This CoCo location recently opened, and I like it because it's in a strip mall in Nepean, which means readily available free parking, as opposed to their first location in Ottawa which is downtown (i.e. paid street parking if you can find it).
Anyway, I love the CoCo chain in general because their milk teas are generally strong and creamy. My mom had never been to a CoCo before, and she loves taro, so I brought her there to try out their taro drinks.
She got a large fresh taro milk ($5.70) and added tapioca ($0.50), regular sweetness and regular ice. I got a medium 3 Guys Milk Tea ($5.50), 30% sweetness and regular ice.
For some reason my drink came in an opaque cup, while my mom's drink came in a clear cup, so hers was much more photogenic than mine.
The 3 Guys Milk Tea is milk tea with tapioca, Mesona jelly (aka grass jelly or herbal jelly), and pudding (which is a bit like a cross between flan and pudding). I love lots of toppings in my drinks, so I really enjoyed my drink, but I do feel that this drink is not for everyone. Some people may find the texture of the pudding and jelly to be odd in a drink (it's like really soft jello), and the herbal taste of the grass jelly is less mainstream than toppings like tapioca or coconut jelly. I would probably not recommend this drink for a bubble tea novice, but if you've had lots of bubble tea before, or are familiar with grass jelly and like it, then I would definitely recommend it ;) The tapioca were soft and chewy. The tea didn't taste as strong as I've had at other locations, but it was still very good. 30% sweetness was perfect for me, as I don't like overly sweet drinks.
My mom loved her drink. She really liked the real taro layer. A lot of the time, taro drinks are made with artificial taro powder, so she loved the fresh taro.
Service was good and the wait time was short.
I'm so glad that more bubble tea places are popping up in Ottawa :) read more