2018...-12-27. So my daughter was dying of thirst right after dim sum at Golden Court Abalone Restaurant and apparently only a Bubble Tea can quench it. I told her there were no places around to purchase any, but she quickly pointed out to me that she happened to see a CoCo Bubble Tea in the plaza across the street on our way into the restaurant plaza. Busted, we went for bubble tea...
CoCo is a China franchise. We seen these all over the place when we were in Souzhou (near Shanghai) last Christmas. We even got to meet the owners while there! While my family was lining up to place their orders, the owners (husband and wife) told me about how CoCo uses better ingredients (natural herbs and extracts, real sugar and not sweeteners, more natural ingredients over artificial flavouring) to creating better flavour, and more natural tastes than their competitors. Upon trying their drinks in Souzhou, I would have to agree with them. They were excellent!
With the great experience from China, I was surprised to find CoCo across the pond and in Canada. My first experience with CoCo in Toronto was the Finch @ Yonge street location and it wasn't a very good experience. Hoping that this franchise will be more consistent with the quality I had in China (wait wuh? Did I just write "hoping that the Americas will have the same quality as in China"?), I pulled into the plaza only to find that there were no parking spots available, despite there being a couple of hundred of them! I dropped the wife and kids at the front door and began circling the lot like a vulture. After a couple of laps, I was lucky enough to find a spot not to far away.
This CoCo location is tiny. With no tables, chairs, or even a lean-to counter, this place was strictly take out... and they were packed! A good sigh mind you, but the fact that they had a special going on may have also contributed to the queue. The deal, save $1,40 (about 27% off) on their large Pearl Milk Tea, $3,80 (before taxes) instead of the regular $5,20. The large is about 20oz.
The Milk Tea itself was quite good, flavours were not artificially overpowering like some other places, and spot on the with the sweetness. I'm not a fan of the "Bubbles" (aka tapioca pearls) but only because not many places use good quality pearls. The good quality stuff from Taiwan has three textures. The outer layer is soft, the core firm, and together they create a slight chewiness. The ones I had today were spot on, some of the best I've tasted in Toronto and the GTA.
Overall, I was very surprised with this drink. While it's sad that the main reason why I'm not a fan of Bubble Milk Tea is because of the poor quality ingredients often used by most establishments in the Americas (perpetual disappointment has actually turned me off this otherwise delicious drink), this experience renewed my faith. This CoCo location does seem to care about the products they serve. Can it be that the owners I met in Souzhou are branching out to the Americas? I don't know, but I'm glad they are here. Let's hope they continue to pour out quality drinks like the one we got today! 5 stars from me for their Pearl Milk Tea.
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