Milk Tea = Best Invention Ever

Asia is well known for their tea. The Western world gulps down coffee like the caffeine-shakes are going out of style but us Asians prefer the milder caffeinated beverage. I personally enjoy almost any type of tea: green, black (which the Taiwanese call "red" tea), Jasmine, you name it. What I enjoy more though, is combining tea with milk. Who ever did this first was a genius.

In Taiwan there is a surplus of two things: 7-11 convenience stores and tea shops. You can walk down any block in any city in Taiwan and run into both of these things (or if not a 7-11, at least a Family Mart or Hi Life which are basically the same thing- what you think of as gas station convenience stores in the U.S. minus the gas). Now these tea shops are not the dimly lit, smokey rooms you are probably imagining. They are like the Starbucks of Asia. They are awesome and that is a fact.

The Taiwanese have combined all sorts of teas with all sorts of delicious flavors and put them on ice. You can get Passion Fruit Tea, Ice Cream Milk Tea, Bubble Milk Tea (the topic of many raving blog posts of mine last year, it is like pure crack cocaine), Kumquat Juice and Green Tea, Green Tea with Lemon, Green Tea with Honey, ANYTHING! And funny enough, they are all amazing!

I have become recently obsessed with two new types of teas: Green Tea #8 and Green Milk Tea. The #8 Green Tea is exclusive to one particular tea shop named 50 Tea (they really like numbers apparently) and it is a mix of green tea with kumquat juice and sweet plum juice. Very refreshing and delicious.

Milk Green Tea is a mixture of milk (shocking I know) and Jasmine Green Tea. If you've never had Jasmine tea before, it sort of tastes like potpourri. It is an acquired taste I'm pretty sure and I have been busy acquiring it. Something about putting the flowery taste of the Jasmine and milk together and shaking it over ice is the most satisfying drinking experience I have had for a while. I crave it at odd hours of the day and I fear the day that I leave Taiwan for good because I think I may go through withdrawals!

For now, I shall enjoy my amazing iced tea concoctions and do so often :)