Cha Dao To-Go

Cha Dao Tea Place along Maginhawa St. was seen as the only destination to ward off the potential mad November heat stroke. But no, we couldn't go there because it was All Saints Day and we had to, well, do the more holy things required by law to make this holiday appear more official.

The only solution to deal with the summer madness: Cha Dao to-go! Brilliant idea.

I watched in fascination as 11 cups of milk tea were delivered, gulped in various degrees of thirst and delirium, and all finished in a matter of minutes, with matching burps and sighs. The assortment was colorful too: from chocolate to assam to the classic milk tea with extra, extra pearls.

I had the Matcha with pudding, less sugar. It came with less ice too, after having been in transit for a few minutes, which I pretty much preferred since too cold a drink would be an invitation for a sore throat with this kind of weather. The matcha flavor was rather diluted by a combination of water, milk and perhaps the ice that had melted. The tea flavor was not as rich as other milk teas, but I spotted a hint of jasmine in the green tea that made it more "fruity" on the side. The egg pudding was all right - sweet and smooth.

It might be safe to say that Cha Dao boasts of quantity over flavor, which might seem appealing to those more into the milk portion of milk teas, the tea novices and those who just like to go for that sweet milky drink. Without the egg pudding, this would've been a lighter drink and in that sense, a refreshing treat and life saver for those suffering in this unforgiving -ber month heat wave. Best of all, it's cheap and with branches scattered in the QC territory (Katipunan and Teacher's Village - what joy). I guess it's cheers to Cha Dao!

*Do forgive the crappy photo. Dehydration prodded me to take pictures in haste.