A Sip Of My Tea

MANILA, Philippines - Sometimes working in a hot kitchen takes its toll on my system. But since I work in the Wilson area, I am blessed with having two of my favorite milk tea places nearby so I can go and grab a refresher after a class or going on the line. I featured one of these favorites of mine last year - the one that brews the tea fresh per order.

This other place at the corner of Wilson and P. Guevarra, which just recently opened, called Share Tea, has a different philosophy altogether. Although the different teas may not have been brewed fresh per order, their strength lies in the combinations and variations of their iced beverages. For the traditional milk teas, the classic and Hokkaido are considered two of the better ones in the milk tea market. Even the quality of the pearls has just the right chewiness, without them being too rubbery. The matcha with red bean is another winner which I like to combine with either jelly strings for its smoky, earthy and flowery tea flavors or the mango milk tea which strikes a good balance between fruit and tannic leafy characters softened by creamy cold milk.

The ice-blended slush-type drinks are popular and I've espied a lot of the older set that orders the taro-blended combination. I find this too light for my taste and I definitely want the stronger rooty, earthy and yammy character of this root crop ice blended with milk that other similar places may offer. The strawberry blended with lychee-flavored nata de coco bits which is popular among the young has a pleasant tangy, berry acid on the slush, flavored by some chewy jelly texture from the Lychee de Coco.

Another traditional flavor that Share Tea has managed to give innovation to is the winter melon (kondol in Filipino) juice with its smoky, reed-like leafy, caramel flavors that mixed with fresh milk blend. Putting textures like black pearls, jelly strings or Lychee de Coco completes this modernized-styled beverage.

This is also true with the rather offbeat Rock Salt Cheese with oolong or iced, flowery green tea topped with a salty mousse of sweet creamy cheese. So, one gets a salty, sweet and savory experience chased down by a gulp of your preferred tea. There is even a poster on the counter instructing novices on how to drink this tea and cheese foam concoction.

For the traditionalists, there's Aloha which is a mixture of pineapple, passion fruit, kiwi and orange. I believe this goes well with a combination of Lychee de Coco strips that I ask them to add into my mix.

For those uninitiated with their offerings, the chain uses fructose as a sweetener and may be an impediment to those who have dietary restrictions. Unlike some other beverage chains, one might want to bring his own low glycemic sweetener (and I don't mean a cold spouse or girlfriend).

You can e-mail me at

chefgenegonzalez@yahoo.com.