Pearl Milk Tea by Chatime
Black & Oolong Tea / Flavoured
$11.99 for 290g (4 servings)
First Impressions
Pearl Milk Tea was an impulse grocery store purchase – because why not? It’s from Chatime and features 4 servings of bubble tea – 2 Original Milk Tea, 2 Oolong Milk Tea and 4 brown sugar pearls. Because I had recently reviewed Original Milk Tea, I will be focused on Oolong Milk Tea option.
Each packet of Original Milk Tea and Oolong Milk Tea are each 20g, which is the same as the packets of Original Milk Tea that I had previously purchased. The Original Milk Tea is orange, Oolong Milk Tea is green.
Original Milk Tea consists of: sugar, non-dairy creamer, black tea powder, and flavour.
Oolong Milk Tea consists of: sugar, non-dairy creamer, oolong tea powder, and flavour. The aroma of Oolong Milk Tea smells very similar to Original Milk Tea – mostly sweet with a bit of milky aroma.
Preparation
Chatime has recommendations for preparing the boba pearls by microwave or boiled water.
By microwave – tear open the packet, microwave for 30 seconds. Pour the heated pearls into 60ml of hot water and mix with milk tea powder. Top with 60ml of hot water or 60ml of ice.
By boiled water – place packet into boiled water, allow it to heat up over 1 minute. Pour heated pearls into 60ml of hot water and mix with milk tea powder. Top with 60ml of hot water or 60ml of ice.
I opted to prepare the Oolong Milk Tea with the boba pearls that were heated in the microwave.
First Taste
The boba pearls soften up a lot in the microwave, and the Oolong Milk Tea mixes up very easily with the hot water that I used. I topped up the cup with ice. The colour of the Oolong Milk Tea is a milky brown, the boba pearls are large and dark brown.
The boba pearls themselves are soft, chewy, and sweet. Oolong Milk Tea has a creamy flavour, but also nutty and floral. The pearls are large, and not all perfectly circular, so make sure you’ve got a large straw to accommodate them. The tea itself is decent – not overly sweet and I can taste the nuances of the oolong in the mix.
A Second Cup?
As Oolong Milk Tea is a drink mix, there can only be one tea preparation with this mix.
My Overall Impression
I liked Chatime’s Pearl Milk Tea. While Chatime’s Original Milk Tea was $0.90 per packet, Pearl Milk Tea has each boba tea at $3 per serving – which makes it more expensive for sure. I found the flavour to be good, and the texture of the boba pearls is great – I love how soft and chewy they were. It’s a great deal compared to ordering the equivalent from their actual shop ($6.10 for pick-up), but there are also cheaper methods of making boba at home. For the convenience, I like it and will definitely make it again at home (and at work!).
Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.
