Purely out of convenience, Chatime remains the bubble tea store that I frequent most. This time I took a break from my usual fruity teas with this Chatime Premium Pearl Milk Tea ($5.00.95, including pearls with no ice and 30% sugar).
The tea is a translucent beige colour with a sweet milky black tea aroma. Consumed chilled, pleasant notes of sweetened Earl Grey black tea came through with mellow milky notes in the body lingering lightly in the aftertaste. For a milk tea, it had a thin mouthfeel with a powdery residue left on the cup, which is in stark contrast to the creamers used in coffees and the smoother and more viscous milk teas prepared at home. At 30% sugar, the drink was very sweet, which leaves me wondering whether the drink would be even palatable with the normal amount of sugar — perhaps no sugar may be the way to go.
The pearl milk tea is a staple of any Taiwanese bubble tea store, and while this one tastes decent, it’s clearly not one of the best for the price.
Premium Pearl Milk Tea was ordered Chatime in Sydney, Australia in February 2019.