likebyregina I have been going to a lot of bubble tea shops lately. At one point, I was visiting five different shops in one week, which was probably a crazy move. Anyway, Robson Street is slowly turning into a street of bubble tea. I’ve counted, including the ones that are opening soon, there are at least seven different shops, opening side by side. Milksha, a popular Taiwanese bubble tea chain recently opened its door on Robson Street, next to Ole Chicken & Tapas. This is the first location in North America, which I am excited to be one of the first customers to try them!
Milksha is known for the premium quality ingredients, such as Dajia Taro, honey-soaked pearls, and fresh teas. They have no preservatives, chemical ingredients, or artificial colouring. A lot of these ingredients are frozen and flown from Taiwan to allow customers to enjoy the drink with the authentic flavor from Taiwan.
The menu is quite extensive, with a combination of fresh milk, milk tea latte, and handcrafted tea drinks.
Back to the real BBT talk – so I tried few signature drinks, including Dajia Taro Fresh Milk, Orange Green Tea, Earl Grey Tea Latte, Izumi Matcha Fresh Milk, Valrhona Cocoa Fresh Milk, and some samples of Wintermelon Fresh Milk and Brown Sugar Fresh Milk.
I didn’t drink the Dajia Taro Fresh Milk right away because I wanted Mr. to try it as well. I was scared that the drink won’t sit well in the fridge, or the flavour would change, but it was totally fine. In fact, it tastes great. There is no sugar added, but it is perfect due to the natural sweetness from the taro. Since it is fresh milk with bits of taro, it can get quite heavy after a few sips.
Orange Green Tea is my favourite. It is a refreshing drink, and I would imagine myself ordering this throughout the summer. I thought it was a yuzu drink on my first sip, but it turns out be an orange-based drink. I enjoyed it with the honey-soaked pearls, and with the hint of acidity from the oranges, I prefer it with 50% sweetness. The pulp in the drink gives it a nice texture, and the pearls have a good chewy texture.
I had high expectation on my matcha drinks, and Milksha imports the matcha powder from Japan for the Izumo Matcha Fresh Milk. Unfortunately, the matcha flavor is subtle. The drink is quite smooth and not powdery, but I think it is disappointing that the milk overpowers the matcha.
Valrhona Cocoa Fresh Milk uses Valrona chocolate, which is a famous chocolate brand from France. This drink is definitely kid-friendly because it tastes just like a chocolate milk. I am not a big fan of chocolate milk, so I have to pass on this one.
Earl Grey Milk Tea is another one that I brought home to share with Mr. And we both enjoyed it. The tea flavor is strong and enjoyable with no bitter aftertaste, but the honey flavor from the pearls seems to vanish. 50% sweetness is perfect for us, even with the pearls.
We also tried samples of the Wintermelon Fresh Milk and Brown Sugar Fresh Milk. I found the Wintermelon Fresh Milk too sweet to my liking, but the Brown Sugar Fresh Milk is pretty good. The brown sugar is directly mixed into the fresh milk, but there is nothing too special about it.
Overall Impression
With many bubble tea options on Robson Street, each of them has some specialty drinks that I would order. For Milksha, my recommended drinks are Orange Green Tea and Dajia Taro Fresh Milk. However, I think they are both best served in cold, so Milksha might not be my first pick bubble tea shop in the winter. What I like about Milksha is its reasonable price with premium quality ingredient. I would return to try some unique tea lattes, such as Barley Tea Latte and the Light Roasted Oolong Tea Latte. These drinks sound pretty good to enjoy in the upcoming winter.
Taste : 4/5 • Service: N/A • Ambiance: N/A • Quality-Price: 4/5
