The weather has been sporadic lately. Sometimes it’s raining (#cuddleweather) and other times it’s so hot that we could all use an ice-cold drink. Look no further. These drinks aren’t your run-of-the-mill juices or iced teas. Each one is either an interesting combination of flavors, a hybrid of two different drinks, or a classic with a new spin on it. There’s something special about all of them and we love them for it. And you can enjoy them no matter the weather–live life according your rules, love.
Here are some of the best thirst quenchers we’ve tried.
Mr. Tango
Mr. Tango serves creamy, milky tapioca drinks that are almost smoothie-like in texture and heavenly in taste. Each flavor (choose from melon, strawberry, mango, avocado, nata-corn–yum–, or tropical) has chunks of fresh fruit and jelly inside, upping the texture game and doubling up on flavor with the freshness of the fruit. Each gulp is a refreshing take on their signature milk, it almost feels like drinking a healthy milkshake!
They’re most delicious when ice cold, almost slushy-like. It’s so cool and delicious that we finished everything in almost just a few gulps. My personal favorite? The melon. They describe it as “an ideal fruit to fight thirst’ and I couldn’t agree more. After drinking the melon, I felt hydrated and full, no longer sweaty from the sweltering heat. My father personally chugged the mango flavor in just a matter of seconds. The strawberry was also gone almost immediately–it was so good and delicious, we wanted more!
The added texture of the fruit chunks and jelly only gave the drinks more personality. It wasn’t just a flavored milk drink, it was almost a snack! Chewy but not hard, the chunks were perfectly dispersed throughout the drink without overpowering it. In fact, I feel like they had a special role in flavoring the drink further.
The most unique? The nata-corn. I was surprised that I liked it so much that I nearly finished the bottle for myself. I didn’t think I’d like corn in a drink but it sort of made sense after a while, the sweetness was unique and smart and paired with the nata de coco, wonderfully-balanced. We loved this one.
They will also soon be releasing an ice cream series and a yogurt series, so watch out for those!
Hello Fresco
Hello Fresco is a fresh take on cold brew tea that’s been steeped for 24 hours mixed with delicious, sweet, fruity flavors. Each combination was something the owner decided would come together well and would taste very balanced and delicious. With flavors such as Red Berry (strawberry + passionfruit + black tea), Just Peachy (peach + oolong tea), and Yellow Mellow (passionfruit + lemon + honey + jasmine tea), they’ve created a wonderful iced drink that’s perfect for hot days and nights.
Using premium Taiwanese loose leaf tea, they steep the tea for over 24 hours in order to fully infuse flavor and lessen the bitterness and acidity that often comes with tea. Because of this, it boosts the nutrients that tea already usually has! Plus the flavor combinations are absolutely delicious.
My personal favorite was Red Berry, as I have a weakness for red fruit in general. Sweet and cool, it reminded me of a day out on the beach, sipping on something cold while lying on the sand. They really live up to their name “fresco” as it sounds like the word “presko.” That’s the feeling you get while drinking.
The Just Peachy was also a crowd favorite, the signature, almost flowery-sweet peach taste coming through immediately. It was paired with oolong which gave it that body that we really liked. It was gone in just a few moments. We didn’t even see it coming.
Yellow Mellow had a nice touch with the lemon and the honey, a classic combination with a twist of passionfruit. Tea is often taken with lemon and honey, but the passionfruit just elevated the taste. It made it sweeter but not like candy-sweet, just right. It still had notes of tangy lemon all throughout, like a lemonade with a new spin on it. The jasmine tea also came through, its notes present in the aftertaste. All in all, we adored these drinks and were definitely rejuvenated after.
Not only were they delicious, but they felt like they really boosted a lot of energy. I felt better, wasn’t as groggy, and had enough energy to get a lot of work done. Hello Fresco is definitely worth it!
Facebook: hello.
Instagram: hello.
L’Arome
L’Arome’s elegant packaging to their interesting flavor combinations make for a unique drinking experience. They really are as good as they look, form meeting function in the best of ways.
L’Arome was a brainchild of the ECQ, a husband and wife’s passion turned into a business. They served their interesting flavors (the assam and the matcha in particular) and were told that they were so good that it should be sold! And so, L’Arome was born–and we’re so happy it was!
Everything about L’Arome felt precious and loved. Like so much thought was put into creating it. You can tell its handmade with how its homebrewed features come through. And they even handmake their own boba, showing that they put so much love into their product! The drinks were tasty, refreshing, and definitely A+ thirst quenchers in the most elegant of ways.
And not to mention, they had some pretty interesting flavor combinations. While I loved the assam and roasted oolong the most, the butterfly pea citrus was the most unique flavor I’d ever encountered in a drink. A beautiful purple color with what looked to be delicious pulp was an interesting citrus-y adventure for the tastebuds. The photos don’t do this drink justice, it’s absolutely beautiful and delicious.
L’Arome translates to “The Aroma” which is what the creators want you to pay attention to: the aroma of their tea. Because it’s all homebrewed, there’s nothing artificial about them. It’s like the beauty of milk tea plus the taste of sophistication all in one. We loved it!
Facebook: LArome.Tea
Instagram: larome.tea
Cristiana’s Homemade Goods
Actually, this store started out as a sushi bake store that decided to expand their menu to delicious milk drinks–and they are delicious. They’ve got that refreshing milky taste that’ll perfectly wash down every meal.
With three flavors so far like Cereal Milk, Bananaberry Yogurt, and Mango Biscuit, these are deliciously creamy and milky and infused with tons of flavor. My personal favorite was the cereal milk which tasted like the aftermath of having corn flakes cereal but iced and yummy.
The mango drink tasted like a mango dessert but in liquid form, perfectly tangy and refreshing! The way they describe their drinks are “dessert drinks” and this is exactly what that was. They couldn’t have described them better.
According to them, bananaberry is the crowd favorite–and we can see why. With that banana flavor infused with strawberry yogurt, it’s this sweet, yogurt-based dessert that marries two fruit flavor favorites. And worry not–they only use fresh fruits for sure, no skimping on ingredients here.
These drinks are so good and creamy that we couldn’t get enough. So you’ll be happy to know that they also have half liter sizes! Grab that bananaberry–it’s amazing.
Facebook: Cristiana’s Homemade Goods
Instagram: @cristianashg
Will you be trying any of these?
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