TeaMoji in Allston: A Japanese Fusion Place

The predecessor of TeaMoji is Tealosophy, where shaved-ice were sold. I was quiet surprised to see that Tealosophy was gone and it has turned into a brand new place-TeaMoji.

I believe there is only one TeaMoji in Boston. It is not a franchised tea shop.

So this is the shop from the outside. The purple really pops out among the green stores.

(Notes: these two pictures were taken on Feb 10, 2018)

It is funny to see that shaved snow is still one of their specialties.

By the time I walked in, it was around 7 in the evening. There was only one server who looked like he was making smoothie using the blender. There were about 4 customers. Most of them were using their laptops. It is a perfect place to have group discussion as the place comes off having the soothing and calming vibe.

There were plenty of seats and free wifi.

They also have a great selection of Asian snacks you could buy at the corner.

The menu display boxes are overhead. I took a look at what they have to offer.

Based on the menu, they have different types of tea beverages that has moji in it. If you don't know what moji is, I highly recommend you to google it. That's how I learned what it refers to. To simply put, it is a type of Japanese rice cake that is made in the shape of a ball when it is put in beverage. Lychee Moji (lychee milk+jasmine green tea) and Purple Moji (Taro Milk Frappe) are the two drinks they highly recommend.

In addition to Moji drinks, they also have ice-creams that are served with egg puffs and Taiyaki. At first when I saw the word Taiyaki a thousands question marks just ran through my brain. But I sort of knew what it meant as I saw the picture. Yep. It is a fish-shaped cake that originated from Japan.

With curiosity, I ordered a taro milk tea with boba and a Taiyaki matcha ice-cream. The milk tea was around 5 dollars tax included. The Taiyaki ice-cream was around 7 dollars.

First of all, the presentation of the Taiyaki ice-cream was stunning. The ice-cream was placed in front of the opening fish mouth. You could also choose toppings to go with the dessert. I chose mochi and mango jelly.

The Taiyaki was still hot when I ate it because it was made on the spot. It tasted exactly like waffle, but the texture was a bit softer than the waffle I had before. It was one of the most magical moment of mine when I ate the cake together with my ice-cream and toppings. It was like having an ice-and-fire symphony in me mouth. To simply put, the hot and the cold balanced really well that you would not feel uncomfortable while eating all the ingredients together. I need to give applause to the mochi. They were chewy and had the light fragrance of rice. For a person who likes chewy things and rice, mochi are heavenly food!

Now on to the taro milk tea. I was quite disappointed at how it turned out. The taro flavor was not authentic. It tasted like the taro flavor that is made from taro powder or taro flavored liquid concentrate. In other words, it did not taste like real taro. The drink was also very liqiudy but it's not watered-down. I could still taste the sweetness of the non-authentic tarot flavor.

The boba (tapioca balls) were another disappointment. They were hard to chew and smaller than what I had at other places. I felt like I was swallowing iron balls when I drank my milk tea. Overall, the whole milktea-drinking experience was unpleasant.

To sum up, I really like the idea of adding Japanese elements into their food and drinks. The interior design of the store gives you a very calming and soothing feeling. It is suitable for studying and having group discussion as there are always plenty of seats. Their Taiyaki ice-cream is a must-try. But I would probably skip the milk tea. At least I would skip adding boba into the drink.

I would have my second visit coming up soon. Stay tuned.