Milk tea has never been more prevalent lately, but did you know that Thai milk tea has been around much longer than the boba milk teas we’ve been craze-ing about?
In fact, Jelly G, a chain of stores specializing in Thai milk tea, has been operating since 2010.
Together with other food bloggers of #SaanSaPH, I was invited to a tea-tasting at the UP Town Center branch of Jelly G. This where owner Jolly dela Pena and her staff showed us all the wondrous variety of deliciously refreshing drinks Thai milk tea can be made into as well as its myriad of health benefits.
Thai milk tea is made from black tea – the tea variant with the boldest and most complex flavor – with added crushed anise seeds and tamarind seeds and sweetened by condensed milk, giving it that distinct and exotic flavor.
At Jelly G, the teas are prepared and steeped in small batches daily, ensuring freshness and full flavor. Grass jelly – a healthier option to the usual black pearls as it is an antioxidant and aids in digestion – are also added on to some of the drinks: hence the name Jelly G.
Thai milk tea is good for you as it helps in delaying aging, improving digestion and fighting infection. So you can bet that aside from treating your taste buds to some delish milky goodness from your Jelly G drinks, you’re also treating the rest of you to some much-needed nutrients.
Check them out:
King Thai Milk Tea (Php75 | Php95). Made with black tea, condensed, evaporated and powdered milk mixed with brown sugar with grass jelly, this is the classic taste of Thai Milk Tea.
Cheesy Thai (Php85 | Php115). Now take the deliciously exotic taste of Thai Milk Tea and add cheddar cheese and rock salt. Imagine milky sweetness and the slight saltiness from the cheese in one heavenly drink.
Pink Sala Fruit Tea (Php75 | Php95). Sala (also known as snake skin fruit) is a type of palm native to Indonesia and cultivated in other Southeast Asian countries like Thailand. The sweet pink-hued juice of the sala is then combined with black tea and brown sugar with a few spoonfuls of popping strawberry balls for added bursts of fruity sweetness.
Queen Green Milk Tea (Php75 | Php95). Jelly G uses jasmine green tea, a tea variant known to help in fighting cancer, heart diseases, diabetes and strokes as well as staving off dementia. In this drink, jasmine tea is combined with condensed, evaporated and powdered milk and brown sugar with chewy black tapioca pearls stirred in.
Oreo Coffee (Php95 | Php125). This time Thai coffee takes center stage. Made with ground arabica beans, Thai coffee is brewed then mixed with condensed milk and crushed Oreo cookies, making this a dessert and drink in one cup!
Choco Chocnut (Php120 | Php160). Chocolate is mixed into tea and that candy mainstay of Pinoy food pop culture Chocnut, made from coconut milk, crushed peanuts and cocoa powder. A sip of this yummy confection brings back so many fond childhood memories.
With this selection of drinks, Jelly G has proved to me and my fellow foodies that Thai milk tea deserves more time in the spotlight.
This Jelly G Thai Milk Tea stall is located at Ground Floor, UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City (in front of National Bookstore).
Another stall can be found at Third Floor, Market! Market!, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.
No time to visit Jelly G’s mall-based stalls? Why not have your Thai milk tea delivered via Grab delivery?
Disclosure: Together with other food bloggers of #SaanSaPH, I was invited to attend a foodie meetup held here wherein in drink items were served to allow us to sample the fare. These were not paid for by the attendees, including myself.
Check out my reviews of other milk tea joints:
Jellybeans in the City 