Chilled Tapioca Milk Tea by Emial

Tapioca Milk Tea

Brand: Emial

Price: 200 yen

Place of purchase: Lawson

Rating:

Today (November 9th) is Tapioca Day in Japan. Which reminded me that this summer I tried a chilled Tapioca drink for the first time in years. I am not a fan of Tapioca at all, but my daughter encouraged me to give it another go, so I did. She chose this brand as it is a long-standing Tapioca drink that was around long before the recent 'bubble tea' trend in Japan. In fact, it has been available for more than 20 years. I liked the fact that this product was chilled as I was trying it on a hot day. The tea flavor isn't that bad, just a little too creamy for my liking. But the black tea flavor was noticeable enough, which I did like. For your reference: the tapioca pearls are soft and chewy, which I am sure many people will like, but they are not for me.

As a person who does not like the texture of tapioca pearls, naturally I was not too enamored by the tapioca in this drink! But I understand that for most people, that will be the main attraction. As I said, my daughter encouraged me to try this drink and she is a fan of tapioca, so she really liked this product - tapioca and all. The attached straw is convenient no doubt, but I didn't like that it is so wide that it sucks up the tapioca pretty easily. Again, I understand that that is the appeal for many. For me personally, I would have preferred a narrower straw so I could have avoided taking any tapioca at all. I think for fans of tapioca, this is a solid, convenient option, but for others, like me, who don't like the taste and / or texture of tapioca, its one to avoid.