Glutinous Green Milk Tea by Chagee, and a bonus Cocoa Oolong Milk Tea sample

I didn't recognise this "Glutinous Green Milk Tea" on Chagee's menu, so I ordered it to see what it was about, and was pleasantly surprised by the experience.
Glutinous Green Milk Tea by Chagee
First, what is glutinous green tea? It is apparently a normal green tea brewed with what Chagee calls a "plant native to Yunnan" in its in-app description (see image below). After further research, it seems that there are two separate plants used - one is the normal tea plant for the green tea, and the other is the Yunnan-native herb which goes by the name of Semnostachya menglaensis or nuo mi xiang (糯米香) in Chinese. Both the tea and the nuo mi xiang seem to be sourced from Yunnan. Besides green tea, nuo mi xiang is also often paired with puer tea. Besides its use to flavour foods such as tea, it is apparently also used in traditional Chinese medicines to aid digestion, detoxify and reduce internal "heat", but I don't know how validated by research it is. It literally means "glutinous rice fragrance", and comes across as rice-scented in its various applications, including aroma infusions.
Glutinous Green Milk Tea by Chagee - in-app display
Although some descriptions of the appearance of nuo mi xiang say that it is somewhat yellowish, and despite it being mixed with green tea, the drink was extremely pale and the foam completely white. I'm not sure if the tea below the foam was also white, but I did not notice a particular colour too different from white or cream.

I ordered the version with milk, no sugar and no ice, which was perfect for me. It came chilled and at full concentration without the ice diluting it. So despite the white or pale colour, the flavour was very full.

The first thing that struck me when the first sip hit my palate, was that it was the liquid version of a dark, woody glutinous rice dish steamed in bamboo or lotus leaves. It was even a bit grassy and herby, like how the bamboo or lotus leaf would impart some herby or grassy notes into the glutinous rice it wraps. 

It was more woody and grassy than the typical green tea, so although some of the grassy or woody notes could have come from the green tea base, it seems to be greatly enhanced and complemented by the nuo mi xiang.

Although some descriptions of its taste refer to pandan notes, especially when nuo mi xiang is used to scent puer tea, I did not notice any pandan flavour.

Nonetheless, when paired with milk, it was a very lush and fragrant taste overall, with umami that reminded me of ceremonial matcha lattes, although not as full. The darkness and herby flavour balanced out the sweetness and creaminess of the milk very well, and makes it more refreshing to drink in larger quantities compared to other varieties of milk tea that only lean floral and sweet. It is similar to why matcha pairs so well with milk.

As such, this is possibly one of my favourite non-matcha milk teas currently, and highly recommended if you've not tried it before.

Bonus: Sample of Chagee's Cocoa Oolong Milk Tea

While I was hanging around, they were giving out samples of their seasonal offering, the Cocoa Oolong Milk Tea, so I got to try it. 
Cocoa Oolong Milk Tea sample by Chagee
The sugar level was standard, which was far too sweet for me. I'm not sure if the cocoa was pure cocoa powder or if there was additional sugar that accompanied the cocoa. 

But I was just able to make out the flavours beneath the sugar. You can also see that it is tainted a very faint pink or red, which probably comes from the mix of brown oolong and dark brown cocoa.

The combination of oolong and cocoa was interesting, and a good pairing. The floral oolong notes brought out a nice fragrance, whereas the cocoa grounded the taste with earthy and roasted malty notes, making the drink more well-rounded and pleasantly complex. 

If I were to order it on my own, I would go for 0 sugar, as the milk and cocoa are probably enough sweetness. 

Discover other tea lattes

Comments

Post a Comment