It’s summer time and it seems like the milk tea craze is hitting Cebu in high levels! I mean, who can resist the call of ice-cold tea + milk + pearls drink in this sweltering hot season? I don’t know with you, but I can’t. Thankfully, we now have several milk tea shops in the city, both homegrown brands and the ones from overseas. And when we say “overseas”, milk tea is almost always synonymous to Taiwan! Have you heard about this?
Taiwan, a neighboring country of the Philippines, is often referred to as the birthplace of this drink. Originally termed as “bubble tea”, this tea-based drink mixed with milk, sugar, and toppings is now loved in the whole world. The Philippines is no exemption! It started in Manila, then here in Cebu, and now slowly appearing in Davao and Cagayan de Oro. With the many brands from the land of milk tea, several have already reached Philippine shores. And today, we are featuring one of them: COCO Fresh Tea & Juice!
It is safe to say that my introduction to milk tea was with Coco, although I don’t remember when exactly it started. I just remember being dragged by my colleague to their shop which was near our office. I had no idea what the drink was, nor did I know there was a hype about it. Yes, I was that clueless!
Fast forward to 2019, Coco has arrived in Cebu with their first shop in Visayas-Mindanao region and for that, I am super thankful! I have grown to love their classic drinks and I thought it should be shared to more people! And without the need to fly to Manila! In Cebu, their store is in SM Seaside City Cebu , which I noticed, is becoming the “sort-of” milk tea capital in the province due to the many milk tea chains that are in this mall. I’ll write another post about that soon.
Coco’s line of drinks consist of: fruit tea, milk tea, chocolate-based, fresh tea, fresh fruit, and slush/smoothie. All in all, they have about 54 drinks in the menu! Now that’s a lot. My personal favorites, and ones that I’d like to share with you, are the: Panda Milk Tea and Chocolate Milk Tea with pudding and pearl (photos below).
Panda Milk Tea is your classic milk + tea drink but with 2 pearls: black and white. And what does this remind us? A Panda. Yes, that’s exactly why they named it Panda Milk Tea. I usually order it in regular-size, 30% sugar, less ice, and for take out. I love this drink so much. I think their milk tea flavor is good, and with just less sugar, you can taste the tea flavor. Oh, and the mix of pearls is a hit for me! I enjoy chewing them while I go over my emails. This is my perk-me-up drink on workday mornings when I am unable to have breakfast. It lasts me until noon time when I have to get a proper meal.
On the other hand, the Chocolate Milk Tea with pearls and pudding is my wake-me-up drink in the afternoon around 4 PM when I feel sleepy at work (esp. on days with less meetings!) so I need sugar rush, not caffeine! I have it in regular-size, 50% sugar, normal ice, and for take-out. This one can get really sweet so sometimes I pair it with plain biscuit/crackers. And I must say, I like the play of textures between the pearls and pudding mixed into this drink. It makes my work break time even more pleasant.
Admittedly, I haven’t tried the others drinks on their menu yet. There’s just a lot to choose from! But I am planning to visit their store again one of these days and try out any drink from their Fresh Fruit series, or their Fruit Tea series. I’m sure their drinks will do wonders to fight Cebu’s sweltering summer heat!
COCO FRESH TEA & JUICE
Upper Ground Floor, Mountain Wing atrium,
SM Seaside City Cebu
Business Hours: 10 AM to 9 PM, Monday to Sunday (come before lunch to avoid long line)
Parking: Yes — mall parking
Seating Capacity: can seat up to 30-40 pax
Mode of Payment: Cash
Food / Drinks: drinks only, no meals.
Price Range: P85 – P110.00
LITTLE STEPS 