Monday, October 17, 2011

Simple Pleasures

After hearing so many glowing reviews from Lezyl, I was finally able to try the newest Milk Tea brand on the block. And when I say "on the block," I mean that in a literal way since it's on the same block where our college is.

Simple Line has finally come to Taft Avenue!

Comfortably nestled along Leon Guinto, just across St. Scholastica's College and on the same street as College of St. Benilde, Simple Line is found along a row of eateries that's frequented by students from both schools. It's also on the same row as ZenTea, the "pioneer" in tea drinks in that area.

I got there a few minutes after it opened so there wasn't the usual gaggle of tea lovers just yet. Being a first timer, I intently perused the menu board, looking for something that would excite me. The shop girl suggested their best seller which was milk tea. Unfortunately, my acid reflux doesn't allow me to drink too much milk, so I asked her about their fruit teas.

One thing that impressed me was that the shop girl was very knowledgeable about tea. She said that the green tea has a strong, jasmine flavor while the black tea was on the stronger side. She said that the blueberry and melon teas are best sellers, but I wanted something lighter. So, I ordered the lychee green tea with coconut jelly.



It was the perfect beverage for a warm day. The tea was refreshingly cold and the taste was refreshingly light. The coconut jelly gave the beverage just the right texture and neutralized the sweetness of the drink.


(Speaking of refreshing, their tagline is: "Release your body, Refresh your mind.")

Off hand, I found the taste more fruity and less tea. The lychee syrup overpowered the green tea's jasmine taste, and it felt like I was drinking lychee juice more than lychee green tea. Mental note: ask them to make it less sweet the next time I order. That way, I'll get to enjoy the tea part a bit more.


(Apparently, "Simple Line" used to be called "Simple Life.")

But what I like most about Simple Line is the price. Compared to the usual Milk Tea brands (ChaTime, Serenitea, Ersao), Simple Line is great value for money. My large Lychee Green Tea with Coconut Jelly set me back P65.00, which is P35.00 cheaper than the same kind of tea in ChaTime. So, I get more flavor for less cost. Which is one of the simple reasons why I'm going to go back to Simple Line to sample their other fruit variants.

And maybe when this acid spell has subsided, I'll get to try their famous Coffee Konjac Oolong Milk Tea.

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