November 2016

Shake Shake Tea is a new Bubble Tea shop in Richmond at Empire Centre. I was invited to try a few items and since I was in the area with a few friends, I thought it would be convenient to stop by and try some of the teas. With the amount of Bubble Tea shops opening in Metro Vancouver, it’s pretty tough competition since a lot of the large chains in Asian has started opening up shops here.

What made Shake Shake Tea unique as they use real milk, loose leaf tea and quality ingredients in their drinks.

Interior

Their shop has a few seats and can fit a few groups inside. Most people we noticed did take out. It gets busier later in the evening when people need their bubble tea fix.

The menu has their milk tea, iced milk, flavoured tea and hot drinks.

Milk Tea

We started off by trying their milk teas.

Roasted Oolong Milk Tea was my favourite. At 100% sugar, it was the perfect amount for me without toppings. The tea was very strong and the roasted flavour shined through. The use of real milk makes a difference in the taste too.

Jasmine Milk Tea was my second favourite. Similar feelings to the roasted oolong milk tea but with the different flavour of Jasmine tea.

Grass Jelly Iced Milk and Caramel was more sweet than the first 2 drinks. The caramel was more present and good for those who have a sweet tooth.

Iced Milk and Black Sugar with Pearls was the sweetest of them all since they cook the pearls with sugar. I prefer the milk teas.

Flavoured Teas

I also got the Peach Green Tea with coconut jelly. It was really good and just the right amount of sweetness.

Toppings

They have pearls, grass jelly, pudding, coconut jelly, agar, green bean, red bean and taro.

A good selection of toppings, but I really enjoyed the grass jelly. It helps add texture to the drink and it’s not sweet. The pearls were a bit too sweet for my liking. It was good that they tried to infuse more flavour into the pearls by cooking it with sugar, but not my personal preference.

Seasonal Desserts

For the fall, they have introduced their Jar Desserts for a limited time. They have 3 different combos to choose from:

Original Milk Tea + Rocher Mousse
Jasmine Milk Tea + Matcha Granola Mousse
Earl Grey Milk Tea + Caramel Banana Mousse

The combos are around $15, which is a bit pricey, but they only have limited quantities a day and do sell out.

Rocher Mousse is topped with a Ferrero Rocher and a chocolate straw. There are delicious layers of chocolate and mousse and accompany the teas well.

Matcha Granola Mousse was good as well and the added granola texture worked. The matcha was strong but not bitter at all.

Caramel Banana Mousse has bits of banana bread on top.

Overall, I think their milk teas were really good. It’s not overly sweet and is good with 100% sugar. The dessert prices seem a bit high but could be due to the ingredients they use inside. I would come back for their Roasted Oolong Milk Tea, Oolong Milk Tea and Peach Green Tea.

We Rate Shake Shake Tea:

Address:
4600-3 Road, Suite 131, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.shakeshaketea.com/

Fairfield California is home to the Jelly Belly Factory and they are open for free tours every day from 9am till 4pm. You can get up-close-and-personal look at their candy manufacturing factory.

It is best to come on the weekday as thats when their factory is operating.

Tour Begins Here

The tour starts off in the lobby of the main building close to the store.

As you begin the tour, you’ll get a Jelly Belly hate to wear for the duration of the tour.

Factory

The viewing area is above the factory, so you can watch the whole process end to end. You’ll also get the learn about the factory and the history behind Jelly Belly.

What I noticed instantly was how clean and organized the factory is, everything had it’s place and it’s tidy.

Each room you go into has a different stage of a Jelly Belly.

Watching everyone put together the final product was so interesting like it was an episode of Food Factory of the Food Network. They were on the show a few years ago too.

I definitely have a few found appreciation for Jelly Belly jelly beans because it’s quite a process to get them ready for the consumer.

Presidential Art

Along the way, you’ll see some art made out of many Jelly Belly candies.

Games

There are a few games you can play throughout the tour, one of the is Bean Blitz where you try to prevent the Jelly Belly jelly beans from entering the net.

End of the Tour Treat

AT the end of the tour, everyone is given a pack of Jelly Belly jelly beans to take home with them. All complimentary, which is a nice touch.

Gift Shop

The Gift Shop is at the entrance and there are tons of items to buy here from the famous Bean Boozled, which was a huge hit to stuffed animals and mugs.

Sample Bar

One section that everyone loves is the Sample Bar where you can sample all their flavours. You have more traditional flavours and then the more extreme ones like spoiled milk and barf.

Of course I tried the worst flavours imaginable, but they were not as bad as what I had thought.

Caseload Sale

They also have an area where they sell the deformed Jelly Belly jelly beans that just didn’t make it to the final product. They also have some discontinued items there for a cheap price.

Lunch/Snack Options

They do have a Jelly Belly Cafe with lunch options. I came here really early in the morning, so no one needed lunch yet.

Jelly Belly Gallery

There is also more art in their gallery made out of Jelly Belly jelly beans.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s like a kids dreaming coming here. Jelly Belly is such a big brand that I couldn’t leave San Francisco without coming here. It is a pretty long drive from Downtown San Francisco, but if you have a car, it’s not too bad to get here. The best part about coming here is that the tour is free, you get a pack of Jelly Belly jelly beans for free and you can do as many samples as you like.

Address:
Jelly Belly Lane, Fairfield, CA

Website:
https://www.jellybelly.com/california-factory-tours