Pearl Tea Taste Tests

Desiree:
Green Bean (my new favorite!!! Mung bean powder, not ground up like red beans. Very refreshing.)

Green Milk Tea (long-time favorite)

Taro (heavenly)

Honeydew (first flavor I ever tried, at the Great Wall Asian Super Mall. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Ambrosia makes a terrific version of it, too. The versions I had from Yummy House Bakery and Ten Ren didn't impress as much. I think they made it too sweet.)

Pear (good but not overly remarkable. Want to try again.)

Mango (had a sip of someone else’s. Can’t wait to have a whole one..... MMMM, okay, had one of my own today. It doesn't scream "MANGO" at you, but it was quite yummy and I would get this again. I think I'm discovering that I like the understated flavors more than the assertive flavors. Green Bean is still tops for me right now. 'Cause, you know, it doesn't actually *taste* like green beans; it just tastes good.)

Coconut (I tried this from Yummy House Bakery, based on Denise's review. Definitely worthwhile, at least once. I think I prefer different vehicles for my coconut consumption, however.)

Mulberry (had a sip of someone else's; kind of on the tangy side instead of smooth)

Honey (too sweet)

Almond (had a terrible, chemical aftertaste. Did I get a bad batch?)

Red Bean (had a sip of someone else's; too grainy, verging on chunky)

Starfruit (warning: At Ambrosia, this one is salted, similar to li hing mui. I gave it my best effort, determined not to be the white girl with a timid palate, but couldn't finish it.)

Kiwi (Nope, ain't having none of it, regardless of what Mathew says. I finished about half of it, but did not actively enjoy the experience. Evidently, I don't like the tangy pearl tea flavors. If I want sour-tasting milky liquids, I'll drink kefir.)

Taro (yum, although it always seems kinda gritty)

Coffee (YUK!, they put some sort of toxic coffee syrup in it)

Coconut (tasty, I ordered and then instantly regretted it, fearing a sickly sweet concoction but happily it wasn't too much, Yummy House Bakery)

Lychee black milk tea (tasty treat! this is giving almond a run for it's money as far as my favorites go. i've only seen it at ten ren tea shop which (in my humble opinion) is a cool place. no loud music, no crowd, no smoking, and they are adding tables and chairs in june. plus the lady is really friendly and knows a lot about tea.)

Red Bean (I concurr that red bean sucks. It ruins the great texture of the pearls. Like drinking with semi cooked oatmeal.)

Coconut (The coconut flavor was subtle, blending smoothly with the other ingredients (whatever those might be). Clearly a superior choice in pearl tea flavors.)

Green Milk Tea (Though this is the basis of milk tea, it is a drinking experience bordering on the unremarkable.)

Green Bean (Tasty, though not as thrilling as certain other flavors. This is made from mung beans in the form of a powdered extract, and therefore is not pulpy or grainy like the red bean pearl tea.)

Guava (as a pearl shake. The caveat to this flavor review is that Jon talked me into trying guava as a shake instead of milk tea. I had only tried a pearl shake once before, dismissing it as a desirable choice because of the unfortunate effect on the pearls; they freeze and become stuck on the end of the straw due to the ensuing lack of elasticity. This was exactly what happened on this, my second experience with pearl shakes. Another noteworthy event involving the pearls is that the black coloring began coming off as they sat in the melting shake, leaving the mottled-brown tapioca balls clustered at the bottom of the cup. As to the flavor, I found the it bordering perilously close to that nebulous ‘blended fruit drink’ flavor prevalent in Odwalla, and had they used any more sweetener, it would have sent it into the realm of unpalatable. Watching the pearl drink assembler at work, he did seem to have a heavy hand pouring the syrup, which may explain the sweetness. A second tasting is warranted, but it will be as a milk tea rather than a shake. 5/4/2000)

Guava (as milk tea. My previous sampling of a guava pearl drink was as a shake. As that was not an outstanding sampling experience, I returned to Ambrosia to try guava as a milk tea, my preferred format for pearl drinks. With this second sampling, the overall flavor was markedly different, primarily due to two factors. First, the amount of flavoring syrup was not excessive, as it was on the previous tasting. Second, the base flavor of the milk tea is a large component to any milk tea. I found guava, as with the kiwi, has a flavor that stands out from the base milk tea flavor. Even so, guava is not likely to make it on to my frequent repeat list. 5/7/2000)

Honey (Cloyingly sweet. I don’t plan on sampling it again.)

Kiwi (After months of being crossed off Ambrosia’s menu, kiwi is again available. So I tried it. I liked it. A great deal. This is the only flavor I have tried that has such decidedly disparate flavors on different parts of the tongue; the standard, sweet, milk tea taste on the front of the tongue, and a tangy fruit taste on the back of the tongue. Interestingly, though probably no relation to my flavor selection, this was the frothiest pearl tea I have experienced. 5/6/2000)

Mango (The powder added to make this flavor of milk tea looked suspiciously like Tang, but the resulting beverage was delicious. The final color was a light, creamy orange.)

Papaya (Quite tasty, and well balanced in the sweetness factor. It has been noted by a milk tea co-conspirator (read: Jon) that my selection of milk tea flavors invariably trend towards variations of beige. Papaya is another fine example of the subtle nuances one can find in that often-maligned color, beige.)

Peanut (Can be likened to drinking liquefied Skippy. Perhaps this is the bubble gum equivalent in the realm of milk tea flavors. This is not to say I would not try it again. The color is the closest I have seen to what one might term ‘electric brown’.)

Pear (Distinguished only by its complete lack of discernable pear flavor.)

Red Bean (Great flavor, but with the decided drawback of containing red bean particles that detract from the easy-sipping experience.)

Black Sesame (If you think the red bean is gritty, give the black sesame a try. It looks as though someone dropped a goodly quantity of finely ground pepper into a cup of milk. The sesame particles have a tendency to float, leaving the straw and upper portion of the cup coated with a fine, black grit. The taste is rather understated, with hints of earthiness (not dirt as Jon might insist) and buttery sesame flavor, with a touch of peppery bite. An interesting side effect of the graininess was that it interfered with the normal straw-tapioca pearl operations. The pearls kept hanging up in the straw. Or it could have been due to a batch of unusually large tapioca pearls. Overall, I am glad to have experienced black sesame pearl tea, but it is not an experience I feel the need to repeat. 5/9/2000)

Passion (This flavor is aggressively fruity and actually tastes like it might be passion fruit. A newsworthy item stemming from this trip to Ambrosia is that Jon's theory about certain flavors, notably peach, being made with actual fruit has been proven incorrect. We both watched carefully as the assembler added the following items to the blender; ice, peach syrup, lemon syrup, granulated sugar, water. No actual fruit chunks entered the blender. Jon, suffering acute embarrassment at the debunking of his theory, spoke of how Ambrosia lacks a standardized method for pearl beverage assembly, as demonstrated by the fact that there has been a wide variation in taste on repeat sampling of certain flavors. 5/11/2000)

Tropical Delight (from Ambrosia: Yesterday, while I relished a repeat sampling of watermelon, a co-sampler took obvious pleasure in a pearl shake selection enigmatically labeled 'tropical delight.' I was intrigued, despite my wariness at this co-samplers apparent lack of appreciation for the subtle nuances of pearl tea. Today, I crossed over to the other side, ordering a tropical delight pearl shake of my own. The flavor, enough to cause me to overlook the inherent design flaws of pearl shakes, was a rich blend of pineapple, coconut, and lime, filling my mouth with divinity. I was transported... right up until frozen pearls clogged the straw. But during those few brief, fleeting, magical minutes, I melted into relaxation, with images of a sunny beach and gentle waves...)

That being said:

Taro (of course, this is a natural for pearl tea)

Orange shake (this tastes like the someone jammed a 1960's model 50/50 ice cream bar in the blender, my usual)

Peach shake (no milk only peaches, ice and a mysterious orange syrup)

Pineapple (upon first sample, a banana Popsicle, quickly degrading into a super sweet pineapple lifesaver)

As the sole defender of the virtues of the pearl shake (the king of drinks), I was completely taken aback by the complete deformation of the pearls and the effect this would have on our young shake sampler. The pearls were frozen, square, brown and would not travel up the straw. I, as a seasoned veteran who knew to take off the cover and improvise, was not affected by this tragedy and yet I could only view the plight of my co-sampler with a great sadness in my heart. This frozen tundra effect only occurs maybe 25% of the time. In regards to the milk tea. A dirty sunburned hand squeezes a hairy udder. Out squirts a thick warm white fluid into a metal pail where it sits, thickening and congealing for untold lengths of time. This is milk.

Guava (I liked it but as Mat has mentioned, the barista did hit the syrup too heavily. I probably won't get it again although the deep pink coloration was indeed a refreshing change to the beige milkish color that Mat so enjoys. Beige animal secretions are not my first choice when it comes to quenching my thirst.)

Green Apple (Emory when asked what the green apple shake tasted like: "Green Apples". It was this thoughtful response that led to my sampling of the flavor. Emory's culinary advice will never be drawn upon again. Not only did this not taste anything like a green apple but it started to make me question the whole basis of this fruit drink architecture. At Ambrosia, there is a row of real fruits that get used in some of the drinks (peach, red bean, lychee, etc), then there is a row of plastic jugs that are filled with the essence of banana lifesaver syrup with colored dyes (pineapple, green apple, banana etc..). The syrup based flavors when combined with milk creates what can only be described as a "kids drink", much like the milk in the cereal bowl after eating Cocoa Puffs or Fruit Loops. There is no measuring device for the syrup. If the barista tips the syrup jug too much, you are in for a long afternoon. I am discouraged.)

Tropical Delight (from Ambrosia: A fragrant floral breeze cools the warmth of the Polynesian sun. I have just had my first "Tropical Delight" shake. This frosty white drink has subtle undertones of passion fruit, guava, pineapple and an aftertaste of coconut . While my unfortunate co-samplers slurped down their beige/pinkish watermelon drinks (the reference to Jolly Rancher was made), I was enjoying my new favorite flavor (which incidently is only available on the adult side of the menu under "Shakes".))

Strawberry (Mathew: His very first flavor was strawberry, about which he has been extremely non-committal. I think the exact quote was "Hnnughah.")

Kiwi (Mathew: Emory's comments upon tasting kiwi: "Not my favorite.")

Orange Shake (Jon: I did get him to sample the Orange shake. When questioned about how he liked it he mumbled something to the effect that green apple was his favorite. Mat, I think that you are on to something about the significance of his use of the word "Life Saver" but I am trying to mentally block out the hidden innuendos of the fruit he has chosen to pair with this statement.)

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