Return of Gong Cha: Sip test of three new drinks

The excitement over the return of Taiwanese bubble tea chain Gong Cha to Singapore has been brewing for some time, with fans forming long queues for many hours before it opened its new flagship store at SingPost Centre on Friday (1 December).

So what refreshingly new and evergreen flavours are bubbling at Gong Cha?

Besides the usual bestsellers such as the Taro Milk Tea, Earl Grey Milk Tea with 3J, and Pearl Milk Tea, there are 17 new drinks on the menu including two new beverage ranges – smoothie and tea latte.

Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore got to sip three of the new flavours – Purple Sweet Potato Milk Tea, Strawberry Popcorn Fresh Milk Tea and Brown Sugar Dessert Smoothie – and here’s what we thought of them:

Purple Sweet Potato Milk Tea ($4.50 for regular size, $5.80 for large size)

One look at this purple hazy-looking tea and you would be tempted to snap and post on Instagram right away. We were expecting this to taste like Taro Milk Tea but it was far less sweet than the traditional favourite of Gong Cha fans.

Sweet potato is ground and mixed into the drink, so expect a “grainy” texture while sipping it. We tried the Milk Tea and Smoothie versions of this drink, and there was little difference in taste between the two. The Smoothie version was too chunky and icy for our liking.

Strawberry Popcorn Fresh Milk Tea ($4.90 for regular size, $5.90 for large size)

With a name like that, one would expect there would be a strong buttery or caramel popcorn flavour but it wasn’t so.

In terms of balance, the strawberry flavour overpowered that of the popcorn. Think of it as a tea variation of a strawberry sundae with the added zest of tiny bits of popcorn and tapioca pearls.

Brown Sugar Dessert Smoothie ($4.50, regular size only)

It may be called a smoothie but it didn’t look like one. The flavour of this refreshing drink was enhanced by the herbal jelly bits and got the thumbs up from us.

Here is a list of the new drinks at Gong Cha:

• QQ Passion Fruit Green Tea

• Lychee Oolong with Aloe Vera

• Oriental Beauty Crafted Extract Tea

• Bi Lup Chun Green Tea

• Plum Green Tea

• Honey Lemon Green Tea

• Matcha with Red Bean Milk Tea

• Milk Tea with Red Bean and Pudding Jelly

• Mango Smoothie

• Brown Sugar Dessert Smoothie

• Matcha Dessert Smoothie

• Strawberry Smoothie

• Strawberry Popcorn Fresh Milk Tea

• Brown Sugar Fresh Milk Oolong

• Purple Sweet Potato Milk Tea

• Purple Sweet Potato Latte

• Purple Sweet Potato Smoothie

More stories:

• Singaporeans reunite with their favourite Gong Cha drinks

• Gong Cha to open in Northpoint and Takashimaya on 7 and 11 December

• Singapore bubble tea brand LiHO to open first overseas stores in Hong Kong

• Taiwan’s PlayMade bubble tea comes to Singapore with unique flavoured pearls

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