First Sip: Brown Café

The milk tea bug got me real bad as I always find myself craving for this sweet drink. My eyes never fail to sparkle every time I see an ad promoting a new joint worth checking out. And I was so excited when I found out that Brown Café, a popular Thailand brand, opened in Manila. 

Hello, Brown Café. 

I've never been to Brown Café Thailand but its collagen infused boba drinks got me curious. And it's hard to say no to its cute, clean and dainty Instagram posts.

I was not in Manila when Brown opened but I made sure to swing by its Serendra shop as soon as I got back home. 

The queue wasn't long when I got there during the lean hours of Friday which was a small win given that the store's al fresco and it was so humid that day. 

I went with Royal Premium Milk Tea (PHP85, cup | PHP100, bottle), Peach Tea with Rainbow Bubble (PHP140, cup | PHP155, bottle) and its Philippine Exclusive Ube Latte (PHP125, cup | PHP140, bottle).

I initially wanted to get bottle for my drinks. But when I realized that the bottles were also plastic and not exactly the type that will last long, I opted to go with cups for my drinks. I do hope that they come up with glass bottles instead which customers can bring for their next visits. 

With a handful of customers before me, I had to wait for about 10 minutes for my drinks. And for a new store, I found it a short wait.

Taking photos within the area can be a bit of a pain. A roving guard stopped me from taking photos of my purchase as he assumed that I'm one of the owners of Brown and creating content for its social media. But when I said that I'm a customer simply taking photos of the drinks I paid for, he left me alone. 

With the humid Manila weather making me cranky, I took a sip of my Peach Tea. And I found it just okay. The flavor was a bit weak though there was a hint of peach. And as I walked towards 32nd street, I kept thinking about my drink's steep price. And that was when I realized that the staff didn't put in rainbow bubble which was supposed to be the highlight of the drink. Armed with photos to prove that I didn't eat the bubbles before going back, I quickly got a replacement. 

And... it was still just okay. The collagen bubble is different from the usual tapioca balls of other milk tea shops. Brown's version is closer to jelly as it didn't have that chewy texture. 

I was hoping that the Royal Premim Milk Tea and Ube Latte would be better. But both weren't. The tapioca balls in both drinks were hard in the middle and seemed to be undercooked. 

Ube Latte, despite its bold purple color had light ube taste. 

The same was true for Royal Premium Milk Tea which was a lot milkier than I wanted it to be.

It was three strikes for this visit. But I'll probably give it another chance to try its Thai Tea which was recommended by two friends.

Brown Café is located at Ground Floor, Serendra, 32nd Street, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. It is beside Shari Shari Kakigori and near Shi Lin. 

Posted in: Mixed