Black Sugar Shaved Ice: Flavor & Pairings

What does Black Sugar taste like?

Black Sugar shaved ice is caramel, smoky-sweet — the kind of flavor that makes people close their eyes on the first spoonful. Its molasses brown color comes through beautifully in fluffy hand-shaved snow, so it looks as good as it tastes.

Because our snow is shaved fresh rather than crushed, black sugar syrup soaks evenly through every ribbon instead of pooling at the bottom. That means the last bite is just as flavorful as the first.

Where Black Sugar comes from

Black Sugar traces back to Taiwan, and it carries a little of that place in every spoonful. Slow-cooked black sugar syrup is what gives tiger-stripe boba its stripes.

Part of the fun of a shaved ice menu is that it's a passport — a single counter can hop from a Hawaiian beach to a Taiwanese night market to a desert roadside stand.

Best toppings for black sugar shaved ice

Our favorite way to serve it is with boba pearls and milk snow, which balances the sweetness and adds texture. A few more combinations worth trying:

• Fresh fruit that echoes the flavor, cut into little cubes
• A jelly or boba for a chewy contrast
• A drizzle of condensed milk or coconut cream to round it out
• A tiny sugar blossom on top, because we can't help ourselves

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