I wasn't planning to visit CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice in Sydney. I was planning to go to Meet Fresh, to get either a coconut mango sago dessert or perhaps a rice pudding. But the Meet Fresh location I headed to ... closed (!) in the 3 weeks since my last visit. Doh. So I headed to the other, bigger Meet Fresh, determined to *finally* try the place. And ... I even made an agonizing decision, ordered, and ... cash only. My order was ~$10, and $10 cash I did not have. So. Foiled. Nor did I have an ATM card with me. So. Dejected.
I wandered, somewhat pouting, perhaps even slightly stomping my feet like a grumpy little kid, back towards my hotel, no real plan in my mind. A rare thing for very calculated me.
I opened my eyes, and saw nearly every person (or so it seemed) drinking bubble tea of some kind. I guess my brain decided that is what *I* wanted too. So, with zero reach, no actual plan of where to go, I stumbled into CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice. My decision was based on the fact that they seemed to have lines, and, one chef who I follow on Instagram seems to be a regular. Thus, CoCo it was.
CoCo is a bubble tea chain, with locations worldwide, and a slew in Sydney. That is about all I know. People seem to like it more than Chatime (which I've reviewed before). The menu offers the standard hot and cold milk teas, fresh fruit teas, and slushes, with add-ons.
I don't feel quite fair evaluating my drink because ... I made some awful decisions in my impulsive blur. More on that soon.
But first ... CoCo has innovated. And introduced me to something that I thought was ridiculous, and ended up loving.
I wandered, somewhat pouting, perhaps even slightly stomping my feet like a grumpy little kid, back towards my hotel, no real plan in my mind. A rare thing for very calculated me.
I opened my eyes, and saw nearly every person (or so it seemed) drinking bubble tea of some kind. I guess my brain decided that is what *I* wanted too. So, with zero reach, no actual plan of where to go, I stumbled into CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice. My decision was based on the fact that they seemed to have lines, and, one chef who I follow on Instagram seems to be a regular. Thus, CoCo it was.
CoCo is a bubble tea chain, with locations worldwide, and a slew in Sydney. That is about all I know. People seem to like it more than Chatime (which I've reviewed before). The menu offers the standard hot and cold milk teas, fresh fruit teas, and slushes, with add-ons.
I don't feel quite fair evaluating my drink because ... I made some awful decisions in my impulsive blur. More on that soon.
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| Bubble Tea Canvas Carrier?!! |
Behold: the reusable, canvas, bubble tea carrier.
I was confused when my server handed over a baggie with a canvas thing inside, along with my receipt. I opened it up, saw that it was a CoCo branded ... something. I looked around confused, and saw ... yes, people with their bubble tea cups through the sleeve, the strap either over their shoulders, or in their hands.
I rolled my eyes, scoffed internally ("what a fad! Great marketing CoCo, sending out branded swag everywhere!"), and put my cup in, only to snap a 'gram. Ok yeah, I bought into that part at least.
And then ... I realized how handy it was. Did I need my hand for something? No worries, strap over my shoulder for a second. Did I want to slow my rate of gulping my beverage? No worries! Once it isn't directly in your hand, its far easier to rate limit.
Ok CoCo, you won me over. This carrier was I didn't realize I wanted in my life, but, turns out, truly do.
Ok, so, um, I knew I wanted taro. But I didn't want caffeine, and I actually wanted ice cream or a refreshing cold dessert, so a regular milk tea was out. Thus, a taro slush it was. So far, so good.
But I wanted mix-ins! But ... I don't like bubble tea style pearls usually. I was still craving smaller sago. So I went for jellies, coconut, thinking I'd like the complimentary coconut flavor with the taro.
But ... I recently discovered the joy of 'cloud', that is, fluffy salty sweet rich topping, you can add to milk teas. I wanted that too. On my slush.
Usually when I get one of these type of items, I go for *far* less sweet than standard, 50% or even 25%. My server didn't ask though, and I forgot to specify. Strike #1.
I also usually get a small, given all my additions, these turn into monsters fast. Server also didn't ask my size.
Thus ... I wound up with a Large, full sweet. Oooph. And ... sweet it was. Far, far, far too sweet.
But breaking it down.
The base was the requested coconut jellies, swimming in syrup. Look at all that syrup!!! This really, really made it ridiculously sweet. I still loved the texture of the jellies though, but, alas, they really compounded a problem with this drink. I ended up saving them mostly and eating later, by the spoonful. I still enjoyed that way!
Next, the taro slush. It was really nicely blended, icy, not chunky, not separated. Decent taro flavor, although not amazing. But ... zomg, sweet. I didn't want to water it down exactly, but I couldn't handle the sweetness. Even if I sipped from the middle, void of jellies and their syrup, I couldn't really handle more than a sip or two. It kinda broke my heart. I salvaged it, adding milk and ice later, but that definitely watered it down, and took away the taro flavor.
And finally, the cloud. I certainly got my $$ worth, with a generous portion. It was fluffy, sweet and a bit salty, and I enjoyed it, although I think I liked Chatime's more, it was stronger salt level.
So overall, I failed. A huge drink, ruined by sweetness. And nearly $10!
I'd give CoCo another try, remembering to order smaller, and, um, not sweet.
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| Taro Slush with Coconut Jellies & Cloud. $9.30. |
But I wanted mix-ins! But ... I don't like bubble tea style pearls usually. I was still craving smaller sago. So I went for jellies, coconut, thinking I'd like the complimentary coconut flavor with the taro.
But ... I recently discovered the joy of 'cloud', that is, fluffy salty sweet rich topping, you can add to milk teas. I wanted that too. On my slush.
Usually when I get one of these type of items, I go for *far* less sweet than standard, 50% or even 25%. My server didn't ask though, and I forgot to specify. Strike #1.
I also usually get a small, given all my additions, these turn into monsters fast. Server also didn't ask my size.
Thus ... I wound up with a Large, full sweet. Oooph. And ... sweet it was. Far, far, far too sweet.
But breaking it down.
The base was the requested coconut jellies, swimming in syrup. Look at all that syrup!!! This really, really made it ridiculously sweet. I still loved the texture of the jellies though, but, alas, they really compounded a problem with this drink. I ended up saving them mostly and eating later, by the spoonful. I still enjoyed that way!
Next, the taro slush. It was really nicely blended, icy, not chunky, not separated. Decent taro flavor, although not amazing. But ... zomg, sweet. I didn't want to water it down exactly, but I couldn't handle the sweetness. Even if I sipped from the middle, void of jellies and their syrup, I couldn't really handle more than a sip or two. It kinda broke my heart. I salvaged it, adding milk and ice later, but that definitely watered it down, and took away the taro flavor.
And finally, the cloud. I certainly got my $$ worth, with a generous portion. It was fluffy, sweet and a bit salty, and I enjoyed it, although I think I liked Chatime's more, it was stronger salt level.
So overall, I failed. A huge drink, ruined by sweetness. And nearly $10!
I'd give CoCo another try, remembering to order smaller, and, um, not sweet.
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