Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea
Yi Fang. The best tea shop in the Philippines, and nobody can convince me otherwise.
Spot.ph often makes these "top 10 [food item]" posts on their website but it's almost always incorrect. And by incorrect I mean they overhype something that's not worthy of being number 1.
Their top 10 milk tea post made the rounds on social media in the last few weeks and I'm utterly disappointed to see the ranking because that ranking is far from credible. Granted, Coco churns out decent teas, but they're not number 1. (Reason: their teas have a higher ratio of milk to tea, which dilutes the tea taste. It should be perfectly balanced, or I would say more tea than milk).
For the record, I love tea. Nothing too exciting (like Pu Erh) but I have a good collection of loose leaf teas that aren't conventional (I love white tea and rose tea). So I'd like to think I have some say on what makes a good (milk) tea.
For the past year I conducted my own research on what's the best milk tea shop in the metro. I also disaggregated data based on specific flavors (matcha, fruit, plain ol' milk tea, etc). After going around several cities, I finally found my favorite.
Yi Fang is my number 1 milk tea place. At first glance, it's such an unassuming milk tea spot. I daresay the vibe almost feels exclusive to zen-loving, tea-drinking customers. (It's probably the bamboo-like wooden design of their stores.) But I soldiered on and IT WAS THE BEST DECISION IN MY TEA-HUNTING ADVENTURE.
It's not for everyone though. I've met lots of people who dislike floral teas (gasp!); they're missing out on this tbh.
Let's focus on my favorite first: the multi-floral honey mountain tea. It's a mouthful to pronounce, but I love saying it regardless. It was previously called Hundred Flower Honey Mountain Tea and I think I liked that more... imagine 100 flowers blended in your tea drink. Ugh, it's so good.
So the multi-floral honey mountain tea, as the name espouses, welcomes you with a floral greeting as you take a sip. It's a good type of floral--nothing too overwhelming, just the right balance that shouldn't make people gag and say "it feels like I'm eating flowers!". Then the mountain tea's unique texture hits your tongue and it's complemented by the gentle sweetness of the honey. The drink glides over the tongue with a smooth finish, so it's a good drink to quench your thirst or if you have the incessant desire to drink tea.
My friend, bless her, loves the brown sugar pearl tea latte. I tried hers before (large sized, if that makes any difference in the ratio of brown sugar) and it was really sweet, especially if you didn't shake the brown sugar with the rest of the milk tea. It's not a bad type of sweet though--it's similar to sugar syrup (arnibal) and when you're a taho enthusiast, you'll find the taste comforting. They also served it with common regular-sized milk tea pearls which lent for a chewy texture.
In this photo, however, I got mixed reviews. My companion said it was too sweet but I found it not as sweet as I'd have liked. The pearls were also smaller, like Philippine-style pearls (sago). I found it not up to par as it was before, but it's still decent.
I've also tried their Sugarcane Mountain Tea which is too sweet for my taste (probably better to order it at 0% sugar because I ordered 100% lol), but I heard good reviews from the Sugarcane Milk Tea.
TFD's rating - ♡♡♡♡♡ (Can they put a stall beside my place so I can buy there every day?!)
Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea has branches at the following locations:
Spot.ph often makes these "top 10 [food item]" posts on their website but it's almost always incorrect. And by incorrect I mean they overhype something that's not worthy of being number 1.
Their top 10 milk tea post made the rounds on social media in the last few weeks and I'm utterly disappointed to see the ranking because that ranking is far from credible. Granted, Coco churns out decent teas, but they're not number 1. (Reason: their teas have a higher ratio of milk to tea, which dilutes the tea taste. It should be perfectly balanced, or I would say more tea than milk).
For the record, I love tea. Nothing too exciting (like Pu Erh) but I have a good collection of loose leaf teas that aren't conventional (I love white tea and rose tea). So I'd like to think I have some say on what makes a good (milk) tea.
For the past year I conducted my own research on what's the best milk tea shop in the metro. I also disaggregated data based on specific flavors (matcha, fruit, plain ol' milk tea, etc). After going around several cities, I finally found my favorite.
 |
| Yi Fang's shop has the signature wooden panel design that you'll find in all of their branches. |
Yi Fang is my number 1 milk tea place. At first glance, it's such an unassuming milk tea spot. I daresay the vibe almost feels exclusive to zen-loving, tea-drinking customers. (It's probably the bamboo-like wooden design of their stores.) But I soldiered on and IT WAS THE BEST DECISION IN MY TEA-HUNTING ADVENTURE.
 |
| Yi Fang's updated menu in their Trinoma branch as of August 2018. Sad that they increased prices, but I still love them. |
There's one and only one thing I love about Yi Fang: their Multi-Floral Honey Mountain Tea. It's THE BEST! THE BEST. I cannot contain my love for it. It's ridiculously harmoniously well-blended: the floral components, the unique mouthfeel/texture of the mountain tea, the smooth taste as it slides down your throat. It's a drink that as a whole, is greater than the sum of its parts. 😉
It's not for everyone though. I've met lots of people who dislike floral teas (gasp!); they're missing out on this tbh.
 |
| L: Brown sugar pearl tea latte, medium sized R: Multi-floral honey mountain tea, aka the best tea my tongue has ever had the fortune to meet |
Let's focus on my favorite first: the multi-floral honey mountain tea. It's a mouthful to pronounce, but I love saying it regardless. It was previously called Hundred Flower Honey Mountain Tea and I think I liked that more... imagine 100 flowers blended in your tea drink. Ugh, it's so good.
So the multi-floral honey mountain tea, as the name espouses, welcomes you with a floral greeting as you take a sip. It's a good type of floral--nothing too overwhelming, just the right balance that shouldn't make people gag and say "it feels like I'm eating flowers!". Then the mountain tea's unique texture hits your tongue and it's complemented by the gentle sweetness of the honey. The drink glides over the tongue with a smooth finish, so it's a good drink to quench your thirst or if you have the incessant desire to drink tea.
My friend, bless her, loves the brown sugar pearl tea latte. I tried hers before (large sized, if that makes any difference in the ratio of brown sugar) and it was really sweet, especially if you didn't shake the brown sugar with the rest of the milk tea. It's not a bad type of sweet though--it's similar to sugar syrup (arnibal) and when you're a taho enthusiast, you'll find the taste comforting. They also served it with common regular-sized milk tea pearls which lent for a chewy texture.
In this photo, however, I got mixed reviews. My companion said it was too sweet but I found it not as sweet as I'd have liked. The pearls were also smaller, like Philippine-style pearls (sago). I found it not up to par as it was before, but it's still decent.
I've also tried their Sugarcane Mountain Tea which is too sweet for my taste (probably better to order it at 0% sugar because I ordered 100% lol), but I heard good reviews from the Sugarcane Milk Tea.
TFD's rating - ♡♡♡♡♡ (Can they put a stall beside my place so I can buy there every day?!)
Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea has branches at the following locations:
- Trinoma rooftop (in the open area near cinemas)
- 3/F, Ayala Malls the 30th
- M. Paterno, San Juan
- 7th Ave cor Lane P, BGC High Street
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