From Wikipedia:
- Doodh Pati Chai, literally milk tea, also known as pakki chai.
- Bubble tea, also known as pearl milk tea or boba milk tea, with chewy tapioca balls
- Hong Kong-style milk tea, black tea sweetened with evaporated milk
- Teh tarik, the de facto national drink of Malaysia and Singapore, tea and condensed milk
I have been a fan of milk tea since 2nd year college. Simple Line (previously known as Simple Life) was introduced to me by a friend, and I never stopped patronizing milk teas since.
Now that people are more conscious about their health, more coffee drinkers are now switching from coffee beans to tea leaves.
Here's an article from www.selfhelpzone.com
Consider these 5 reasons to switch to tea (if possible):
1. The caffeine content of coffee is known to be higher than tea; coffee having as much as doubled that of tea. Excessive caffeine intake is known to interfere with sleep, increase heart rate and blood sugar levels and act as a diuretic.
Also one can develop caffeine dependency so that withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, sleepiness and flu like symptoms could be seen if one cannot get their daily dose.
2. There are more anti oxidants in tea than coffee. These anti oxidants are associated with numerous health benefits such as a healthier heart, cancer fighting properties, fighting free radicals and so on. In particular, green tea is known to be associated with a host of other benefits such as facilitating or at least helping with weight loss, keeping wrinkles and other signs of aging at bay and so on.
3. A compound called Theanine found in tea can help you feel alert and refreshed but has none of the unpleasant side effects that caffeine can have. Excessive caffeine can make you jittery and cause other unwanted side effects.
4. Tea can be more versatile. You can flavor your tea with lemon, ginger, honey and a host of other flavors making it possible to have a lot of yummy variations to your cup of tea. This is less possible with coffee. Also you can infuse your tea with a number of other herbs many of which may have health giving and curative properties. Further the fact that there is black tea, green tea, white tea and oolong tea also offers tea drinkers a wide choice to choose from.
5. Tea has other uses as well – tea can be natural antiseptic, used tea bags could help reduce swelling of the eyes, and used tea leaves can even become effective fertilizer for your plants.
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Ready to switch?
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Regardless of these considerations, I switched to milk tea because I find it more delicious, good for the health and cheaper too!
I've been to the famous milk tea places in the Metro, and here are my reviews in order. (corresponding reviews apply only to specific flavors I ordered)
1.) SereniTea
♚ Little Baguio, San Juan ♚ Aguirre Ave. BF Homes Paranaque ♚ N Roxas St. Banawe, Quezon City ♚ Cinema Area, Alabang Town Center ♚ Adriatico Wing, Robinsons Place Manila
SereniTea has a wide range of tea flavors to choose from. What I like about them is their consistency in their tea mixes. By consistency, I mean standard recipe. I tried SereniTea in Banawe, San Juan and Paranaque, and they all proved consistent. Another good thing about SereniTea is that they allow you to choose your sugar percentage from 0% to 100%. A plus for those conscious about their body sugar, and yeah, the diabetics too!
They also allow you to mix two sinkers in one drink for no additional cost. Other tea places would not allow you to combine two half-a-sinker servings in one drink. For beginners, they have a list of their top 10 best sellers, Okinawa being one of the top 3, and my favorite too.
SereniTea has been a weekly, if not daily, quick fix for my healthy food cravings. I'm on my second "suki" card already. Fan? I think so.
Price: starts at P80
Ratings: *****
2.) Zen Tea
***N. Roxas, Banawe. ***EGI Taft Tower, Manila, ***Dapitan, Manila
One good thing about Zen Tea is that they have an interesting mix of fruit, tea, milk, cream in one cup. Unlike other teas places, Zen Tea pioneers in combining fruit flavors in their mixes which gives their tea a distinct refreshing twist.
They have an interesting line-up of names for their teas like CARNIVALE, CHOCTEA etc. They also prepare their teas right beside the cashier which gives the customers an interesting view of how their orders are prepared. Cool no?
Try their strawberry and cream, and Carnivale, they're awesome!
Try their strawberry and cream, and Carnivale, they're awesome!
Price: starts at P60
Ratings: *****
3.) Simple Line
Along V.Conception, Dapitan St., Manila. (beside Perpetual Help School)
I have been patronizing Simple Line throughout my college stay in UST. And what kept me coming back is their black grass jelly which, unlike others, has a distinct texture, rough yet soft. I always order their black tea with black jelly simply because I've grown fond of it. They never had any special flavors like Yakult or fruit pulps which kind of worked in their advantage. Customers don't have a difficult time in choosing what's best.
Among all the milk tea stores I tried, Simple Line offers the cheapest prices without sacrificing the quality.
Price: starts at P50
Ratings: ****
4.) Bubble Tea
SM North EDSA, Tomas Morato
Bubble Tea's pearl is interestingly smaller compared to other milk teas. They're as small as the ones we have in our taho. Maybe that's why they are famous for their pearls, which are soft until the core.
Bubble Tea inclines more on the milky taste rather than tea. It's like having milkshake, without worrying about the herbal taste of tea. This could work for those who hate tea but would love to try out milk teas. Other teas come off too strong that kids don't like them as much. They have small servings though, and a bit pricey too. I guess we pay for the name, but don't worry, the quality still remains the same.
Price: starts at P110
Ratings: ****
5.) Gong Cha
soon to open, Mall of Asia, SM North EDSA Sky Garden
I was lucky enough to try a preview of Gong Cha during my stay in Singapore. Their menu can be compared with Happy Lemon and ChaTime, which includes a creamy cheese froth in place of your whipped cream in Starbucks. I was able to try their assam black tea, and it wasn't bad at all.
I can't wait to try their other flavors when they open here in the Philippines.
Price: starts at P90
Ratings: ****
6.) ChaTime!
A***N. Roxas, Banawe
ChaTime's store appears to be a beauty parlor at a glance. With its pink logo with white text over it, it took me a while before I tried their tea. With a few friends' recommendation, I tried their black tea with cheese. ChaTime's edge over the others, I think, is their beautiful and interactive interior. It was a bad call for me judging the place from outside. AHahah!
Inside, they have a couch with a widescreen LCD tv inside playing cartoons. They also have different game boards which attracts you to stay a bit longer and relax while enjoying your drink. It stays true to its name ChaTime which I think came from Chat and Time and Cha which is tea. It's a playful name, well suited for a playful store like ChaTime.
Overall, their tea is pretty similar with that of Gong Cha, given that I was only able to try one. And I will definitely come back, next time with friends.
Price: starts at P80
Ratings: ****
7.) Happy Lemon
Greenhills, ***Ortigas
Happy Lemon has been a trending topic in my Facebook feed since it opened in Greenhills. When I went there to try it out myself, I was a bit disappointed. I tried their "best seller, lemonade with aloe pulps, and almost gave up halfway through the drink. It might be an acquired taste, or I might be acidic that time, but I certainly did not enjoy it. The same way I did not enjoy my Yakult drin from SereniTea.
I gave Happy Lemon another shot by ordering a more simpler drink. Milk tea. And it was okay. Nothing amazing, not that bad either. It was okay. Like Chowking's Nai Chai, only bigger and more expensive.
If it wasn't for the hype and too much expectations, I think I would have enjoyed Happy Lemon more. Yet with all the better choices out there, I think I'd have to end my Happy Lemon experience here. But for a free drink, why not?
Price: starts at P90
Ratings: **
8.) Ersao
West Avenue, Banawe
Ersao could have been a great place to enjoy a Japanese snack, with milk tea alongside. But with what I experienced from the chocolate flavored tea I had some seven months ago, Ersao failed my expectations. Aside from the cheap-looking package, the taste wasn't as pleasing as I thought it would be. The place looked authentic enough, but the drink didn't live up to it. Or maybe that's how Japanese milk tea should taste like? I don't know, but I'm sure I didn't like it.
It was powdery, and not in a good way. As you try to enjoy Ersao, the powdery feel would crowd your mouth, as if eating fruits that fell off in sand. And these powder don't melt in your mouth, they stay there, until the end of the drink. I think I could have done a better job mixing Ovaltine with ice at home.
The overall Ersao experience was quite cheap in quality. With the recent uprise of better options, Ersao better focus on their food instead, and stop selling their so-called milk teas, which I think they aren't.
Price: starts at P90
Ratings: *
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I have also tried Rockery from Singapore, King Chef's milk tea pitcher, Chowking's Nai Cha, and they were all good.
Do you have any milk tea experience to share?
A post comparing/contrasting the milk teas-- you're amazing! I've always wanted to do this but too lazy :)) Great post!
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