Kat's 9 Lives

As I mentioned before, I'm very into drinks that come in cool bottles! Even though I was on crutches, I still made my way to Icy Cream Roll because of their fun drinks.  They were very busy at night so I went again in the day time and it was a much shorter wait.

Many people have been anticipating the Hello Kitty Cafe opening at Irvine Spectrum.  It's literally just a container with a few tables and some sweet treats plus drinks.  Beware : They tend to run out of items quite quickly and the lines can be long.  I even went about 1 hr after they opened and a bunch of items were already out.  My pal really wanted the Birthday Cake and it was sold out.  I wanted the Macarons and of course they were gone too.

Currently my favorite drink is their Orange Passionfruit Green Tea where they use real fresh squeezed orange juice that adds a nice refreshing flavor to the drink.  The Watermelon Slush is made with fresh watermelon and is very refreshing after hot pot or on a hot day.  I tried some of their other concoctions that were a little off for my taste, but interesting combos.  They have a Grapefruit Rose Green Tea and Lala Land Slush, which consists of guava and strawberry slush.  Each drink contains some fresh fruits.  The flavor combos were a little off for me but definitely points for creation! So if you like good tea drinks and are willing to pay the price, I'd definitely come here.  They also offer free wi-fi and have very friendly service.

Tea Bar Metro
18174 Pioneer Blvd 
Artesia, CA 90701 
(562) 865-0888

Inside the Mitsuwa in Torrance they have a few stands to check out before or after you shop or if you are stopping by for a quick snack.  They have a huge seating area for customers.  Yamamotoyama is a popular place that people like to stop by and grab a drink.
The prices are very reasonable.  If you buy the normal green tea it is only $1.50, which is a pretty good steal as most tea places have quite an up-charge.  There is a price difference if you want the drink sweeter, which is also reflected in the teas that you can buy to make at home.  Ms. Lin Guide decided to get their normal iced green tea, which was light and refreshing.  Of course I wanted the extra sweet iced green tea, which was slight more expensive but a little too sweet for even my taste.  The normal iced green tea is sweet enough, so word to the wise.  =)
I wished the Mitsuwa in Costa Mesa or in Irvine had this stand as the prices are very reasonable and a great drink to pick up for on the go or to enjoy with your meal.  So if you are in the neighborhood, be sure to stop by! There's lots of good food in the area, especially if you like izakayas.

Yamamotoyama
Mitsuwa
21515 Western Avenue
Torrance, CA 90501

For some reason it is really hard to find a great milk tea place in the Bay Area.  There have been a few new places that opened up in San Mateo that have been getting a lot of attention.  Of course I had to try the two new popular places on the same night! =)  ShareTea is a Taiwanese brand that started in 1992 and opened up shop in San Mateo.  They offer an assortment of tea drinks and drinks made with Yakult! I personally love Yakult drinks and am glad to see that the US has a tea store that will be made with the real thing versus some yogurt substitute.  In Taiwan many places use the real thing and guarantee at least two Yakults in each tea.  The dream! lol
They offer the Green Tea with Yakult that's refreshing, but I really enjoy their Taro Milk Tea.  It is made with real taro bits and has that velvety texture to boot.  I prefer my drinks a little bit sweeter so I would ask for it to be a little sweeter.
All in all this place is refreshing and my new fave place to get milk tea in the Bay Area.  Whenever I visit for a long time, I go through withdrawals from my yummy milk tea in So Cal.  At least now I have some place to go to tide me over.  =) They also offer a rewards card called Belly, which is similar to Five Star.

ShareTea
60 E 3rd Avenue 
San Mateo, CA, 94401
415-813-8296

I will admit that this has been on my back burner and I never posted about it because it wasn't that memorable.  It seems the location in San Mateo has been moved and not surprising at all.  I still want to post about it because this is a chain and I am sure the other stores are about the same.  The concept sounded fun and possibly had promise but the execution failed.
 First you choose the size of your drink and if it is hot or cold.  Then comes the added flavors and type of tea.  Do you want milk and how sweet you would like your drink?  Last comes any toppings.  This is a very common new trend of building your own drinks and dishes.  I would say skip the boba because it was not good at all.
The drink did not taste like tea at all.  It was a weird milky consistency and you need to be careful on which flavors you choose as it can turn out pretty bad... Both drinks looked very similar but did not taste alike at all.  This location was very small and kind of run down in my opinion.  It was like a hole in the wall location.  When I went it was still sort of popular but they were soon beat out by other popular locations
All in all, I am not surprised this place didn't survive as the drink was only so-so and the location was run down.  Being that there are always new and probably better places popping up, they definitely couldn't compete.  Honestly, I wouldn't try any of their other chains so that is why I decided that I should write about it as a warning to other fellow milk tea lovers.

Tpumps
106 S B St 
San Mateo, CA 94401 
(650) 548-1085

On my first visit, I decided to try the chocolate covered waffles.  They have a variety to choose from and they all looked very delectable.
The waffle was crisp and had a nice bite.  They have just the right amount of chocolate coating.  The taste was light and could be dangerous as you may not realize how much you have eaten until it is too late. lol
For my first 3D Latte Art, I chose a bear and a kitty.  For the drink, we chose the Matcha Latte and Espresso Latte.
As for the matcha, it was a little bit sweeter.  You can taste the sweetness more as the drink cools down, which should not be a problem because we took our sweet time taking thousands of photos!
Many people have no discovered this place and I feel like they have had more practice with the 3D artwork and it is getting cuter and cuter.
When I first went, they did a good job too but I feel like the animals are shaped more precisely and have a cuter expression.  It could also be who was making it of course.  On my most recent trip we got a bear, dog, and pig.  They were all super cute! Even though my dog was deflating, they were all very adorable.  =)
If you look at my photos of the interior, you will see that no one was there and we had the whole place to ourselves.  This really worked in our favor so that we can freely look like dorks and take our photos with our super cute drinks and snacks.
Besides the lattes, we decided to try their Signature Italian Soda with Yogurt and Fruit.  They recommended the pineapple flavor.
To be honest, I didn't like the taste of this drink.  It sounded like an interesting combination but it didn't come together for me.  Maybe it is the tangy flavor of the pineapple that didn't go well with the yogurt.
It could just be me, but I wouldn't be inclined to get the Italian soda again.  I'd definitely stick to the 3D art for fun.  The staff here are very sweet.  It is a very small and cozy place.  They have a section for live music but I have not seen anyone play there just yet.  I would say that people can come here and have the place all to themselves, but as I have seen recently the secret is out and the whole place was packed when we went.  Due to its rising popularity, the prices have gone up a lot too.  When I went in September last year, the 3D Latte Art was only $4 but now it is around $6 plus tax.  The drinks are just so-so but the drinks are undeniably cute =).
Love To Go
307 S Mission Dr
San Gabriel, CA 91776  
(626) 264-8195

It's been a while since I last went to a Cha for Tea.  They use to be located in Garden Grove.  For a while it seemed like a flourishing business but many locations shut down.  This location in Alhambra was packed for a Sunday night! They also offer free wi-fi.
What caught my eye was that they had brick toast.  I was craving for some sweet brick toast lathered with the tasty milk powder.  If they only added more of it on top, it would be good.  They only had a thin layer, which was still tasty but nothing too special.
For drinks, I made the bad choice of the honey milk green tea.  It's been one of my new favorites lately but only from one place as I have learned.  Ms. Lin Guide chose the better drink.  She got the mango green tea.  At first I was very wary because most places don't do a good job mixing the flavors and the drinks often taste like soap.  I must say the mango was very sweet and flavorful.  So here is the trick that they do not tell you, you can get refills for only $1.99.  Do you know where that information was found?  In the bathroom! Talk about keeping it secret! lol
They had a few Taiwanese snacks.  The sausage was not bad and tasted like it was from Sinbala, which could be very likely in these neck of the woods.  Their popcorn chicken was fairly priced and the portion was not bad.  Not sure why they offer a sweet and sour sauce and for a fee.  The chicken itself usually has enough flavor and nothing else is needed.
All in all it was a good place to hang out with friends.  It is quite cramped on Sunday as every table was taken inside and outside.  They made a big mistake with our bill and had to explain to them.  For four people, they brought us a bill of almost $100! DANG! What did we drink and snack on??  Be careful with their bill as the refills were entered as a full order plus the refill charge.  They had a ton of employees for a small place.  At least they were all very friendly.  I'd definitely come back for the mango green tea.

Cha for Tea
2 E Main Street Suite 2
Alhambra, CA 91801

As the Winter Fancy Food Show is about to begin again in San Francisco, I wanted to revisit one of the new products introduced last year by Republic of Tea.  Their station is always very engaging and it is fun to try the different teas.  Last year they introduced their U-Matcha line with a special tasting and demonstration.
The Japanese tea ceremony was great and a lot of fun to watch as we learn more about the tea.  Republic of Tea sells special sets for people to prepare and serve the tea at home.  Many studies have shown that tea is good for the body and the Dr. Oz show has showcased this product on how it is good for the body.  The flavor was very subtle and refreshing to the palette.  It's definitely a great new product and I can't wait to go back to visit their booth to have another sip.
Can't wait to see all the new products out there at the Winter Fancy Food Show this year! Check out my Facebook Fanpage for live posts from the show.

I have heard so many great things about Portola Coffee Lab, yet I have never been to the actual place nor did I even know where it was located.  Unfortunately my first experience with Portola Coffee Lab was at The Playground and it was not a great experience.  At first I had written them off because of the horrid experience, but as always I try to keep an open mind as I never had it from the source.
Thanks to Katie and Mike (Eating My Way Through OC), we were out on one of our foodie adventures  and added a few stops along the way.  She had been dying to try Portola Coffee Lab and I was completely on board to join the fun =).
Finding the place was a maze in itself.  We went on a Sunday and the place was desolate.  I guess most of the businesses around here are only open on the weekdays or closed early.  There were a few places that we would have liked to try on another trip when they are open.
This was the last place we visited after a full meal so there wasn't much stomach room to try out their delectable pastries.  Their cases offered a wide variety of both savory and sweet treats.  They definitely looked worthy of a return trip.
I really enjoyed all the eclectic and inspiring coffee concoctions.  It almost feels like you have stepped into Dr. Frankenstein's science laboratory.  Coffee is not just made here but "created".  The mad scientists laboratory was just so well lit that it was almost like a moth to a flame that I kept staring at the equipment.

Portola Coffee Lab is definitely not your ordinary coffee place.  I spoke to the manager and mentioned my past experience and he sincerely voiced his concern, which made me feel like that they really do care about the quality of their coffee and not just about selling the coffee.
Although they are known for their coffee, I felt like a Mocha instead.  It is made with their housemade Belgian Chocolate Ganache and you can have it either hot or cold.  The chocolate was thick and rich.  For those who don't really like overly sweet drinks, then this would be good for you.
Katie and Mike decided to go with their teas that are brewed in their special Trifecta brewer.  The tea was light and refreshing.  Personally I prefer my teas a lot sweeter but that can always be rectified by adding more sugar.  I thought the tea was a good balance of flavor and a subtle aromatic taste that doesn't overpower the tastebuds.
All in all this was a much better experience than my first drink.  There are a few more places at the OC Mart Mix that I would like to come and try so I will definitely be back and stop by for a drink! They also offer free wi-fi for patrons to use.  A nice place to chit chat with friends over a good drink.
Portola Coffee Lab
3313 Hyland Avenue
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(949) 284-0596