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| - I. AM. OBSESSED.
I hopped on the purple Chatime bandwagon late. I was initially resistant and didn't know what the fuss was about, because bubble tea, in my experience, was just so-so. The first time I tried some was sometime in the 90s in a Taiwanese-owned shop in Pacific Mall. It was very nice, but the quality steadily declined as all the cheaper places cropped up and I eventually associated bubble tea with overpriced, flavourless, sugary, diluted food colouring.
Then one of my best friends insisted I visit a Chatime with her after dinner one evening and I was hooked.
The roasted milk tea was SO flavourful, rich, and unctuous! I adore tea and the tea flavour is so strong. I also like Taiwanese milk tea better because the flavour is smoother than HK milk tea, which is bitter. Also, their roasted milk tea kind of reminds me of Japanese Kirin-brand Afternoon Milk Tea, which I love and never buy in Canada because it's expensive.
The taro milk tea actually had taro bits in it! The tapioca was so perfectly cooked! (Cheap places often overcook bubbles, which I hate - the inconsistency is one of the main reasons why I stopped having bubble tea.)
I was obsessed since that first trip and have been back regularly since, to the 3 locations closest to me. I'm also glad that I'll be able to find a Chatime in most major cities! :D
That you can choose ice and sugar levels is the icing on the cake. However, I have to say that sugar levels depends on the person making it. I've been going to one of them enough to know how to adjust my order based on who's making the drinks. I know, I know - I have a problem. :P
My favourite combinations:
*grass jelly roasted milk tea with tapioca
*roasted milk tea with pudding (their pudding is deliiicious!)
Honourable mentions:
*matcha latte (strong, good quality matcha flavour that's not too bitter)
*matcha mousse (but this one is a rare treat because it's very heavy and fattening - I believe it's made with cream; order it without toppings and have it on an empty stomach)
*taro milk tea (I love all things taro, but I love the roasted milk tea more so I have it more)
*red bean milk tea (not my thing but very good according to red bean fans)
Don't bother with:
*the QQ drinks - QQ is nata de coco, which is just so-so to me, and it makes all your drinks taste like lychee (even if you order the mango QQ, it tastes like lychee at the bottom)
*the vanilla, hazelnut, or coconut milk teas - they just add syrups, which makes the drink too sweet and doesn't really make the drink taste better
*oolong milk tea (it's ok - it's not available in every location so it's worth a try, but personally I like the stronger tea flavour of roasted milk tea)
*regular milk tea (roasted tastes so much better because it's stronger)
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