The Hype of CoCo Milk Tea 🍵

Okay, so here's one beverage in the metro everyone has been raving about. The milk tea varieties of a Taiwanese brand, CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice. The crowded counter and the jam-packed queue at almost all its branches make you think there might be something extraordinary about this beverage.

So I resolved to try at least one of its variants of milk tea to discover why CoCo always has a box office scene queue. But since June of this year whenever I drop by at any of its branches, there's always a throng of people queueing in the counter. So my plan had to be postponed several times. I have no endurance and enough patience to stand in the long line just to grab a glass of milk tea.

Milk Tea trip at CoCo

CoCo is a much hyped brand of bubble tea in the Philippines. Just observe how people waited in the long line and how eager everyone to have their teas, it makes you puff in wonder. I am not certain where all these hypes came from. Is it really tasty?

As curious as everyone to uncover the mystery of its popularity, I agreed with my friends, Aya and Reyn, to visit CoCo's Eastwood branch after our work. And be prepared to stretch the fiber of our patience, standing in the queue. 😀

For the past months, I was always at the mercy of enthusiastic customers taking their place in the queue line. The waiting period felt like an eternity that I always chose to leave the area than be consumed with weariness. I don't have enough endurance to stand in the long line. I find it a bit tiring and frustrating. But that afternoon in Eastwood was different. I made up my mind to wait.

The much hyped milk tea at CoCo

While standing in the queue, I noticed people began flowing in. There were four crew members serving at the counter, but even then, they still looked pressured and needed to move fast to accommodate the stream of customers.

So while choosing which type of tea suits my taste preference, I couldn't help but wonder what made this beverage a big hit among the yuppies and the professionals. What's so exciting about CoCo's milk tea? Is it heavenly tasty? What makes it different from other premium milk tea brands in the metro? Is it worthy of my time and money?

We have heard that one of CoCo's best-sellers is the Panda Milk Tea. Unfortunately, it wasn't available during our visit. So I chose the 3 buddies tasty milk tea variant partly because I was intrigued with the mixture of pudding and grass jelly in a milk tea. Reyn and Aya opted for the simple kind, Pearl Milk Tea.

So how does it tastes? Is it worth the hype?

Okay, so what I have tried was the 3 buddies variety, it's a milk tea concoction with pearl, pudding and grass jelly. I couldn't vouch for other variants, I haven't tried any of those. But what I have noticed, though distinctively creamy, was the dominant spike of sweet. A bit too sugary for a milk tea.

The add-ons didn't help softening the effect of sugar. It worsened the sweetness. While sipping the beverage until the last drop, it felt like I was eating a gulaman bar smudged with latte 😀 I was also wondering where did the bitter taste of tea go. There was only a pinch of tea.

I always expected my milk tea to have a balance taste of cream, a dash of sweet but not too sugary, and a bitter tad of tea. It helps smoothen the taste. But with CoCo's 3 buddies milk tea, it was a bit too sweet. A kind of milk tea that won't rock my world. Nothing extraordinary on the blend.

But for people who like a sweet beverage, CoCo's milk tea might suit their palate. It provides a pleasure of drinking a fancy milk tea beverage and might satisfy one's thirsty. And the good thing about CoCo is that customers can request for less ice.

Price is just right. For Pearl Milk Tea regular it only costs you Php85.00 while the regular size of 3 buddies is Php95.00 a very reasonable rate since the size looks like an upsize pack of other brands. It's one of the most affordable milk tea brands in the metro. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why people flock to CoCo. A tasty, fancy beverage at an affordable price.

My take on this beverage, well, overall, it was really tasty but a bit sugary and creamy for a milk tea, doesn't help if you're keeping calories at bay. But if you're after the pleasure of drinking sweetened beverage, then CoCo's milk tea might be the perfect beverage for you.

 At the citywalk, going to CoCo

After having our milk tea fix 😀

CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice is a Taiwanese brand founded in 1997 in Taipei. It gone a long way since then, opening its franchise stores worldwide. CoCo first opened its branch in the Philippines in 2013 and continues to grow.

Photo credit: Reyn Tabuzo