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Will the real cheese tea please stand up? When I heard news of the original HEYTEA 喜茶 opening in Singapore, I was elated.
What’s so special about HEYTEA, you ask? Well, for starters it is the OG cheese tea that debuted in China in 2012, which until today sees a queue of people waiting in line for their iconic cheese beverages. Their record queue time was a whopping seven hours!
The Original HEYTEA 喜茶 is launching their first overseas outlet in ION Orchard with 1-for-1 promo from 10-12 November 2018.
Credit – HEYTEA
With intriguing signature flavours, such as King Fone, Ever Spring, Berry Bang Cheezo, Very Strawberry Cheezo, you will never be bored with the range of drinks.
HEYTEA prides themselves on creating their drinks with only high-quality tea leaves from selected regions, fresh fruits, natural rock sugar and natural cheese.
I got my hands on five of their classic teas, which were all made in their recommended level of sweetness and iciness.
We first tried their Cheezo Tea series, served with a savoury layer of cheese foam on top of their customised tea.
The King Fone (S$5.50) uses premium Oolong tea leaves that have undergone a special smoking process to bring out the strong fragrance of the tea. The saltiness of the cheese foam helped mask any bitterness of the drink, giving the brew a savoury kick with every sip.
Ever Spring (S$5.50), on the other hand, uses the natural sweetness of cane sugar to accompany the earthiness of the green tea.
Both of these cheese tea left a sweet finish on our palate. However, we preferred the King Fone because of its lingering taste of the rich tea.
HEYTEA has come up with a smart way to drink their cheese tea; it has customised lids that allow you to adjust accordingly to how wide or narrow the opening of the lid is to experience every layer of the tea and cheese.
The narrower the opening the more cheese you taste, the wider the opening, the more tea you consume. HEYTEA also suggests that their drinks are best consumed tipped not stirred.
The entire Berry Mango series is definitely my favourite because I enjoyed how the cheese foam complemented the tartness of the fresh fruits. Each cup is prepared a la minute to ensure that it is in its freshest state.
The Very Strawberry Cheezo (S$8.70) consisted of fresh strawberries in a green tea base. With every sip, you’ll be able to get a jelly-like ‘pulp’ from the blended strawberries. The creaminess from the foam and the fruity strawberry reminded me of strawberry shortcake.
If you prefer an icier and sweeter drink, the Berry Bang Cheezo (S$8.70) will be your go-to choice. With similar mix as above, it has an extra blend of blueberries, which helped neutralise the sourness of the strawberry.
Not a big fan of cheese foam? Fret not, HEYTEA also offers a variety of ice blended fruit teas. The Grapefruit Boom (S$5.90) is well recommended for its zesty flavour. Jasmine green tea (Aqua Green) is used as the base, and slices of grapefruit are thrown in to give it a refreshing kick. But beware, this drink is very sour and has a bitter aftertaste due to the grapefruit; a very good palate cleanser after a heavy meal. It is also a very Instagrammable drink!
In an attempt to localise the flavours to Singaporeans, HEYTEA is coming up with Durian Ice Cream and Salted Egg Yolk Ice Cream, alongside their signature Tea King Ice Cream and Mango Ice Cream.
HEYTEA will be officially opening their doors on 10 November 2018, and we have some good lobangs for you! On the first three days of their launch, there will be a buy one, get one free promotion limited to one redemption per receipt.
In addition, for the first seven days of its opening, those who like and follow their social media pages, and post anything related to HEYTEA would be entitled to a welcome gift, while stocks last.
Dates & Times: From 10 November 2018, 10am – 10pm daily
Prices: S$2.80 – S$8.70 per pax
