This is the Gardenia Longan Tea ($9.20; less ice, 50% sugar) from Molly Tea, featuring longan flesh purée and coconut water, topped with gardenia green tea made with their ‘cheese bites milk’, a cheese-infused milk blend.
The beverage presented with an opaque off-white hue, with tiny flecks of tan longan flesh settled at the base. Using the thin straw without stirring, as recommended, initial contact delivered smooth, sweet milk, with sweetness developing quickly through the mid-palate as the rich sweetness of coconut water emerged. Fresh longan followed, carrying an unmistakable longan character but with considerably less of the smoky quality associated with dried longan.
Through the mid-palate, the longan gradually gave way to delicate floral notes from the gardenia tea base. The milk remained velvety and lightly saline-sweet, providing a creamy texture without introducing any pronounced cheesy character from the cheese-infused milk. Towards the finish, as the liquid receded, the longan pieces remained on the palate, extending the fruit character and anchoring the longan profile.
Overall, a layered milk tea with a sweet-to-floral trajectory and velvety, lightly saline texture, resulting in a cohesive combination of fresh longan, gardenia and creamy milk.
This Gardenia Longan Tea was purchased from Molly Tea in Sydney, Australia in August 2026.