Traditional Milk Tea (Green Tea) – Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea

Today I went on a Trader Joe’s run with my dad, and then he suggested getting a drink; we could either go get One Zo or try the new Yi Fang in town. I asked my mom and she wanted to try the Yi Fang, so here we are. I thought it was a little odd because at least one Trader Joe’s is near One Zo, but the other isn’t that close to Yi Fang, but oh well…It is a pretty hot day today, so nice to get a drink! Plus, ever since it’s been open, I’ve been meaning to come here, so it’s a win-win all around. Now the Omomo next to Trader Joe’s definitely had as long as a line as ever, and though the Yi Fang line on a Saturday afternoon is not short, definitely not as long as the Omomo one was. Oh, and I saw a guy wheel a cart of mangos in, probably from the 99 Ranch in the same plaza. I guess that’s evidence they make their fruit drinks fresh, right? Oh, and I’ve been to other Yi Fang’s before, and they have a regular and a large. I don’t think they have different sizes here, just the large, which is slightly odd, but ok then Yi Fang, you do you.

As a side note, other than meeting up with my friend, I was going to try to not have boba until September…but I can’t resist the opportunity today. Technically, my original goal was to not have boba for a month, and I left on July 27, and today’s August 29, so that still counts as somewhat goal met in my book. It was supposed to be a month, then I extended it to September in my head because I thought a few extra days wouldn’t hurt…but here we are, ha!

I was going to get the brown sugar matcha latte, because Yi Fang kinda specializes in brown sugar, but they ran out of matcha…so I just went with the Traditional since it had a crown on it. Also asking if the sugar can be adjusted on the brown sugar milk tea for my mom and getting a “fixed sweetness” reply for whatever reason deterred me from getting that instead I guess. I’m pretty sure I had a regular milk tea from Yi Fang in San Diego and I remember being ok, though it’s been a while. At least with the regular milk teas we can adjust sugar and ice, unlike the brown sugar series. I think this place also tries to use “real ingredients”, but there’s a traditional milk tea and a tea latte on the menu, so I’m curious as to how they’re different…especially because the menu sign says they are dedicated to using fresh organic milk, so I would assume there’s no creamer and all milk? Am I missing something? I also ended up choosing a green tea instead because I was wanted to try out their green tea as something kind of new.

Upon first sip of just drinking the tea, I was surprised by the taste. It’s definitely a green tea, but not a floral-y like a Jasmine. It’s a green tea more on the herbal-y side, which I think is a nice change of pace from other green teas. The flavor is pretty strong, not too bitter, but also so that I can still distinctly taste the tea flavor and it’s not just a generic tea in milk. The drink itself has a little watery consistency, which sometimes is what happens when fresh milk is used, so I guess that’s good? Still makes me wonder what would happen if I got the latte version. Is it just ultra fresh, not premixed milk and tea??

Boba’s ok. True to its name, they technically only sell “Pearl” here, and not boba, so Yi Fang’s “boba” is on the smaller side, but not so small as say, Wushiland’s Pearl. Still big enough to chew, and has a nice bouncy texture. Not too much flavor by itself though, which is why brown sugar pearls exist I guess. I do think the amount go visible boba is very appealing though.

Details: Traditional Milk Tea; green tea; half sugar; no ice; with pearl, from Yi Fang (Irvine)