Shake Shake Tea

Originally, Diana, Amy, Dee and I were going to meet up at Golden Szechuan where we would eat some spicy food and call it a night.  Diana had a better idea.  Why not combine a night out for dinner with an invited milk tea tasting?  What better to sooth our numbed tongues than a cold milky beverage?  As it turned out, the spicy food wasn't really all that spicy.  That didn't prevent us from trying a bunch of bevvies as we made our way to the nearby Shake Shake Tea.

I gave the Oolong Tea a try first and I found the 100% sweetness to be very deceiving.  I personally thought it was just right (as well as the others).  Any less sugar and the drink would border on bland.  The milkiness was evident, but not in a creamy fashion.  As for the tea, it was definitely in the background though especially compared to the Jasmine Tea.  Sporting the same light milkiness, the jasmine tea had a richer aroma that had an appealing faint bitter finish.  The sweetness was exactly the same as the oolong being just right for us.  I thought that the addition of grass jelly or pudding was the right compliment to these milk teas as the pearls were rather sweet.

Sweet would be the word to describe the Caramel Tea with pearls.  First of all, the smoky rich sweetness of caramel was pretty strong and at the forefront.  I thought it could've been dialed down a bit as it was amped up even further with the sweet pearls.  Texturally, the pearls were on point being chewy, yet not too hard at the same time.  Raising the sugar quotient was the Black Sugar with pearls.  The use of black sugar meant the drink had a deep sweetness that didn't give us sugar shock, rather, the sweetness crept up gradually.  Add in the sweet pearls and yes, it would've probably been better with grass jelly.

Onto some fruitier drinks, I tried the Lychee Yogurt on its own.  This was refreshing and light with a certain tartness and only a mild thickness.  I got it at 75% sweetness and that was perfect in my opinion.  Adding coconut jelly would be a good match for this drink.  The lychee flavour was pretty evident, but not overwhelming at the same time.  Dee got the Super Mango Slush and it relied on natural sweetness rather than sugar.  One sip and we could tell it had a mango pungency.  However, we would've preferred it to be blended more aggressively as there were ice crystals.  I guess you could ask for that when ordering.  

Amy got the Wintermelon and it was a whole lot less sweeter than the one at Gong Cha.  Flavours were less developed, but I enjoyed it anyways because I could get the natural flavours without being overwhelmed by sugar.  This was at 100% sweetness too!  Diana decided on the Peach Green Tea and I found this one super refreshing and light.  Again, the 100% sweetness was on point where it didn't interfere with the peach and green tea flavours.  It wasn't bitter at all where the green tea was more of an accent flavour than at the forefront.

We also tried their Jar Desserts that resembled parfaits.  The Rocher Mousse did taste like a Ferraro Rocher being sweet and nutty.  The cake portion was moist and not ovelry sweet.  The mousse itself was creamy and light.  On the other hand, the Caramel Banana Mousse was very sweet due to the banana bread.  Although the mousse itself was not sugary, the banana bread dominated the flavour profile.  A bit wet, the Matcha Granola Mousse was still my favourite.  The crunch of the oats, almonds and pecans offered up textural contrast to the soft mousse and cake.  I could taste the matcha, but it wasn't too strong.  I liked these desserts, but they are pretty pricey at $12 - $13 dollars each.  However, when paired with a beverage, the price of the drink costs only $3.00.  About those drinks, I thought the sugar level was bang on, however, the tea flavour could've been more impactful.

*All drinks and desserts were complimentary*

The Good:
- Spot on sweetness at 100% level
- Decent fruit flavours
- Jar desserts are not too sweet

The Bad:
- Tea flavours could be stronger
- Jar desserts are pricey