but always nice to try different tea.

at this point I have tried most of the Matcha places in downtown and this is the only one I have…read moregone back to multiple times. The Matcha is always a beautiful bright green color with a large depth of flavor. both the hot matcha and strawberry iced matter matcha are my favorite depending on the weather. Also they have adorable tea and California enamel Pins for sale at reasonable prices. I can get my morning cane and birthday present shopping done on the same day.

I moved to Berkeley about a month ago, and Asha quickly became one of my go-to spots for matcha. I…read morelove the vibe and decor of the cafe, the baristas have always been sweet and friendly, and the menu has a great selection. I especially appreciate that they have genmaicha, which can be harder to find. Their version has a distinct roasted tea flavor that doesn't taste watered down, which I love. Their strawberry matcha is also delicious, with a fresher, juicier strawberry flavor than a lot of other spots. I would honestly give this location 5 stars based on the drinks and regular barista interactions alone, but my last experience was really off-putting. I noticed that people often study there with laptops, so I came in with mine and brought a small lunch from Oori down the street to make a morning out of it. I've done this before without issue, but this time, a woman with crazy eyes who seemed to have a higher role came out and very abruptly scolded me, saying, "You CAN'T eat outside food here," while aggressively pointing toward the door as if I needed to leave immediately. I completely understand having a no-outside-food policy, and I would have had no problem following it if it had been communicated respectfully. But the way she approached me felt unnecessarily harsh and honestly pretty upsetting. I apologized right away, packed everything up in a panic, and left. After processing it, I realized how inappropriate the interaction felt for something that could have been addressed with a simple, polite reminder. Overall, Asha has great matcha, a cute space, and friendly baristas, but that experience really left a bad taste in my mouth. Just a heads up: the drinks are good, but you may want to be careful about bringing outside food in, because the policy might be enforced in a pretty unpleasant way.

AI Slop photos for their drinks and menu :(…read more Drinks were just Okay. Would not go back unless it was the only option. Decent place to study.

Advertisements for the latest Matcha are around but I would go for the coffee. Arabic music plays…read moreand the decorations are reflective of their culture. Brought me back to my childhood in Saudi Arabia. The barista was welcoming and the overall vibe was quiet even with the music. I would come here to study. I ordered the orange blossom mint decaf and it was delicious. I should have gotten the Turkish coffee but my body can't handle the caffeine.

my goal this year is to try one new place a month. I am so glad this was on my list . I had the…read morebest sandwich I have had in years (sausage). The crisp and warm bread just melted on my mouth. I can't wait to try another one . I was a bit overwhelmed by the selection so the helpful staff picked out lemon tiramisu and a passion fruit tart . Both were deliciously tart and mouthwatering. If you have a chance go to this spot for some yum !!!

I came in to get a coffee. I sat down with a pistachio latte and two beautiful pastries, which is…read moreone more than I intended to get. I also wanted to get one of everything, but that's not feasible. So delighted to have stumbled across this charming French & Algerian bakery. Warm and friendly service.

Omg, such great ideas for selling mochi donuts and drinks! Such a perfect combo!!…read more This place has been on my list to try, so when I was in Berkeley yesterday, I had to stop by! I got the Strawberry Lychee Roasted Matcha Latte (Hojicha) and the Ube Coconut Butter Mochi Donut As I've been more into hojicha lately, I had to try the strawberry and lychee flavor! It was perfectly balanced and not overly sweet. I loved it! The donut was so chewy and delicious, and the Ube flavor on top was amazing. I also love that it's an open kitchen, so you can actually see them making everything fresh. It smells SO good when you walk in! Definitely add this place to your list if you're around the area! FYI, there's no designated parking lot, but there's plenty of street parking around. There's also no seating inside. Hopefully they open more locations around the Peninsula because this combo is too good! PLEASE!

Maybe back in the day, Third Culture's matcha was considered novel, innovative, and really good…read more But compared to all the new matcha spots popping up, I honestly don't think their drinks hold up anymore. Especially at the price point, you expect a more premium drink. The matcha was gritty and tasted mostly like milk, with just an essence of whatever flavor it was paired with. For the price, I was expecting something much more flavorful and refined. The donuts were fine, but nothing particularly special or memorable. Overall, I just don't think the drinks or donuts justify the price compared to what's available now.

I want to inject every single item on this menu into my veins and live on that forever and ever. If…read moreyou are visiting downtown Berkeley, you need to stop in. I've visited elaichi twice since in the area already and I plan on going back again. My first visit was on a Monday morning with a friend. I ordered the Banana Chai Einspanner (chai with banana sea salt cold foam) with oat milk and the Aloo Tiki Paratha Roll (potato fritter with cilantro chutney, red onion and garlic yogurt). My friend ordered a hot latte and the Paratha Quiche (tomato, red onion, Serrano and cilantro). We also shared a piece of Pistachio Cake. The Banana Chai Einspanner is simply the best drink I have ever had in my entire life. I am truly not kidding. It is so decadent, smooth, spicy, fresh. This is the best drink to grace this plant. My friend was really happy with her latte as well. I wouldn't say it strikes the "classic chai" chord, as this is incredibly sweet, so if you're looking for that, I would select a more basic option on the menu. It's also worth noting, the Banana Chai is a seasonal option for the summer. As for the food, everything was delicious. The Pistachio Cake was moist and had such great flavor. The crusts on both of our savory dishes were so flaky! I visited again on a Tuesday morning (yes the next day) and ordered the Banana Chai Einspanner once again and the quiche. Both were as delicious as the first time around. And the product isn't it all. The staff at elaichi are incredibly friendly. Even when the shop was busy on the Monday morning, we were taken care of with respect and care. I can tell the staff also have good relationships with those in the community. The atmosphere of elaichi is also lovely. There is plenty of seating inside and outside and a raised countertop for folks who want to work but stand up. This is a must visit!!!

Food - 3 Service - 3…read moreValue - 2 I ordered Matcha Latte with Soy Milk from here a few months ago based on the reviews on Yelp...and I'm not quite sure what the hype is all about. The place is popular as evidenced by the line to order, but I felt it was expensive for what I got and it was only marginally better than a Starbucks matcha latte in my opinion. I would not come back again.

This is one of my favorite boba shops when I am around Berkeley. I think it is pretty fresh and…read moreauthentic compared to some shops that tend to be watery. I got myself a peach oolong tea with mousse. It was a bit tart maybe because it wasn't peach season but the mousse made it sweeter and creamier. I still liked it very much. I went with some friends who wanted the collaboration drinks. Surprisingly, they were able to get the character they wanted. The shop was decorated for Halloween. I shocked myself knocking into one of the skeleton decorations.

I've been to enough tea shops that the memories of them start to meld together. However, I had a…read moretrip to Chicha today and it is one I'll remember. After ordering at kiosks, it took about 20 minutes for our drinks. Good things come to those who wait! We ordered: Bubble Milk Tea, light sweetness, less ice Dong Ding Milk Tea, perfect sweetness, less ice Both teas had really good tea flavor. Bubble Milk Tea being more of a traditional black tea and Dong Ding being closer to a green tea. The Bubble Milk Tea had more cream, not sure if this was on purpose. For sweetness, light sweetness was good for me with boba. Perfect sweetness would be good without boba. Overall, the tea was fantastic. 90th+ percentile, but also on the pricier side. Each tea comes with a disposable cup carrier. The space is also really nice place to hang out - modern, spacious, and with a couple of interesting tea-related things to look at including a running video of tea harvesting and processing. As we were looking around, we noticed they have free tea tastings, but reservations look like they book out at least a few days in advance. Really impressed with this shop and will make a point to visit next time we're in the area.