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I got B1. Purple kow milk tea, which was decent. It seemed a bit watered down, but the flavor was okay. I thought the half sweetness level was perfect. The regular size (what I got) is really big, and there's even a large size, which is absolutely massive. It did take kind of long for my drink to be made, even though there weren't a lot of people.
My fav boba place in berk! I've been coming here even before they moved to this location and it's still been consistently a go to place for me. I always get their toffee QQ milk tea, 25% sweet, less ice. The balance of texture with the boba and brown sugar jelly / crystal boba goes so well together, along with the milk tea not being too sweet. Their drinks tend to run on the sweeter side for me so keep that in mind when adjusting your sweetness level. My friends who prefer sweeter drinks usually get 75%. Their regular milk tea and passion fruit green tea is also good. Their grass jelly also has great flavor. ALSO you can choose oat milk over organic milk for no extra charge, which is a plus. Their snacks? Also top tier. Their garlic fries, sweet potato fries, and fried zucchini are my favs. They always come out hot and crispy, with the perfect texture. There's limited seating and some outlets around the tables. You can also order ahead on Snackpass.
I love purple kow. I've been going to the university location for years but they closed and opened a location in Channing. The drinks are consistently good. You can't go wrong with their milk teas, fruit teas, specialty milk drinks. I will say I miss their stamp card system. They had the best reward. Nonetheless, my fave boba. They are very generous with the amount of boba they include in a drink.
I'm so glad that Purple Kow is still around! The last time I came was about 7 years ago and when I came this time around, it looked completely different! I asked the cashier if they had changed locations and she confirmed my suspicions, they moved from Shattuck to this new location about a year ago! The location is very bright and there were a couple tables and chairs to hang out and chill with friends. Boba wise, I ordered D4, the iced milk drink with boba and grass jelly. It tasted as delicious as I remembered it! I asked for 0 sugar and it's still sweet. I wonder what kind of milk they use! The grass jelly is perfect and the boba is soft. The cup size is still pretty funny. If only parking was easier, I would come more often. But the boba is absolutely delicious!
Purple Kow is one of my go to places when the other boba spots close at 9pm or when I'm craving their specific drinks. You get a HUGE cup with boba for way cheaper than a lot of places around. Last night I stopped in for my favorites- their V-DAY STRAWBERRY MILK and TOBANGO WINGS W/ FRIES COMBO!!!! So good every time. The staff who work here are so sweet. I love hopping around all the boba spots in berkeley because they each have good things about them. Purple Kow is for sure in my rotation.
I realized my review is 5 years old! I still love Purple Kow so much, and I'll always go out of my way to go there, if I can. I think they moved since my last review and are a bit harder to find - there isn't a great sign out front - it is also hard to park on the street, so best to order and pick it up. Even with all this it is still completely worth it! Same great quality tea, and they're always nice - They even called us once when we ordered online to make sure we had the right location. The new location is more fancy than the old but I haven't spent much time in the store/seating. Recommend more than every boba place, ever - however you have to keep in mind I only ever get the one pineapple green tea drink --
If you haven't been to this location before, be warned that there isn't a ton of street parking directly next to the store, but there is a parking garage within walking distance that has 1 hour free parking! The interior isn't huge, but you can definitely go in to sit down with a couple of friends! We only came for the drinks (D3 & B2). The service was quick as well. I generally try to go by the rule that if you've never had a drink before at a new place, you should always get 100% to try the drink how it was intended to be made. That being said, we got the B2 with green milk tea & 80% sweetness but didn't really feel like the flavor was super strong... I definitely feel like I should have gotten a 100%! There was A TON of boba in there, which was half appreciated but also it was so difficult to try the drink on its own! We also got the D3 with 100%( Milk with Caramel, Boba + Pudding). The caramel definitely makes this feel like it's 200% sweetness, so you could totally tone down the sweetness for this drink. Other than that, the boba was nice and chewy, a little smaller than usual though!
Off Channing street, New location to me as only make a trip to berkley once in a blue moon. Today daughter was craving purple kow, we Used to frequent SF & SJ when we in town. The signature drinks are the D series & the pudding was really tasty in the milk teas. Pop corn chicken is always a hit as they are really chunky chicken pieces. Say that 5x. Parked in a parking lot $4 an hour with first hour free otherwise limited street parking.
Salt and Pepper Chicken: 5 stars for this because the chicken nuggets are big and juicy and you get a lot of them. Definitely enough to share with friends as a snack. They should be called Spicy nuggets though as they definitely taste more like they have Spivey flavoring vs "salt and pepper." I would get the chicken again, it was tasty and a good value. My roasted oolong milk tea with aloe was alright... I'll probably try something else next time as I think it just wasn't my preference. My friend's drink was really good. Don't remember what it was. The cup is annoying to hold. Service: The person working told us there was no WiFi but we saw there was a WiFi and were able to sign on no problem... Ambiance: loud as heck!! Spend a little over an hour doing some computer work in here and it sounded like a college cafeteria with the kids constantly coming in and out and talking loudly. Definitely a place to hangout and not necessarily to work but there is WiFi and one bathroom decently clean.
This Purple Kow location is closer to where most of the other boba spots are in Berkeley and in the area where most of the students hang out in. Parking is a bit hit or miss here, as everyone is always doubled parked, but they are located on a quieter street, so there is usually some parking right in the front of the shop. Not much service - I ordered ahead on the app and sat inside waiting for my drink and even though they finished making it, the time for the drink being done was not updated and my drink was just sitting on the back counter. I ordered the Purple Kow Green Milk Tea with boba and grass jelly. The milk tea tasted a bit off like the milk tasted a bit funny like it did not go well with the drink and it also tasted a bit lukewarm, even though I ordered it cold (there was no % option for ice, only either cold or hot). I feel like I only go here because I like how big the cups are, but the milk tea is just eh.
I was surprised to hear Purple Kow had moved to Telegraph! It's one of my favorite boba places to go to in Berkeley because their drink size is huge compared to other shops so you get more bang for your buck. We had the peach green tea and mango green tea, both were yummy and full of flavor. This location is a lot smaller than their old one understandably, so keep in mind there's only around six tables inside. The only thing was service was very slow, we waited around 15-20 minutes for our drink to be finished on a Saturday afternoon. Otherwise, I recommend Purple Kow if you're looking to get boba in Berkeley (which seems to be everywhere).
Purple Kow is one of my favorite boba shops in Berkeley. Their milk tea is consistent and are served in large cups! Some may say this is inconvenient to hold, but I personally don't mind it. My go-to order is their Twins QQ Jelly Drink, which has milk tea, grass jelly, and pudding. I usually like to taste the flavor of the tea, so 50% sweetness always works for me. Overall, solid spot for boba. They recently changed their location to be closer to Telegraph, which makes it more convenient for UC Berkeley students to stop by. The new location is very spacious and is definitely an upgrade from their old location. The service is quick as usual!
What happened to all the awesome workers here?? When I visited for the first time in about a year, I was unpleasantly surprised by the rude attitude of the cashier who talked to me as if being there was torture for her. There was a guy who came after us around 9:50pm and as soon as he walked in, she greeted him with a "We're closed" even before he had a chance to look at the menu. Door close at 10pm. Why are you turning away your customers?? Besides the sad excuse for their service, most of their drinks are mediocre: too sweet if you don't change the sugar level, but watered-down if you alter the sweetness (as opposed to having a stronger tea flavor). I got the oolong milk tea with boba, 25% sugar and it was terrible. The peach oolong with mango tea, however, was excellent. With the prices being similar to those of Sharetea, I'd definitely go to Sharetea any day over Purple Kow. read more
7 years ago
Always love purple kow. Used to drink this every other day !! d3 and d4 are my personal fav!! read more
Let me tell you about my quest for the famed iced milk drink. I first tried an iced milk drink at Meow Meow Cafe in SoCal, and I was HOOKED. My boyfriend once brought 6 in a cooler on a drive back up to NorCal. You can say we're a little bit obsessed with iced milk+boba&pudding. Half&Half's iced milk is suuuper good too. I was seriously considering going to UCLA just so I could be near all these delicious boba places. But then Purple Kow opened up in SF a couple years ago! I tried their iced milk about a year or two back and it was waaaay too sweet. So, I was pretty reluctant to try the iced milk again at this location. But since I'm so obsessed, I decided to give it another go. I got the D3 (iced milk drink with caramel, boba, and pudding) and it was a SUCCESS! Super delicious, and it definitely satisfied my craving for iced milk. It's definitely not on par with Meow Meow or Half and Half, but it's close enough. I have yet to try the actual milk TEA, but I can assure you that the iced milk is awesome. It's definitely more like a dessert than a drink though, so if you don't have much of a sweet tooth or you prefer authentic tea, don't get this. Since they just opened up this week, they're still working out a couple kinks. The card machine was down today, so a bunch of people in line struggled to find cash in their wallet. Since they're new, make sure to bring some cash before getting in line because their system may be down. This location is definitely bigger, with a second floor. However, I'm not the biggest fan of the layout. The cashier is placed in a weird spot, so there's a good chance that you'll be waiting outside for a while. The hours are also kinda funky - I'm hoping that they extend their hours since right now, it's only from 11-5! I'm excited to try the other drinks. Welcome to Cal, Purple Kow (heheh, or should I say Purple CAL)! read more
12 years ago
Go: -Because it's the best boba in Berkeley! (Tied with Asha) -To hang out in a cute, clean cafe with a cozy upstairs nook -For quick service (in and out in about 5 minutes on a sunny Sunday afternoon) -Because nature is calling* (more on the bathroom later) Get: -Any of the most popular drinks, conveniently located to the left of the register when you're standing in line with What to Order Anxiety -#B10- Matcha Fresh milk tea, 50% sweet -A stamp card. Because boba. *Props to Purple Kow for having one of the only and cleanest public (customer) restrooms in DTBerk. It would be great if they could add a hook for purses/jackets and maybe have paper towels instead of the hand-dryer as an option (don't hate me, tree lovers). But overall it was totally usable. Ask for the key at the register. read more
7 years ago
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13 years ago
After hearing so many mixed reviews about Purple Kow in SF, I was wondering if I should even check it out when I got off the BART in Berkeley. My friend texted me saying that he liked this location a lot better than the SF one, so I decided to grab some boba before heading home. Everything about this boba shop looks nice and modern, and they even have an upstairs! (I bet a lot of college students hang out here.) Sure, drinks are around $4-5, but they're the SoCal large sizes. I ordered the Green Milk Tea with boba, and it was just aite. At least their boba was nice and QQ! (That's after they ran out, and we had to wait 15-20 minutes for them to make a new batch though...) My friend from Berkeley said people actually prefer boba from Quickly's in the Asian Ghetto, so that should say something! They do accept credit card here (A+) and get a stamp card to earn a free drink after you buy ten! read more
13 years ago
I was super ecstatic to be in Berkeley 2 days after Purple Kow opened! I've been craving Green Milk Tea, and I discovered there's very few places in the Bay that will not tell you it is the same thing as Jasmine Milk Tea. I came in when it wasn't too busy in the afternoon. I waited to place my order for about a minute and a half before the cashier stopped talking to the previous customers, making plans for lunch some day or whatever like he couldn't do that another time, like when he wasn't working during the first week of opening when customer service should be absolutely prime IMO. After I put in my order, I waited, and waited. I figured that they had just opened and they were still getting the hang of things, so I waited for 20 minutes before I went up to ask about my order. The cashier who took my order must've been too distracted to put it in... I wonder why. But anyways, he was very apologetic and ended up giving me a large size instead of regular for his mistake. So, bottom line for that story: if your drink is taking more than 10 minutes to make, you should probably go check on it in case they forgot. The Green Milk Tea was absoolutteeeelyyy delicious. Aromatic, wonderful. I thought it was too sweet at first, but my tastebuds adjusted and it was fine. The boba was too soft, no flavor, which is the primary reason for my 3-star rating. As an extra note, they have more seating upstairs! Very comfy and well-lit place, seems perfect for studying or just catching up with a friend :). read more
I love Purple Kow. My friend from 7th grade introduced me to it by taking me to the one on Balboa Street in SF. My mom works at Berkeley and this Purple Kow location is on the way from the downtown Berkeley BART station to campus, which is even more convenient! Usually I get the Peach QQ since that's what got me famous last year on YouTube as I got debuted in the Fung Brothers video "Things Asian Girls Like" at about the 5:00 mark. However, this time I chose the matcha milk tea without any toppings and half the sweetness. It was delicious! This might be TMI, but it could also be useful for anyone with a sensitive stomach. Maybe for me, matcha doesn't sit well in my stomach because it went in and out if you know what I mean. It was worth it though! read more
TIP: DON'T go with "normal sweetness" because it is way too sweet (at least for me)... but you can test my theory if you want. Upon hearing raving reviews about Puprle Kow in SF, I knew I had to try the one in Berkeley. This was actually my first time at Purple Kow, and I had high expectations. I decided to order the D1, which is their original milk tea (either black/green tea) with boba, and normal sweetness, which was $3.18. The cashier was really friendly and helpful andI received my order pretty quickly -- even my friend who ordered ~5 drinks and food received her order in under 15 minutes. The only problem that I had with my boba was that the milk tea itself was ... warm? It was a hot day and I wanted a COLD drink. The only "coldness" I felt from it was the ice floating on the top. The boba was warm and chewy, though it did not really pay any attention because the boba was extremely sweet. I do not reccommend normal sweetness unless you're absolutely CRAAAAAAAVING over the top sweet boba. But yeah, I would be willing to visit Purple Kow place again. I normally hear good things about this boba place, so I'll see how the next visits go. read more
I'm a fan of the Berkeley location! I previously tried PK in the Richmond (SF) and didn't like it much because I didn't know what to order. I got the plain milk tea and since the portion size was so big, it was a never-ending tub of blandness. There was also a ridiculously long wait. No one should have to wait that long to get boba! I don't care how good. However, I've always heard good things about PK and have been accused of not knowing what to order for years now by more than one person. I just never got around to redeeming my first experience. So, last Sunday, while meandering around Berkeley, I tried PK again and was blown away! They had so many choices and combinations at this location, all displayed on bright, attractive, easy to read menus and signs. Something the SF location needs to work on! I got the Fresh Orange Yakult (the "fresh" description always seduces me) while my friends got the Peach Green Tea and A2 combo which was basically a caramel macchiato milk tea...I tried them all and they were delicious! The toppings were also fresh, I got my drink with aloe and pudding and it went perfectly. My friends' drinks already came with toppings so they didn't have to choose any. Overall, the staff here are friendly, the wait time is short, there is plenty of seating, it's clean, chic-looking and efficient...I approve 100%! Boba snobbiness be gone, Purple Kow is now one of my favorites! At least the Berkeley location is :D read more
Big thumbs down for this place. I've given purple kow a couple tries once when this location first opened and once recently so I'd say it's been around 2-3 years? Both times I got quite sick in my stomach from their tea, and it seems that I wasn't the only one from the conversations I've had with my friends. The chubby cups are cute and innovative but not practical at all in my opinion. Not easy to hold and definitely not vehicle friendly. Their menu is also a bit too complicated and overwhelming to me. There's a lot of unintuitive labeling and subtexts that makes it particularly difficult for those who don't visit often. Their sweet potato fries were good though! They give you quite a lot for how cheap it is. read more
My first time at Purplekow was just okay -- not great but not underwhelming. I ordered the matcha milk tea with boba, half sweet. The "half sweet" option was sweet enough for me and let me taste the slight bitterness of the matcha. The boba had excellent chewy texture. My friends ordered the Purplekow iced milk drinks and, to me, those are too sweet for me. That was also the first time I ever tried an "iced milk" drink. If that's how they are supposed to taste, then I'm not a fan. The drinks are kinda pricy, especially when their chubby cups (their default size) are not all that large. They are 25 oz, according to the cups' bottoms. That is a 1 oz difference from a large Peets Coffee or Starbucks venti (24 oz) and seems to be pretty close to a Tap Ex's large cup. I have yet to check how many oz a Tap Ex large definitely holds though. While the chubby cups may be temporarily fun to grasp onto with two hands, they do not fit in cup holders and are not comfortable to hold with one hand to drink and walk. I would go again to give it another chance. Hopefully service will not be as slow. read more
While in Berkeley, I checked my bookmarks for boba spots in the area as I was having a craving. The first spot that popped up was purple kow and I was excited because I have read great things about this place and wanted to try it for myself. I turned down Shattuck and made a right on Center street and to my dismay no parks were available on the street (duh? what did I expect?) so I had to drive around making a circle and heading back up Center street. My sister and I parked in the lot across the street - I think this is Bank of America's parking lot. I figured that since I was going to only be a quick minute and because the bank was closed, it wouldn't hurt for me to park there for a hot minute. I walked in to Purple Kow and of course there were people everywhere. Some waiting for there order and others crowded around the cashier waiting for food and drinks. After perusing the menu, I decided I wanted to try a drink with crema since I had never had this type of drink before. I ordered an oolong tea with crema and boba added. My total was around $5.64 and I was asked which level of sweetness I wanted, I chose 80%. My drink was very tasty, one thing I noted was that they do NOT skimp on boba here. The boba was small but very chewy AND sweet unlike quickly where the boba has no flavor at all to me. The crema was a great surprise- I was told by the cashier that crema is a house-made whipped cream, it had a sweet and salty kick to it that I liked so I cant wait to try it again. Overall, it's a little pricy for a boba drink but I loved the generosity with the boba so I'd probably return to try more flavors. read more
11 years ago
I ordered a lychee slush and for the price the drink was really large, which is a plus. But the drink tasted way too sweet and has that "fake" candy taste. I would totally come again, but next time I'm for sure ordering a milk tea. -Kristen 2 stars from Kristen. Edmund was not here to rate. read more
13 years ago
Was really excited to have Purple Kow open up here in Berkeley, but I feel like it didn't taste quite the same as the Purple Kow in San Francisco. It was mainly because I thought the boba at the Berks location was not as soft and chewy as the SF location. The wait here was quite long. It's very deceiving because the line to order isn't very long, but actually waiting for the drink takes the longest time. Definitely expect your wait time to be a good 25-30 minutes especially during peak times. Must try: Iced milk. It's basically why I go to Purple Kow--for the iced milk drinks. I usually go for the D4 (or some combination of boba, pudding or grass jelly). ***WARNING: ice milk drinks are SUPER sweet. It's like diabetes in a cup, but you can ask for half sweeten (so half the amount of normal sugar). It still tastes sweet but with half the sugar you would have normally had. Less sugar and still tastes as sweet and good. Win win situation! read more
11 years ago
Bubble tea was tasty. Luckily we didn't have to wait long like the other reviews mentioned. The nuggets and sweet potato fries were on point. Definitely a must if you visit! read more
11 years ago
Probably out of all the boba places in Berkeley I've been to, this one has the best menu! It's really well organized and easy to read. The numbers make sense which makes ordering easy. It's simple to customize the amount of sugar you need, there's different sizes in cups. I will admit it's a little bit pricier than other places though. The customer service is on point! Very friendly people! I changed my order last minute and the cashier was very flexible. The boba is super chewy if you're into that, however some people might find it a little too hard. I've only had the D3 with 80% sugar and I will admit I have a sweet tooth and love the taste. If you're looking for a stronger tea flavor, try one of their milk teas and avoid the "purplekow" milk teas (D section). read more
12 years ago
The pricing is good. The boba portion is unlike any other boba tea joint. The cups are so large! It's great! The tapioca pearls are brewed to perfection. The location is near restaurants so it's great for a dessert stop. The place is clean and there is upstairs seating. read more
3 years ago
7 years ago
Purple Kow is very good, they have a wide variety of drinks and toppings. The flavor is always consistent and I never have to worry about it tasting different. Customer service is fine they are usually friendly especially the guy there on Sunday. Although one particular staff member there who's has braids and glasses is kind of rude. She looks like she doesn't want to be there lol anyways 3.5 stars read more
13 years ago
5 years ago
My first time visiting a boba shop in Berkeley and I have to say this one was fairly good! After a long hike I went along and ordered a strawberry slush with boba. One thing I have to say i admire is they have a 25% sugar when most places I've been have 30% or higher being the lowest! :o so it was safe to order 25% and give it a try. I have to say for being 25% it was too sweet for my own tastes, and I may order no sugar next time. Most boba houses swear by their 'standard' for sugar, while others allow you to pick your level of choice. However if you are like me, not liking extremely sweet drinks (and I mean SWEET!) it's best to go with no sugar or 25% otherwise you'll have a sugar rush at 50% and I can't imagine what 100% / regular would do! I enjoyed their convenience and their menu allowing customers to know the ingredients included in each drink! They even go by letters and numbers so you can order a K3 and it shouldn't be too much an issue. :) Their cups were my favorite part of the visit- I've never tried a boba cup that mimics the width of a bowl! It was too cute and I was able to take my time since this drink was super thick! The slush drinks are mixed well so you are NEVER left with just ice and sucked away the flavoring. They put a little less boba than what I'm used to but you can be the judge on if that's a bonus or not! I'd say for more milk tea based drinks it is a minus but for thick slushes it's a good idea since you fill up fast on slush. Overall, next time I'm in Berkeley I'll pay them a visit, but I wouldn't go out of my way for them as there are better options for me nearby. read more
Six of us went to Purple Kow to check what the hype is all about. I ordered the Purplekow Matcha Fresh Milk Tea with boba while my husband got the Purplekow Black Milk Tea with boba. We both enjoyed our drinks, but I preferred my husband's order. I liked that the tea did not taste powdery and that they were generous in their boba. However, my husband's tea didn't have much ice, so it wasn't that cold and refreshing. Our friends who ordered the fresh fruit blend flavored tea did not like their drinks. They said it tasted like what they imagined a car air freshener would taste like. I tried their drinks and I thought it wasn't too bad. I also tried the iced milk tea our other friend ordered, i thought it was too sweet even though she ordered only 50% sugar. Don't plan on drinking their tea while driving because it won't fit the standard cupholder. read more
12 years ago
I think the one in SF is a little better than the one over here. We ordered our usual SF choice D3 which is Caramel, pudding and boba ice milk. Flavor was ok but the pudding didn't taste as good and the boba was much chewier than I like it. It's like they didn't cook it enough. I always get it with half sugar since the caramel already provides sugary goodness. The worst part about this place was that the drinks took about 5 minutes to make which was fine. They called my number and I lined up. The person who called the order then was having problems with the cash register and placing an order which took 5 minutes and 2 employees to figure out while me and 3 others who's numbers were called were waiting for our drinks. If you call the number, hand those out then deal with people paying, makes sense. After about 5minutes of seeing my drink sit on the counter, she again calls the same 4 numbers with all of us waiting to get our drinks. Really,did you forget you called us already. They do have some seating upstairs so if you wanted to hang out here you could although there are only about 6 tables in the whole place. If I'm around I might give it another shot to see if they can do it better. read more
13 years ago
THE CHUBS CUPS STRIKE AGAIN!! I feel like the boba scene in NorCal is slowly being influenced by the chubbiness of short stubby cups from SoCal. No real complaints about the cups except for it makes it hard to have in your car while you drive. Anywaysss, after hearing all the hype about Purple Kow in SF, I was really excited to find one opening in Berkeley. I got to Berkeley early in the morning that day, walked by Purple Kow and noted that it opened at 12:30. Ok, got it. I show up later at 12:40 and there was a massive line out the door. Okay then... I really hope this place is worth it. Per the cashier's rec, I got the Purplekow milk green tea with boba and pudding. Boba was a little smaller and a little sweeter than those at most other places around Berkeley. Pudding had a slight hint of coffee to it. Both were really good. And the best part? The milk tea actually tasted like it was made of milk tea. Thank the heavens for real milk tea. I ordered my drink with regular sweetness and I thought the sweetness was just right. Maybe towards the end of my drink it started to feel a little too sweet, but I mean that's bound to happen when you have drinks that large... All in all, a great high quality boba joint close to campus. Drinks here on average are more expensive than at Quickly's or Sweetheart, but hey, you get what you pay for. I'd love to come back and try to roasted Oolong milk tea, jasmine green tea pudding, and maybe some snacks too :) read more
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