Cha Tea - Sunnybank

Before Sonder became the place to be for after dinner drinks of the non alcoholic variant, our go to place was always without a doubt the long established Cha Tea, a little tea store situated along Zamia street, away from the bustle of Sunnybank Plaza. Being a rather dimly lit place with quite a bit of ambiance, I was a little surprised to see glaring bright lights after an apparent refurbishment, so we decided to go and check out whether there was anything different from what we had been used to.

Long gone were the booth seats which we used to cram eight people into for some late night catch ups, and in their place were some very elegant white leather chairs in their dazzling new store.

The menu that we had grown accustomed to has also been subject to quite a bit of an overhaul, and quite a few of the specialty teas and pot options (rather than mugs) are sadly no longer an option. 

In line with the old store, we ordered at the counter.

One of the more pleasant changes was the addition of a display cabinet, which had now gained a larger assortment of cakes for us to take our pick from. As for the variety of cakes available, I noted the matcha cheesecake and tiramisu was exactly the same as I had remembered them. However due to how full we were, we opted not to get any cakes.

Our drinks arrived shortly after, with a friend ordering the Passion Fruit Green Tea with Jelly and Pearls. We were a little disappointed that the glass wasn't quite as full as we would have liked, but my friend did say he really enjoyed the refreshingly fruity taste of the passion fruit in the drink, along with the chewy pearls and jelly topping.

My other companion settled on the iced coffee which was much more fuller than the Passion Fruit Tea. It came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a swirl of cream on top. My friend really liked how it wasn't overly sweet, and was really milky, but thought that it could been better if it had a stronger coffee flavour to it. Perhaps the large volume diluted the shots.

Wanting something to assist in my digestion of dinner, I settled for the AliShan mountain tea. It was served in a really tall mug, tall enough to compare with my companions with their cold drinks. I found it to be exceptionally strong, with a very full bodied taste, much to my liking. 

Price Range: $3 - $10pp

Taste: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 8/10