Chatime’s Pearl Milk Tea

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.

Dessert by Deb’s Almond Cinnamon Brioche

Almond Cinnamon Brioche by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.75 for 25g

Almon Cinnamon Brioche came to me as part of the bimonthly subscription box from Dessert by Deb.

First Impressions

Almond Cinnamon Brioche came in a chocolate brown metallic pouch that’s sealed and resealable, with the familiar polka dot label. Almond Cinnamon Brioche is part of Dessert by Deb’s Bed  & Breakfast Holiday Inn collection and the colours have a very end of autumn, beginning of winter feel to it.

Almond Cinnamon Brioche consists of: black tea, natural almond flavour, almonds, cinnamon, coconut, brown sugar, and calendula petals – with quite a few of the listed ingredients being organic. The dry leaf is beautiful – from the sparkle of the brown sugar, the presence of the bright yellow calendula petals and sliced almond pieces. The aroma of Almond Cinnamon Brioche is primarily the coconut, cinnamon, and almonds.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Almond Cinnamon Brioche in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes and recommends having it as a tea latte. I did an initial steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Almond Cinnamon Brioche steeps to a golden yellow. The aroma is strong of cinnamon and coconut. The flavour is sweet, hints of molasses, warming notes of cinnamon, and the coconut. It has notes of vanilla that somehow come through, which really lend itself to having that ‘brioche’ or thoughts of baked goods. All that’s missing is the aroma of butter to really drive home that idea of brioche to the tastebuds. The black tea base provides a bold undertone with light caramel notes.

I did try adding some evaporated milk to my cup of Almond Cinnamon Brioche, to make it latte-esque. It adds a creamy quality to it, but not that buttery quality that I crave in a good brioche bun.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Almond Cinnamon Brioche, adding an additional 30 seconds to the steeping time. I found that the flavour wasn’t as enjoyable as the initial steep. The first resteep had cinnamon and coconut, but the almond and brown sugar notes were (understandably) missing.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Almond Cinnamon Brioche. This black tea blend evokes a lot of feelings of being in a bakery, of getting to experience bites into a pastry rich with almond and cinnamon. I do wish that there were more buttery notes in it, to really drive home that feeling of brioche. That said, I would recommend following the tip of preparing Almond Cinnamon Brioche as a tea latte.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Tropical Fields’ Boba Milk Tea Mochi

Boba Milk Tea Mochi by Tropical Fields
$10.99 for 900g (60 pieces)

First Impressions

A trip through my favourite membership-required bulk purchasing store resulted in me picking up a bag of Boba Milk Tea Mochi. Boba? Milk tea? Mochi? All things I enjoy. It came in a sealed, resealable bag and each mochi comes individually wrapped and there’s sixty (60) in the whole bag.

Boba Milk Tea Mochi consists of: sugars, glutinous rice, water, modified corn starch, white chocolate, bubble milk tea paste, boba, palm oil, mono and di-glycerides, salt, artificial flavour, potassium sorbate, and potato starch. The bubble tea milk paste contains black tea.

First Taste

Each mochi comes in its own packaging. The packaging suggests that each mochi has a boba pearl, as well as a layer of milk tea flavour. When I bit into the mochi, I found that it was more of a one-note texture inside of the mochi. there was no differentiation for myself when I bit into the Boba Milk Tea mochi. The mochi is sweet, soft and chewy. I don’t find it to have a particular boba texture or sweetness – but it has a decent flavour, albeit a bit too sweet for my tastes.

My Overall Impression

I didn’t like Tropical Fields’ Boba Milk Tea Mochi. While the price was right for an impulse buy, I was disappointed that the mochi didn’t have the same texture as what appeared on the packaging (with the distinct boba pearl middle). The mochi itself has a great texture – nice and soft – I was just disappointed that it wasn’t what I had expected based on the photograph promises. I’d share these with others, but I’m not sure if I would buy them again. If you’re not too fussed with the boba part of the mochi, Boba Milk Tea Mochi is tasty.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.