Maple TieGuanYin Milk Tea (メープル鉄観音ミルクティー) – The Alley

My dad’s in Sapporo to come see me while he’s in Taiwan for business, and I had a holiday today, so we met up and did a bit of touring and shopping! Read about that over on my Japan blog, here. I ideally wanted boba today, and was trying to go for Shin An Ju, a place I’ve been wanting to try but I haven’t gotten to yet. Unfortunately, it didn’t work our time and location wise in our schedule, and since The Alley was near the bus terminal, I decided to get that. No Gong Cha unless there’s another limited drink. Or maybe if my receipt coupon is nearing expiration…

I wanted to try their jasmine/green tea, but their maple series seems more of a unique option (and seasonal?), and the maple series doesn’t have a jasmine option for some reason. All of their other tea options are there though, which is a little odd. Other than that, the Assam is the only other tea in Japan I haven’t tried yet (not keen on their No. 9, since I heard it had a blueberry taste to it), but the assam might be too caffeinated, so I’m giving the Tieguanyin another chance. Hopefully the drink could use the added maple flavor. I also got a medium since I was still feeling a little full from lunch.

First, I was surprised the drink came out cold when I asked for no ice, which was pleasant. Inconsistency much? I’d prefer my drink to be cold when I ask for no ice in the future from them, ha! Anyway, the overall drink is pretty good. The “maple” part is a cream with a sugar powder on top, and it’s basically a sweet cream with toasty aftertaste. The drink itself tastes…the same, but the added sweetness from the cream and the brown sugar boba (regular boba was sold out) plus the coldness it came in does improve it since last time. I have to say, the brown sugar boba does make a difference from regular boba, because when you chew it, you really get the brown sugar flavor.

Details: Maple Tieguanyin Milk Tea; medium; brown sugar boba; less sugar; no ice; from The Alley (Sapporo Daimaru)