Eagle Era

 

Review on iTea

Sandra Resurreccion

Staff Writer

    iTea is a new teahouse that recently opened in Newark next to food joints such as The Tasty Pot and Burger King. The teahouse sells a large variety of different drinks which all have a wide range of flavors such as milk tea, fruit tea, smoothies, and hot drinks, as well as finger foods such as popcorn chicken and fried calamari.

    I visited iTea at around 3:30pm on a Tuesday, which was convenient for me because there were not many other customers at the time. There was an adequate amount of seating tables within the teahouse; however, the room itself was slightly narrow, which could be an issue during its busiest hours.

    The teahouse was appropriately decorated for the holidays, with ornaments and various holiday-themed decorations covering the walls and a decorated Christmas tree standing near the door. Nevertheless, I could see that the place was already pleasing to the eye without the holiday decorations. Some of the walls were painted with vibrant blues and greens to correlate with the iTea logo, which consists of similar colors. White lanterns hung from the ceilings and gave the room a modern, playful style. There was also one television, however it was placed inconveniently far from the majority of the seating tables.

    The menu showed prices that were fairly appropriate in comparison to other teahouses in the Fremont and Newark areas. All of their drinks are one size and stay within a price range of $2.75-$4.25, which provide additional topping options for an additional 50 cents. All of their food items range from $1.25-$7.50. These prices were expected of a teahouse, and did not exceed my expectations.

    I ordered the Jasmine Green milk tea with boba as a topping and one order of popcorn chicken. While I was ordering, the cashier asked me the amount of sweetness and ice that I wanted in my drink, which was measured by percentages (10% being the least amount and 100% being the largest amount.) This was surprising to me because I expected the levels of ice and sweetness to be a standard amount like most drinks at other teahouses are, but it was nice to be given the option to customize the sweetness and ice levels.

    In addition, I was happy with the customer service; the cashier kindly greeted me and was willing to help and serve me. The food arrived within 5 minutes, which was very pleasing considering that I ordered a food item that I expected to take a longer period of time to make.

    The Jasmine Green milk tea was served in a winter-themed cup with the iTea logo on it, which was suitable for the correlating holiday decorations in the room’s interior. I immediately noticed that the boba in the drink was still very warm. I personally enjoyed this because it balanced the cold drink and gave the boba a more fresh texture. The sweetness of the drink tasted appropriate for the amount that I requested. The popcorn chicken came in a small cardboard box that was identical to those that are served at T4, the teahouse right next to American High. The chicken was flavored with basil and garlic, which enhanced its savory taste. I was happy with both items, but they were nothing extraordinary in comparison to other teahouses that serve the same food and drink items.  

    I would give iTea 7 out of 10 stars because the service, physical appearance, and food quality all met my expectations and made my experience as a customer pleasurable. However, it did not exceed my expectations and was not that much different from every other teahouse that I have been to. This is a perfect place to stop by for a quick drink or snack with a couple of friends on casual occasions.

 

Address: 34925 Newark Blvd, Newark, CA 94560

Phone Number: (510) 358-2682

Business Hours:

Monday 12–10PM
Tuesday 12–10PM

Wednesday 12–10PM
Thursday 12–10PM
Friday            12–11PM
Saturday 12–11PM
Sunday 12–10PM