CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – It’s interesting to note how the latest tea house in the city got its inspiration. While vacationing in the US West Coast cities of Los Angeles and San Diego recently, Tony and Marilou Uy noted the way people there were just going gaga over Boba Tea.
Boba milk tea (as it is better known in LA and San Diego) also known as pearl milk tea or bubble tea originated from tea shops in Taiwan during the 1980s. It spread to other East Asian countries, then crossed the Pacific Ocean to United States, thence to Europe and the rest of Asia.
Two Taiwanese shops claim to be the creators of bubble tea: Chun Shui Tang teahouse (春水堂) in Taichung, Taiwan, where Liu Han Chie experimented with cold milk tea by adding fruit, syrup, candied yams, and tapioca balls in the early 1980s and Hanlin (翰林) Teahouse in Tainan owned by Tu Tsong He Hanlin who made tea using traditional white fenyuan (粉圓) or tapioca which look like pearls, thus the so-called “pearl tea.” Later, Hanlin changed the white fenyuan to the black version that is most seen today.
Wang’s Tea Fuzion (Wang being the Mandarin form of Uy, which is Hookien) offers a wide variety of boba teas including milk teas, fresh tea, tea latte, taglined as “a healthier alternative, fresh brewed tea with fresh milk”, fruit teas (choices of either fresh Black Ceylon or Green Jasmin brewed teas infused with refreshing fruit flavors like Blueberry, Wintermelon, Peach, Lychee, Strawberry, Green Apple, Grapefruit and Passion Fruit), Yakult Jasmine Green Tea, and Ceylon or Jasmine tea topped with Rock Salt and Cheese Cream.
Their Boba teas are essentially freshly brewed tea with non-dairy creamer and include Wang’s Milk Tea (the ‘house tea’ which is flavored black tea), classic Milk Tea and other popular flavors like Hazelnut, Wintermelon, Caramel, Almond, Taro, Honeydew, Strawberry, Dark Chocolate, Chocolate and Mocha.
Just how freshly brewed are the teas at Wang’s? “We have to replace all brewed teas within six hours,” Tony confides, to maintain the body and flavor.
For a refreshingly new experience, try Wang’s Lychee Fruit Tea with its Lychee ‘pearls’ which pop in your mouth with a delightful burst of Lychee flavor.
For an additional P10, you have a choice of the following add-on sinkers: tapioca pearls, tapioca noodles, nata de coco, grass jelly, egg pudding, aloe vera, coffee jelly, black jelly, multi-colored jelly taro, red beans or popping boba. Or for an additional P15 go for the rock salt and cheese topping (must, must, must!).
On top of that, are refreshing drinks over ice such as Passion Fruit Aloe, Honey Aloe, Passion Fruit Yakult and Grapfruit Yakult. Rock Salt and Cheese are also available in Dark Chocolate and Matcha with Red Beans.
To max out your enjoyment, you can avail of their free upgrade to the next size of any beverage until July 15. Wang’s Tea Fuzion is open every day from 10AM to 8PM.