Review: Teh Tarik - Lipton

Type: Instant
Producer: Lipton
Origin: Indonesia
Brewing Parameters: 180 ml hot water, 85°C, one packet (recommended)
Appearance: Light brown and grayish-white powder
Rating: B- | 80/100
# of Brews: 1

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Although it isn't what I usually review, I still consider instant tea to be some kind of tea. This particular tea is from Singapore/Malaysia, and like the teabags from earlier reviews, came across the sea in a big box with other goodies. I usually make this tea iced and with milk; my method of preparation is adding boiling water to dissolve the powder into a paste, and then mixing it with cold milk. For purposes of this review, I'll be following the instructions, however.

Interestingly, this tea is very frothy/bubbly. A layer of bubbles formed with little mixing, covering a creamy, dark brown liquid. It smelled very sweet; if you've had milk tea with a black tea base, it smells very similar to this. I think this is essentially just that. I usually make this tea with milk because I found the flavor to taste very watered down when I make it with water, but that may be because I add too much. Without milk, I found that this tea tastes very similar to milk coffee; it has that strong, somewhat bitter flavor that's earthy. It's sweet, but it also has a light sour flavor coming from the tea base. The aftertaste is the milk, which has a waxy feeling that comes from I found powdered dairy creamers. In general, I find that instant teas don't necessarily taste the best on their own– but if you change the method of preparation, it can improve it. They're generally better for a quick sugar fix or if you're lazy and want milk tea. In the realm of instant teas, however, this is one of my favorite ones. My only problem is that it's only sold overseas, so it's more of a treat than a daily drink.


Other Notes
Today's album is Vault Vol. 2 by STRFKR. As much as I love STRFKR's new albums. like Being No One, Going Nowhere, they have definitely changed their sound. It was more acoustic and folksy and now focuses more on synths, but it still is the same pop-feeling. This album was released last night, and I think it's a nice return to the albums that actually got me interested in STRFKR in the first place.

These past few days have been incredibly busy. Thursday was fun; I took the MUNI Metro for the first time with one of my closest friends (I love her, she was on my competition civics team and we're both going to Berkeley) and we went to Golden Gate Park. We had some really good Thai food and walked around the park, near the Conservatory of Flowers and Botanical Gardens. We listened to some jazz underneath a bridge and explored the area around the De Young museum. Eventually, we found our way up a large hill that gave a good view of the park and city, and watched a few hawks and (apparently) an erotic comedy that people were acting out at the top. We talked a lot about stuff like family and our relationships with friends, and headed back to the Embarcadero where we got ice cream from the Ferry Building. The day ended with us playing games at the Musee Mechanique and exploring Pier 39 before walking home and riding BART back.

Yesterday, I had an adventure showing my friend from San Diego around San Francisco. A lot happened that day, so look at the post before this if you want an overview.

I got back very late last night, so I slept in. I was supposed to watch Spiderman: Homecoming with my friends (the first time I'd be hanging out with my guy friends this entire summer), but it didn't work out because I was too tired to wake up early and my other friend had a hair appointment. I did wake up to a number of texts and a missed call from the third friend that I told last night that I'll be sleeping in. He's one of my childhood friends, but as much as I like him, he can be kind of self-conscious; his texts today reminded me like that possessive girlfriend stereotype, which was a bit annoying. We'll reschedule it later though, and I'll be hanging out with my unitmate and my friend from earlier that's going to Cal, too, so I'm not too upset. I still have that essay to write due tomorrow evening, but once next week is over, I'll finally be able to take a break.