Iveta Campus UCSC — Restaurant in Santa Cruz

On the UCSC campus, facing the bookstore is a small cafe by the name of Iveta, this is where I went to quench my thirst with a cup of boba tea. Boba tea, a drink that originated in Taiwan (珍珠奶茶/波霸奶茶), that consists of milk tea-black, green, Thai or even chai- and small tapioca pearls called boba. It is a very classic Asian beverage, refreshing to drink during the hot summer. Inside Iveta, there is a glowing neon sign that reads DRINKS, I walk towards it and begin to read the Boba menu. There are very few choices, only six. And the teas are not the usual ones that you’d find in a normal boba tea shop. Such as tiger tea and white tiger tea, which is basically Thai or jasmine tea mixed with normal milk tea. “I’ll have a classic milk tea with boba, please,” I asked, and they replied that they wouldn’t have boba for another hour because it wasn’t cooked yet. This answer left me shocked. The shop opens at 11am, already quite late for a cafe. You would assume that with all that extra time, they would have their food and drinks ready for customers to consume. I settled for just a normal milk tea but was again disappointed when they handed it to me. “Excuse me, I think you forgot to put the film on it,” I said to the workers behind the counter. “There is no film, you can grab a cap in the back of the shop,” The woman said and then walked off, leaving me standing, gaping. Every boba tea lover knows that boba tea always comes with a film, it’s part of the experience. I huffed and went to grab a straw. I took a sip of the milk tea, my lips puckering as the velvety drink touched my tongue. It was not at all what milk tea should taste like, if anything, it tasted like coffee. I left the shop that day discontented. A week later, I decided that maybe I should give it another chance. I went with a few friends of mine, one of which had never tasted boba tea in his life. We went later in the afternoon, this time I ordered a tiger milk tea, it came with a plastic film and boba. I was excited, maybe my experience would be different now. I received the light orange drink with black beads that had sunk to the bottom of the cup and heard the pop of the straw as it broke through the thin plastic barrier. The cold drink soon touched my lips, smooth and glossy with an occasional tapioca pearl that snuck its way up my straw. The tea was better than the first time I’d had it, but still not completely satisfying. The taste of milk and sugar overpowered the tea itself, and the shop didn’t have an option to get less sugar because the drinks are all pre-made. The boba was very rubbery, unpleasant to eat and very hard to swallow. Overall, the cafe was not that bad, even though I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. But if it’s a very hot day, and you are ‘dying’ of hunger or thirst, Iveta would be a good place to go.

P.S. This was written for a writing class I took. It only describes my experience of their boba tea, I have not tried any of their other food, because In my opinion it was overpriced. The environment is nice, and would be good for working. If you are not going there for Boba tea, please don’t pay any attention to this review. Thank you. Also this IS my true opinion about the boba...

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