Hello and welcome all,

So as you know from our last Eat and Tell post, we were crazy for tea last week and visited popular tea shops in downtown, Toronto. Let’s just say,  not all lived up to expectations.  Unfortunately, it is not all sprinkles and sunshine for this review but, I have to be honest to my feelings . You know?  Now time for the good, the bad, and then the ugly, in that specific order, might I add.

The Good
By the end of our little visit, we were laughing and having a good time. I find it funny how my story starts from the end and walks its way back but I think  that is the only way to put a positive spin on an otherwise below mediocre experience. The good experience was drinking  tea with a friend and sister. What started out disappointing turned into a fun day as we started talking and laughing about random affairs. The decor of the space contributed to this mood. We got the table by the window, (that was the only table in the store, the rest were bar stool facing a wall).  The seat by the window allowed us to gaze outside as well as talk. Although the store did get crowded at a point, our little corner was uninterrupted by that. I can see it is a “grab and go” store.  But at the end, our nice little corner provided us with a corner for picture taking and talking. That, I definitely liked.

The Bad
The store was really busy when we first entered and we walked up to the counter to order. The cashier, although nice, was “multi tasking” while taking our order. We first tried to order from their marble menu and were told that was sold out for today, this was around 3:00-3:30 .  I was waiting for the cashier to finish her other tasks but,  she said I should go ahead and order as she completes these tasks. That I did. I order the toffee caramel milk tea and the Yang latte with coconut jelly . We were given Okinawa milk tea with tapioca instead. I noticed this when I went to pick it up that it didn’t look like what I ordered. And I went back and reviewed my receipt and realized that the cashier had input the wrong order.  I am was obviously saddened because this new order was any where close to my taste buds. I didn’t call this to their attention for different reasons.  I took my wrong order and sat down , intending to see this as an opportunity to try something out of my likes and I was glad that at least one order was correctly served. That’s an attempted positive spin.

The Ugly
Well, I have had my fair share of bubble tea, and I know each store makes it a bit differently,  but boy was I crestfallen when I had my first taste of ……(the wrong order check receipt). No, first I will talk about the other order which was just okay.  It had a bitter tinge to it, which is from the tea but, the sad part was the lack of cream to balance it out. Perhaps the almond milk was not compatible with the tea but it was lacking. However, I drank it after the (wrong order. Insert name please) which might have made me look more favorably on it.  The (wrong order) was greatly lacking. I cannot criticize the individual component of the tea because it tasted like flavored water. Not in the fruity sense of course but, on the sense of 10% 90%sugar milk. The only thing that made this drink tolerable was the soft tapioca pearls. 

On the bright side, I was laughing and smiling after I got over my initial shock at the quality. Must of my funniest stories are from my not so great experiences so I hope to laugh about this soon( maybe in a month or so).  Still a painful experience considering how much we paid
I hope you go on an adventure this winter, don’t let the cold shut you in!

Enjoy, 
Broke adventurer, Sandra