On April 13th, the Ames High WEB staff took a trip to Campustown and visited 1+1 Restuarant and Tea. Staff members ordered various drinks and snacks, and took in the general splendor.

Lily – Japanese roasted milk tea and fried egg noodles with chicken

Japanese roasted milk tea with tapioca pearls, fried egg noodles with chicken

The Japanese roasted milk tea is probably one of the more basic choices you could go for, but 1+1 does the basics well. A very standard drink, the feature of the tea is the hint of ‘roasted’ flavor, true to its name. Not overly sweet, with no crazy flavors, just a perfectly balanced classic drink. 9/10. 

The fried egg noodles with chicken were perfection. The noodles were thin and savory, and all the flavors worked together so well. The chicken was cooked well, and I personally loved the sprouts. Another 9/10. 

Chantal – Mango and Strawberry Tea w/ Mango Popping Jelly

This order was largely an attempt to recreate a drink one of my friends had previously ordered, flavored tea with Mango stars. The drink came nowhere close to a recreation, but it left me with a very tasty and refreshing beverage that felt like summer in a cup. Mango paired well with the strawberry and the jelly, although it was a little too sweet for me personally.

If you want something sweet and refreshing, but not as filling as a milk tea boba — then this is the drink for you! 

Celeste – Matcha Milk Tea with Strawberry Popping Pearls 

Matcha is a high-grade green tea that has been finely ground into a powdered form and is whisked to create a frothy drink, in which this meditative act has served as an essential part of Japanese tea ceremonies. Over the past few years, matcha has risen throughout the Western world which many attribute to social media. It has great health benefits and is really tasty, however, it can be hard to nail.

Matcha should be a bright green color and smooth and silky when drinking, with little to no grit. 1+1’s matcha was a little bit of a duller green color and was a little gritty, however, if you were just looking to try it for the first time it is pretty decent. The strawberry popping pearls were a sweet surprise which caught me off guard and I don’t feel like they really fit in my drink however I’m sure if I got honey pearls instead it would’ve tasted better. Overall I give it a solid 5/10.

David – Taro Honey pearl tea

“Tasty, but probably wouldn’t order again.”

So I have this habit of going into a restaurant or a drink place and asking the waiters/cashiers if they can surprise me with a random order that they are attracted to at the moment. And so I didn’t know what my order was until I tasted it. The tar Honey pearl tea tastes a lot like liquified sweet potatoes, but in the best way possible. However, avoid consuming at room temperature as it begins to leaves odd tastes in your mouth that might… I’ll leave the imagery up to the reader’s mind as my descriptions have been flagged as too vivid. Recommend getting a smaller size to test out compatibility with the consumer, and if the taro honey pearl tea is well received in your stomach, congratulations. If it is not well received, other recommendations are found below. 5/10. 

Bennett

After buying 1+1’s signature, I was unsurprised by the taste, as I’ve many times had similar at Tea Time, another shop nearby. Its taste was more subtle, and in a matching less vibrant environment I enjoyed the drink but was unimpressed. Still, worth the stop if you’ve never been. 8/10. 

Aaron – Signature Pearl Milk Tea

The Signature Pearl Milk bubble tea was very tasty. The drink was sweet, savory, and refreshing all at once. However, it only tasted this good while it was cold. When the bubble tea gets to room temperature the crispiness and refreshing feeling that you would normally get from it goes away all at once, making the drink taste almost disgusting. The tapioca pearls were very delicious, once more they tasted better the colder the drink was. The starchy balls of cassava filled me to the brim, giving my teeth the challenge of gnawing through them one or multiple at a time. 

The service was standard and the cashier who was there at the time was very kind. My only complaint about 1+1 is the size, which makes sense considering they are a small business. The speeds at which the drinks and food were made were standard, not too long but also not insanely fast either. 8/10.