Zero&

San Francisco has no shortage of bubble tea shops.   New ones crop up all the time.  Most don't really catch my eye, but one, Zero& (or 0&), did - and not just because the name is awkward.

"We’re proud to offer the highest quality, most unique hand-made fruit beverages on the market today. From our idea to your smile, we put lots of love and careful attention in each item. We hope you enjoy our work as much as we enjoy bringing it to you!"

Zero& is a small chain, with several stores in San Francisco, and others throughout the bay area.  The name, and concept, behind Zero& refers to the lack of additives - 0 additives. 0 artificial flavors. 0 calories sugar.  This means fruit drinks made with entire whole fruits - 20 whole lychees in the "lychee blossom", a whole coconut in the "coconut zero", half a pound of strawberries in the "strawberry marble", and so on.  Real ube and taro, no powders.  A lineup of drinks without a slew of unhealthy mix-ins or toppings.

But none of that really was enough to make me pay attention.  I've tried other healthier bubble tea shops before, like Aura, and I wasn't particularly impressed.  What drew me in to Zero& was actually NOT their drinks, but rather, their partnership with Hanabi Bakery, and some fantastic sounding pastries and cakes.  Now that sounds more like me, right?  You know how much I love my baked goods.

My first "visit" to a Zero& location was actually virtual, when I ordered from the Hayes Valley location online for delivery via DoorDash.  I placed my order online for desserts: a mini box cake, a croissant, and a cooler bag (mine had just ripped, seemed like a great coincidence that they had them on DoorDash!).  I put in my preferences to contact me if anything was out of stock (so they wouldn't just refund), so I could pick a different flavor/variety of the item.  I'd had such a hard time narrowing down my choices, I would have been fine picking my second choices.

Alas, when my Dasher checked out, I got the receipt, and ... they cancelled the mini cake entirely, and charged me for the cooler bag, but, it didn't arrive.  So in the end, I ordered 3 items, and only got one.  Sadness.  

I didn't really like my item all that much, but I was still drawn in to the concept and menu, so a few months later, when Zero& opened a shop in the Westfield mall near my house, I visited again, this time, in person.  In addition to trying more desserts, I also finally tried a drink.  The queue to place an order at the kiosk was looong, and the wait even longer.  They do have clear screens showing how many drinks are in the queue, and which ones they are working on, along with time estimates, so I was able to see that it was going to take nearly half an hour, once I finally got to the front to place my order.  In the future, I'll certainly just order online in advance, which I did my next visit.

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Drinks

The drink lineup at Zero& is a bit different from many bubble tea shops.  While they do still have some common drinks, most are fairly curated and unique.  They do not have a huge lineup of toppings, only regular or crystal boba, and grape or lychee jelly.  That is it.  Some drinks come with cheese foam, but only a few, and you can't add it on to any others.  The only customizations you can make for the most part are sweetness (regular or "less", cane or zero calorie sugar - which is $0.50 more) and milk (regular milk, oat milk, or for some, milk tea base).  I wish they had more flexibility.

Cold

For cold drinks, Zero& has several categories: fruit (blended, whole fruit based drinks), Milk Tea (only some of which actually contain tea), and Pure Tea (actual teas).  You can customize the ice level in these to regular, less, or none.

Ube Taro Milk Tea (no caffeine).
Iced. Less Sweet. Add Boba. $5.95 + $0.50.

"Ube Purple Yam, Freshly Steamed Taro Paste, Fresh Grade A Milk."

Since I love ube, and taro, it should come as no surprise that my first drink was the ube taro milk tea.  Yes, ube and taro in the same drink?  I'm in!  It sounded perhaps a bit like the ube milk tea with taro puff cream and taro balls I got from Happy Lemon.  I added boba, and asked for less sweet.  I kept the regular milk.

It was quite clear this drink was made with real ingredients and not powders.  It was still a lovely shade of purple, even without the artificial ingredients.  The ube flavor was fairly subtle, but I really liked the generous amount of lightly sweetened taro paste at the base.  Since I got it less sweet, it was not overwhelmingly sweet.  The boba were fresh, not stuck together, had a light chew.

Overall, clearly a drink made with quality ingredients, although I did wish for a bit more strong flavor.  I'd consider the lychee jellies with this in the future, but really, I wanted to be able to add the cheese foam!  ***.

Baby Peach (Seasonal). $7.45 + $0.50.
Add Boba.

"Fresh Honey Peach, Jasmine Green Tea, Dragonfruit , Sea Salt Cheese Foam."

A companion went for one of the blended fruit drinks, made with a green tea base, peaches, and dragonfruit.  He added boba.  This is one of the lucky drinks available with the cheese foam.

This drink looked great!  Vibrant colors, such layers.  I didn't try it, but he enjoyed it, and said it reminded him a drink he had in China.

Lychee Blossom. $5.95.
No Sugar, Add Crystal Boba +$0.50.

"20 + Real Lychees, Edible Rose Petals."

My next visit, I went fruity, quite out of character for me, but, I wanted to try something quite different, and I had the impression that the real fruit drinks are where Zero& really shines.  I opted for the lychee drink, which I think is literally just made with a slew of lychees blended with ice.  I didn't add any additional sugar, since I knew lychees would be quite sweet on their own.  I added crystal boba, just to have some texture in there.

The drink was really nicely made, perfectly blended.  Really smooth slush.  It was also quite sweet, as, well, it was mostly just lychees.  A lovely sweetness, but, quite sweet nonetheless.  I can't imagine adding sugar to this.   I ended up adding some water to mine to water it down a bit once the sweetness got to be a bit much several gulps in.  It was the kind of drink that made me want to be on a beach, and, uh, spike it.  Drinking it in San Francisco dreary weather didn't seem quite appropriate.

I quite liked the crystal boba, they were firm but not hard, none stuck together, and complimented the lychee quite well, they almost seemed like lychee bits, but they were my added boba.  I definitely recommend that pairing.  The rose petals on top were visually pretty, but didn't add much to the drink.

I also did add sea salt cheese foam (+$1), but it was accidentally left off my drink.  I was able to get it on the side instead, and that worked out better anyway, as I could taste it separately.  It was a fairly lackluster version of cheese foam - not particularly cheesy, not particularly salty, not particularly great consistency.  I love good cheese foam, but this was pretty mediocre, more like, uh, slimier whipped cream? I did like it with the sweet slush though, nice to have the richness against the sweet lightness.

Overall, not the right drink for the setting, but a good drink, and very well made.  ***+.

Creme Brulee Muddy Milk. $5.45.
Less Ice, Add Boba +$0.50.

"Torched Crème Brûlée Cloud, Fresh Grade A Milk."

A friend got this, and, obviously, given my love of crème brulée, I *had* to try it, particularly when his response to "How is it?" was barely coming up for air to say "yum!", as he spooned up all the crème brulée goodness (and yes it came with a tiny spoon just for those purposes).

I tried only the topping, and I see why he enjoyed it.  It was a rich custard, more like a thicker anglaise than a more set actual crème brulée, which makes sense, given that it was on top of a drink after all.  So it was kinda thick, but fairly runny, and tasted deeply like custard.  If that doesn't sound great, it is just me poorly describing it, after all, haven't we all just wanted to lap up a vat of creme anglaise before?  It was exactly that, just with a lightly bruléed top, so it had a slight caramelization and crisp top.  Very, very tasty.

The rest of the drink was the muddy milk, I think brown sugar syrup sweetened milk, but I didn't try it.  No sweetness modifications are possible for this drink, but you could opt for oat milk if you wish.  He seemed to like it.

I'd definitely consider getting this myself in the future, although this is definitely a heavier, dessert style drink.  **** for the topping for sure. 

Hot

Most of Zero& drinks are iced or blended, but they have a few warm options too: warm versions of the ube taro, cream brulee, and teapuccino milk teas, or hot versions of the jasmine blossom or peach oolong.  No warm fruity options.

Black Sesame Blizzard. $6.45 + $0.50.
Hot. Oat Milk. Less Sweet. Add Crystal Boba.

"House Black Sesame Paste, Fresh Grade A Milk, Signature Black Sesame Cream."

The black sesame blizzard is a brand new drink on the Zero& menu, available in both iced and warm versions.  Even though I love taro and ube, I went for this one day, as I do quite like black sesame, and it is a more rare find.  I get black sesame whenever I can, like in dumplings at Din Tai Fung, or ice cream like with the shaved ice at Ice Monster in Tokyo, excellent hard serve at Polly Ann here in SF, or creamy, dreamy soft serve at places like Soft Swerve in NYC, Chanoma Cafe or Rice Workshop in Sydney.  Of course, I've had other drink versions too, like the taro sesame milk at Original Royaltea in Sydney or black sesame latte at K Tea Cafe in Sunnyvale.

It was a cold, rainy, gloomy day, and I opted for the hot version, as I was looking to warm up, and be comforted.  I went for less sweet, and made with oat milk, and added crystal boba.  I think this was my first ever warm drink with boba added.

My drink clearly had been made a while before my number was called as it was barely lukewarm when I got it, even though I was standing by waiting and waiting for it (it took 20+ minutes!).  I have to dock Zero& a few points for that, as it really would have been better warmer.  That said, I did still really enjoy it.

The drink is made with housemade black sesame paste, which I found lining the inside of my cup too. Again, no powders here, only real ingredients.  It was thick and rich, and had a really strong nutty flavor.  A sophisticated nutty though, akin to tahini.  I had oat milk as the base, and that was a nice match for it.  It was lightly sweet, just as I had asked for (only regular or light are options, no option to have no sweet).

On top is black sesame whipped cream, which melted in since I had it warm, like it would in a hot chocolate.  I think this would work better on the iced version, as mine really had mostly melted in by the time I got it (again, also likely due to it sitting there so long?).  Still, the sesame whipped cream was tasty.  The crystal boba I was a bit hesitant to add in a warm drink, not quite knowing how that would work (would they melt?) but actually it was fine.  They stayed nice and soft, not gummy, not clumped together, lightly sweet, and fun to suck up.  I suspect lychee jellies would be a nice match too if you wanted sweeter.  

Overall, this was warm, creamy, nutty, and comforting.  Exactly what I was looking for.  Only downside (besides the lukewarmness)?  Black teeth after I drank it!

****.

Desserts (By Hanabi)

"Delicate desserts, beautifully designed and handcrafted with love. Healthy and mind-glowingly delicious."

"Our vision is to bring customers a refined handcrafted dessert selection with all-natural ingredients and modern designs. Our menu is composed of modern French mousse cakes, delicate desserts and bread inspired by flavors from different cultures around the world. Every product crafted by Hanabi kitchen is lovingly handmade by our trained bakers, after multiple rounds of testings and improvements before presenting to customers." 

The baked goods and desserts at Zero& all come from Hanabi Bakery, a small establishment founded by a pastry chef who had worked at Craftsmen & Wolves and several Michelin starred restaurants.  I don't think the bakery has a retail storefront of their own, but their goods are sold at several other places around town, and they do a lot of catering.

Baked Goods

Hanabi makes some pretty awesome sounding breads, including savory korean garlic bread and a croque monsieur croissant, and filled sweet croissants like ube almond, pandan almond, thai tea, and more.  Oh, and don't get me started on the sound of the taro pork sung croissant, an all butter croissant stuffed with fresh taro paste, kewpie mayo, and covered in pork sung and furikake.  Zero& doesn't carry the entire collection, but, most of it.

Sesame Almond Croissant. $5.95.

"Butter Croissant; Sesame Almond Cream; Almond Slices."

Given my adoration of black sesame, it should come as no surprise that the first baked good I had from Hanabi was the black sesame almond croissant.

I knew before I ordered, from seeing photos online, that Hanabi's style of croissants isn't a bready, lofty style, they are more dense, flatter.  I think these are made like classic double baked almond croissants, just, with different pastes inside (and obviously, on top).

The croissant was ... fine.  It was very flaky, very messy, and clearly high butter content.  Best heated up.  Not really a croissant I'd rave about, no amazing layers, but, better than an average cafe croissant.  

On top was baked on sesame paste and tons of sesame seeds, both black and white.  The sesame flavor was there, but I didn't taste anything almond-like.  The menu description said "almond slices", but I didn't see any on top, nor inside.  The seeds on top made an amazing mess as I cut or bit into the croissant.

Think of the messiest, flakiness croissant you've had, the kind where you have rubble all around you, and this was that, just, magnified.  In addition to shards of croissant, there were sesame seeds all around me.

Sesame Almond Croissant: Inside.

Inside was a very thin layer of more sesame paste.  I was really let down by how little paste there was, as it was pretty easily lost.  I also realized that I really wanted a cream filled croissant, not just a paste.

Overall, I'd call this a fine croissant, and nice to have something other than a standard almond one, but, it wasn't an amazing croissant, and the filling was not very generous.  I'd try something else next time, not another croissant.

***.

Cakes

A major focus of Hanabi bakery is cakes.  Full size cream cakes with amazing flavors like the Chestnut Château with mocha butter chiffon cake, chestnut paste, vanilla whipping ganache cream, chestnut chantilly cream, edible gold flakes, roasted chestnuts, chocolate covered espresso beans, and fresh sage leaves.  Mousse cakes like layered uji matcha mousse and coconut mousse with matcha dacquoise.  Stunning mirror glaze creations.  None of these are available at Zero&, but Zero& does carry the individual size "Mini box" cakes.

Mini box cakes come in several different flavors year round, with seasonal specials like pumpkin in the fall and a lunar new year red velvet.  They also even make some gluten-free.

Matcha Jasmine Mini Box. $8.99.

"Uji Matcha Chiffon Cakes, Jasmine Green Tea Whipping Ganache, Uji Matcha Chantilly Cream, White Chocolate Crunchy Pearls."

When I visited, all of the non-gluten free options were caffeinated, with either chocolate components or matcha.  My companion got the matcha one, and it looked amazing.  She ended up not trying it then, opting to take it home for later, so I wasn't able to steal a bite. 

Rose Lychee Mini Box. $8.99. 
Gluten-Free.

"Gluten-Free Vanilla Chiffon, Light Rose Chantilly Cream and Whole Milk Powder, Whole Lychee Fruit, Edible Rose Petals and Edible Gold Flakes."

I didn't want caffeine, and sadly they were sold out of the taro and black sesame ones I was eying, so I took a gamble on the rose lychee box.  I do like rose and lychee, but I was wary of the gluten-free cake base.  

This was ... ok.  I don't think the gluten-free nature was the problem, but I wasn't really a fan of the cake layers.  I realized I don't generally really like chiffon cake.  It was fairly moist, and light, but, boring.  Like angel food cake.  I just never want that kind of light cake.  Bring on the butter please!  

The chantilly cream was lightly sweet and lightly rose flavored, a pretty subtle, lightly floral, fairly lovely flavor.  I liked it.  Within the layers, there were chopped up bits of lychee jellies, like the kind you get in a bubble tea, along with a full lychee split in half on top.  The lychee was sweet in all the right ways.  The rose petals were pretty but I didn't actually like the texture they added.  Mine had only two tiny bits of gold flake.

So overall, the cream was tasty, and I liked the lychee and rose flavors, but, as a layered cake, this wasn't a winner for me.  **+.