This semester the Fresh Nest came out with a new menu. Previously, they featured smoothies and salads. Now, they limited the smoothies and added boba tea and ramen. Unfortunately, I’m not a huge fan of ramen so this review is solely on the boba drinks. Most likely in the future, there would be a ramen review as well. In addition, the three smoothies are from the old menu and haven’t changed, so there isn’t much to say except that they’re still pretty good. Personally, the Berry Berry Good is my favorite.
Boba is bubble tea from Taiwan. The tea is brewed and poured over tapioca balls and ice, creating a unique drink. The ingredients are poured together in a cup and shaken by hand or machine. It’s nice to have boba on campus as other boba shops near campus are in Lancaster and Hershey.
I recently tried a variety of new drinks from both the milk and fruit tea options. As a small disclaimer, my opinion is not the only one out there so if your opinion is different, that’s okay. I also didn’t have enough time and enough Jay Bucks to try all the drinks, so I chose eight that I thought would have a general idea of the new menu. Also, these eight stood out to me the most and I wanted to try these. I’m going to rank the drinks out of five, five being most likely to order again.
To start off, the classic milk tea is simple. This light coffee-colored drink is simply black tea with milk and not much flavor. It’s a solid note all the way through the experience. Once the tapioca hits, it changes the flavor a bit. Personally, this drink isn’t for me as I don’t like black tea and milk in general. However, if you like simple and classic flavors, this is your drink. I would give this drink 2/5.
The taro drink is a cute purple drink made from taro roots and milk. To me, the drink kind of tastes like cookies and cream ice cream. There is a subtle spice element to the drink that I can’t quite place, but it does add to the tapioca pearls. I think this is one of my favorites that I tried so I’m going to rank this 5/5.
Thai Milk is an orange drink that has a vanilla hint with a slight cinnamon taste. The orange color is perfect for this time of year. To be honest, I was tempted to draw a jack-o-lantern face in black sharpie as I was drinking it. The flavor is a solid note with the tapioca pearls. I would love to order this drink again after a day full of pumpkin picking and crunching leaves across campus. 4/5
Strawberry Milk tea tastes somewhat close to Starbucks’ Pink Drink without the hint of acai and coconut milk. The tapioca replaces those flavors and creates a new flavor. I definitely would drink this again. 5/5
Starting off the fruit teas, the Passionfruit Tea tastes a lot like fruit punch and strong hints of Trident fruit gum. It was a little on the sweet side for me. The tapioca balls tone down the sweetness a little. However, I think I’ll pass on this drink for now and maybe I’ll try it again. 3/5
The orange tea tastes just like the name. It has a few other spices that add to the flavor. The tapioca gives it earthy tones and a subtle kick. It’s not one of my favorites but it’s okay overall. 2/5
The pineapple tastes a lot like pineapple juice. It’s a nice tropical flavor to brighten up your day. I would probably drink this flavor in the spring, or if I need a little pick me up. 4/5
The Winter Melon tea tastes very similar to Snapple’s Raspberry Iced Tea. It wasn’t as sweet as the Passionfruit tea and I personally didn’t think the tapioca balls added to this drink. I think I would prefer this drink without the pearls. So I’ll give this drink a 2/5.
