Matcha – Soma Tea & Mocktail

Apparently, Soma is actually opening a location in Irvine, with the opening being today. I’ve been kind of out of the loop of local boba news, but this was a pleasant surprise to hear as my mom told me. (She found out from the Facebook or Line group apparently.) She asked me if I wanted to go to their store soft opening, with a special deal of BOGO 50% off, and of course I said yes. So she quickly filled out the form, signed up for the 4-5 slot, and I guess we were in. It also turns out, they replaced Bambu, a Vietnamese drink place. It’s been around forever, and I had always meant to try it at one point, but alas, not anymore locally…Anyway, today’s actually the special invite, and the real soft opening begins tomorrow.

My mom sent me the menu they would be using at the in-person location, and I think it’s their standard or regular menu, same as their original Artesia location. What has always boggled me was a couple things, but mainly that their original offers Matcha but you could never order it on the online delivery form. Alas, I did notice on the menu that the Matcha was unadjustable for both sugar and ice, but I decided I would take the loss and just get it to try out their Matcha; besides, it was large only. I can always just drink it right away to avoid the ice melting. Another thing is that they do offer their Golden Milk Tea in large size here at least, another thing I found weird on their online order.

The drink itself is a really strong matcha! I shook it a bit to mix in the matcha at the bottom with the milk on top, and after I took my first sip, I was pleasantly surprised by how strong and deep the matcha flavor was. Nicely flavored, and definitely more matcha heavy than milk, which I appreciate.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure if Soma is still out of stock of their honey boba, but it looks like this location will only carry regular boba for now, which is a shame. Of course, their teas are really good, but what also stands out about Soma is their super good honey boba. Today’s boba is fine, chewy with good texture, but no taste.

Also, I feel like both the store and I jipped myself. On the menu, this drink, along with the smoothie section (I got my sister a Taro smoothie), only comes in one size, supposedly the large, because the price listing is under the large column on the menu. However, it turns out, the “one size”, is only their regular medium cup (hence the picture). I think it’s kind of on them for putting it under the Large column and misleading customers like me. It shouldn’t really be on me for expecting a large cup to be a regular right…

Details: Matcha; with boba; from Soma Tea & Mocktail (Irvine)