Coffee and tea have both long been peddled for their physical, mental, emotional and social benefits. Both tea enthusiasts and coffee lovers will defend their drink of choice to the end since both drinks have their advantages (and disadvantages). There’s a fierce competition between the two drinks, it may be difficult to sort out what's true and what's just hype. Because of that it’s really hard to decide whether to be a tea person or a coffee person.
But then again, I can never say I am an expert of any of the two. I still have so much to learn about coffee and tea. It’s still like a budding love affair, you’re already head over heels with someone but you’re still getting to know that person. It sometimes led you to get disoriented and totally lost by its multi-faceted qualities. It’s really like getting acquainted with coffee or tea, you get utterly confused and disconcerted with the rows and rows of coffee beans and dried leaves.
I’m more of a fervent coffee-drinker, but once in a while I also enjoy having tea especially green tea and milk teas. Between the two, I would always default to coffee. This attitude might be because I know or I’m familiar with coffee more than tea. So when two of my friends signed me up for a TEA-volution Tea Tasting Seminar by Starbucks, one fine Saturday morning, I was all up for it.
Starbucks held one of their few TEA-volution Tea Tasting Seminars at SM Ortigas East. I went with my fellow east-siders Gel and Francis to learn more about tea, because you know, it’s high time for some tea! We were introduced to tea with its history and 3 flights of tea utilizing the popular and new variants of Teavana.
Our first flight consisted of Teavana Full Leaf Teas: English Breakfast, Chamomile and Emperor’s Clouds & Mist. We steeped our own teas and the coffee/tea masters told us how long we should be keeping our tea bags dipped in hot water. I just love how pretty the bags where the teas were placed. They were made of soft fine nylon which looks so nice.
The second flight consisted of Tea Lattes. We tried the Green Tea Latte, Chai Latte and English Breakfast Tea Latte. Matcha Green Tea Latte is a smooth and creamy matcha is lightly sweetened and served with steamed milk. The Chai Latte is black tea infused with cinnamon, clove, and other warming spices is combined with steamed milk and topped with foam for the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. While the English Breakfast Tea Latte is a select blend of rich, full leaf black teas from India and Sri Lanka are lightly sweetened with liquid cane sugar and topped with steamed milk and a velvety foam. I liked all three but I have to say the Matcha Green Tea Latte appealed to me most. I’m not a fan of matcha but this I will drink anytime!
The third and last flight of teas were the Featured Tea Lattes which are available for a limited time only and includes Oat Green Tea Latte, Peach Black Tea Latte and Chestnut Black Tea. The Starbucks blends the taste of earthy oats and Starbucks green tea latte with a fruity, crunchy granola top in this velvety Oat Green Tea Latte. The Peach Black Tea Latte is made with creamy steamed milk, black tea, and hints of peach flavors. Lastly, the Chestnut Black Tea Latte is combined with roasted chestnut sauce, black tea, and steamed milk and topped with chestnut praline and freeze-dried strawberry toppings. Again, the oats Green Tea was the winner for me for this flight.
Well, all I can say is that, that Saturday morning was well spent. I learned a lot about tea, I got to try different variants of tea, I might have found my new fave Starbucks drink and I get to spend it with people who share the same passion with coffee and tea, just like myself. Definitely looking forward to more gatherings like this by Starbucks.
STARBUCKS
GF SM City East Ortigas, Ortigas Ave., Ext.,
Santa Lucia, Pasig City
Contact Nos: 02 9074639
But then again, I can never say I am an expert of any of the two. I still have so much to learn about coffee and tea. It’s still like a budding love affair, you’re already head over heels with someone but you’re still getting to know that person. It sometimes led you to get disoriented and totally lost by its multi-faceted qualities. It’s really like getting acquainted with coffee or tea, you get utterly confused and disconcerted with the rows and rows of coffee beans and dried leaves.
I’m more of a fervent coffee-drinker, but once in a while I also enjoy having tea especially green tea and milk teas. Between the two, I would always default to coffee. This attitude might be because I know or I’m familiar with coffee more than tea. So when two of my friends signed me up for a TEA-volution Tea Tasting Seminar by Starbucks, one fine Saturday morning, I was all up for it.
Starbucks held one of their few TEA-volution Tea Tasting Seminars at SM Ortigas East. I went with my fellow east-siders Gel and Francis to learn more about tea, because you know, it’s high time for some tea! We were introduced to tea with its history and 3 flights of tea utilizing the popular and new variants of Teavana.
The English Breakfast is a handcrafted blend of Indian Assam, Sri Lankan Ceylon and Chinese black tea. his tastes great with or without milk. The Chamomile, this tea is sourced from Croatia. It provides the overarching flavor for this soft, soothing floral blend. And man, it smells so good! The Emperor’s Clouds & Mist is exclusively harvested during the month of April and grown on the steep, windy slopes of Huangshan Mountain at 3,500 feet above sea level, this tea has a rich body and a naturally sweet flavor. Among the three I loved the chamomile because of its relaxing aroma and floral taste.
The second flight consisted of Tea Lattes. We tried the Green Tea Latte, Chai Latte and English Breakfast Tea Latte. Matcha Green Tea Latte is a smooth and creamy matcha is lightly sweetened and served with steamed milk. The Chai Latte is black tea infused with cinnamon, clove, and other warming spices is combined with steamed milk and topped with foam for the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. While the English Breakfast Tea Latte is a select blend of rich, full leaf black teas from India and Sri Lanka are lightly sweetened with liquid cane sugar and topped with steamed milk and a velvety foam. I liked all three but I have to say the Matcha Green Tea Latte appealed to me most. I’m not a fan of matcha but this I will drink anytime!
Well, all I can say is that, that Saturday morning was well spent. I learned a lot about tea, I got to try different variants of tea, I might have found my new fave Starbucks drink and I get to spend it with people who share the same passion with coffee and tea, just like myself. Definitely looking forward to more gatherings like this by Starbucks.
STARBUCKS
GF SM City East Ortigas, Ortigas Ave., Ext.,
Santa Lucia, Pasig City
Contact Nos: 02 9074639
Email: customer@rustancoffee.ph
Website: www.starbucks.ph
Website: www.starbucks.ph
Facebook: facebook.com/StarbucksPhilippines
Instagram: instagram.com/starbucksph
For more information, complete menu and restaurant reviews, check out their Zomato profile:
No comments:
Post a Comment