For almost a year now, our family have been tea drinkers. It all started with our dad who wanted to improve his wellness by regularly drinking tea. We saw the effects on him so we decided to try it ourselves.
At first, I admit, I was a little uncomfortable with the taste of tea in my mouth. I’ve been a coffee drinker most of my life so having to switch to tea for my dose of caffeine everyday wasn’t an easy transition. But, after a week or so of habitually drinking tea, I got so used to the taste that it became something I actually looked forward to everyday. And it helped me lose 30 pounds early this year, along with my less-rice diet. Drinking tea made me feel lighter and healthier in a way. 🙂
We know the taste needs a lot of getting used to, but thank goodness for the milk tea places around the Metro, we can now enjoy the same health benefits of tea and milk while enjoying a cold (or warm) tasty thirst-quencher. One of the fairly new milk tea places we discovered is Bon Appetea (oohh, I just love the wordplay… but, wait, there’s more!).
We were invited to have a taste of what they had to offer when we dropped by the Bon Appetea Express Bar in Ortigas, at the Strata 2000 food court (this branch opened in mid-August of this year). Owner Tom Pestano, along with fellow foodie Jonel Uy, was there to introduce us to the milk tea flavors they have on their menu.
Unfortunately, I don’t have my notes from the said taste test anymore because of Typhoon Pedring, BUT, I can still remember which ones I loved and those that I can remember.
First, let me tell you that they have 7 menu groups that should make it easy for you to pick what you want.
For the purists or true-blue tea enthusiasts, you should go for the Simplicitea that you can order either hot or iced. Among the 5 variants under this menu group, I remember having a taste of the Jasmine Green Tea and Assam Black Tea. Between the two, I enjoyed the latter ‘cause I’m not really fond of anything flowery (long, funny story that goes back to my childhood days :D). I prefer stronger teas, even with coffee, so it was no surprise that it was what I remember the most among all the teas we had that warm afternoon. 🙂
For beginners or those who don’t like the herby (a friend described it “grassyâ€) taste of tea, you should go for the Milk Teas offered by Bon Appetea. I loved Ambrosia – a combination of Assam Black Tea and brown sugar syrup. Obviously, it’s because of the black tea again. Well, I also liked the Morocco Nights, which is Jasmine Green Tea and peppermint. The slight minty flavor helped mask the flowery taste of Jasmine.
They also have other tea groups such as the Yogurt Teas, Fruit Teas, VitaliTea, and Herbal Teas. But, the other tea variant I loved was their NaughTeas. I told you there’ll be more wordplay, right? I just love how they came up with the names. Now, you might be wondering what the NaughTeas are all about. Well, they actually have a unique kick with a bit of alcohol content in the toppers added to them. I actually ordered a Long Island Iced Tea with vodka pearls for takeout. The alcohol content is subtle so I don’t think you’d have to worry about getting drunk over these NaughTeas. 😀
Continue reading Bon Appetea : A Unique Take on Milk Teas
