CHICHA San Chen 吃茶三千 Famous Taiwan Oolong Bubble Tea in 313@Somerset

Taiwan’s famous bubble tea store, CHICHA San Chen 吃茶三千, has opened a flagship store in 313@Somerset this 14th May 2019.

Taking bubble tea experience to a whole new level, there are several aspects that make CHICHA San Chen a forerunner in the Singapore bubble tea market.

Before we delve into that, let’s marvel at the quality emphasis in each drink. Each order of tea is freshly brewed on the spot using their imported tea leaves with the patented, second-generation Teapresso machine LION II. After the brewing process is done within one minute, the corresponding toppings are added.

There are six types of tea to choose from: Green tea, Black tea, Cassia Black tea, High Mountain Pouchong tea, Osmanthus Oolong tea and Dong Ding Oolong tea (One of the most prestigious tea which has been awarded three golden stars for its superior taste and quality by the prestigious International Taste and Quality Institute (iTQi)).

At the counter, you will see two menus, the left one for customisation while the right depicts their six signature drinks.

The drinks’ packagings blew me away right from the intricate precise string tying to the little sticker quotes. I was told that there is a systematic way of presenting each drink which includes the ribbon knot, sticker/straw placement and cup sleeve. Even the quote on the sticker was a surprise find when I was trying to read the small text. Different drinks might have different quotes too!

Must-try is their Dong Ding Oolong Fresh Milk Tea $4.70. I like that the taste profile of the tea leaves is really prominent and aromatic. Even though it could be added with milk, sweetness and other toppings, you can still taste the tea flavours well enough. It’s really rare in other bubble teas I have tried elsewhere where the tea taste is more diluted.

Also, these caramel-flavoured pearls are 1.5 times larger than the usual pearls and freshly made batched by batch every three hours.

I also tried the black tea-based Fruit Tea $5 which was exceptionally tasty, refreshing and filled with tons of fruits!

Even though I chose the zero sugar level, the fruit tea was still lightly sweetened by the chopped fruits within. There’s the apple slices, diced pineapple, passionfruit, lemon, lime and other seasonal fruits that they might add in depending on availability.

The hot version of the Bubble Milk Tea $4.20 was an altogether different experience again.

The pearls were said to be softer when they are in a hot drink with the right kind of balance between being chewy and soft. It’s the most classic drink where you simply savour the tea blended with milk. When I open the lid, I also notice a smoothly-whipped layer of cream just at the surface.

Tea Appreciation

While waiting for your order to be ready, head over to the Tea Appreciation corner where you get to taste five different roast levels of Taiwan’s Lishan Qingxin Oolong tea. One of the staff would be present to explain the tea leaves and brewing process while she prepared your choice of tea too.

After steeping in hot water, the tea leaves would expand.

Merchandises

 

 

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