Kozui Green Tea

I’ve been away for some time because I’ve been assigned in the province and it’s been really hard for me to write about the restaurants I’ve visited back in Manila before this assignment. However, today’s quite different. I’ve been stuck in this friggin’ shuttle terminal for more than an hour now because the driver wants to have the entire van filled with people before starting the darn vehicle. Hence, out of dire boredom, I decided to write this stuff.
       

Anyway, today, I’d like to talk about one of the teahouses I’ve visited the last time I had a Manila food trip, called Kozui.

AMBIANCE AND ENVIRONMENT

This teahouse and mini restaurant is located in Tomas Morato.

It’s too small and it’s hardly noticeable, but its interior is actually nice.

It has this relaxing ambiance and there are a lot of interesting things inside, like these plant-like lamp accents.

There are also some native lamps on the second floor.

Everything seems to be refreshingly green.
    
Although there may have been some signs of wear and tear in the restaurant considering that it's not really a new establishment, generally, the interior is so nice and clean and it really feels cozy inside.

DRINKS

Kozui is known to serve organic and healthy green tea. 

They have every imaginable green tea blend in this teahouse and they claim that all of these are healthful options. 

Matcha Melon Korichio (P 130.00)

On this occasion, I chose to have one of the store's bestsellers, called Matcha Melon Korichio. At first, I thought that this drink would be a little overpowering because of its green color, but, when I took a sip, I realized that it was surprisingly delicious. I didn’t really expect that I’d ever like green tea, let alone enjoy it, but this one’s really different. It had just the right tea flavor, which was not too strong.

I was expecting that this drink would be a bit bitter, but it was actually sweet and it had this subtle melon flavor, which was so smooth and pleasant. This one’s a must try!

Matcha Lemon Teaz (P 95.00)

My friend, who was suffering from colds that day, had a ginormous mug of hot tea - the Matcha Lemon Teaz. I was surprised at how big the mug was for the grande size, and I was more surprised to see what’s inside.

It was a steaming-hot concoction of fresh tea leaves with slices of lemon on top. It was too green and, obviously, very scary. My friend had a difficult time consuming the entire mug because this one’s the real thing. I sipped a little and it felt like eating tea leaves raw - its tea flavor had a certain kick!

I wouldn’t recommend this drink to the weak at heart because this might be a tad too strong. However, it looked so nice to photograph and it was really fresh and hot when served, which I guess is  good thing for tea enthusiasts.

SERVICE AND SATISFACTION

Apart from the enjoyable drink I had, I was also satisfied with the service in this teahouse. The crew was very friendly and accommodating and they give excellent suggestions to the customers. 

VALUE FOR MONEY

Now, onto the prices. I usually am not satisfied with the prices of beverages in different establishments but this one’s truly an exception. For less than a hundred bucks, you’d be served with a huge mug of tea from this store and for just the price of a grande caramel frappe from Starbucks, you could already get a healthy drink that’s very delicious and refreshing - that’s one great deal, don’t you think?

FINAL SCORES

Ambiance - 4/5

Drinks - 5/5

Service - 4/5

Value - 5/5

TOTAL - 4.5

Kozui Green Tea
(02) 413 2705
258 B Tomas Morato cor. Sct. Fernandez
Quezon City, Metro-Manila

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Happy Lemon

Okay, I have to admit. I’m already left behind. Trends in food and dining are really changing so quickly and sometimes I just can’t follow through. For one, I didn’t really know that tea-based beverages, such as milk teas, have seeped into the otherwise coffee-frenzied culture of the Filipinos. It was, for me, surprising to see so many teahouses sprouting everywhere!
    
Happy Lemon is among those mainstream teashops, serving modern blends of tea and, because I wanted to feel “in” even if I don’t really drink tea, I decided to give this anime-inspired shop a go.
    

AMBIANCE AND ENVIRONMENT

I’ve seen Happy Lemon featured in several blogs and many of my friends claim that this teahouse has a relaxed and laidback atmosphere. However, when I went to visit this shop with a friend of mine, I almost had a heart attack! I hate the crowd and this is exactly the kind of place I wouldn’t want to be in at any given time - it was totally jam-packed!

All the chairs outside were occupied.

The line was very long!

Plus, there were plenty of people scuffling around the counter to claim their orders.

Literally every part of the shop was filled with people and it had a rowdy, noisy, oppressive, and absolutely unbearable feel inside. This was very far from the supposedly light and relaxed atmosphere others are claiming.

To make matters worse, the place looked like a huge garbage bin. We saw plenty of used cups and plastic bags lying untidily on the floor, stools, tables and everywhere and no one really bothered to clean them at all!

I guess if only there were less people the day we went here, we would’ve appreciated this teahouse more, especially with its fun and friendly façade and design but, unfortunately, we encountered a completely different scenario.

FOOD AND DRINKS

The crowd, however, did not stop us from trying out the beverages sold here as we travelled so far and we were already parched by the time we arrived in the shop. We had one order each of Happy Lemon’s specialty teas.  I ordered their Green Tea with Rock Salt Cheese and my friend had the Milk Tea with Oreo Cookie.

Honestly, I didn’t like any of the teas. I took a sip of my friend’s order and I found it to be too bitter. Then, after some time of drinking mine, I actually just asked her to finish it because, as I feared, it was not my cup of tea.

Green Tea with Rock Salt Cheese (P 90.00)

If you want to feel all holy and divine, try out this tea. Drinking this blend made me feel like I’m some kind of patron saint or even the “Poong Nazareno” with whom Sampaguita flowers are being offered! The green tea had this jasmine-like feel and it was fragrant to the mouth but definitely not pleasant. The rock salt cheese is meant to be eaten with a straw, I think, because it tasted sweet and cheesy, which is a perfect contrast to the bitter taste of the tea. Mixing it with the green tea would definitely be a mistake because its distinct sweetness would be overpowered by the bitter tea. Honestly, I’d rather drink water with the rock salt cheese on top than this jasmine-based green tea.

Milk Tea with Oreo Cookie (P 100.00)

My friend ordered this one and I took a sip because I wanted to try and see if this was any better from my disastrous pick. Anyway, I guess this one’s a little bit friendlier and happier than my order. There were plenty of floating cookies in the drink, which somehow neutralized the bitter flavor of the tea. However, I still can’t stand drinking this. It was still too bitter for my sweet tooth.

SERVICE AND SATISFACTION

Dreadful service - that’s all I can say. I can’t blame them though as there were plenty of people and the teashop was obviously understaffed. The crew can’t even clear the tables, clean the floors, and accommodate everyone.

The buzzer thing, which is supposed to be used to notify the customers that their orders may already be claimed, was nonexistent. I wonder why a lot of people are raving about it at all. We didn’t even get our change and they didn’t bother to remind us about it. My friend had to struggle once again with the customers around the counter to ask for our change. It was a mess, actually.

VALUE FOR MONEY

I was pretty disappointed with the experience I’ve had here - it was actually very unhappy.  I have yet to try some of their other tea blends to really pick the right one for me but I think I wouldn’t really bother going back to this teashop just to do that. Their drinks are reasonably priced but if I can’t even consume an entire cup of their tea, I guess there’s no value for money there at all.

 FINAL SCORES

Ambiance - 2/5

Drinks - 2/5

Service - 2/5

Value - 2/5

TOTAL - 2/5

Happy Lemon

2nd Level, Promenade, Greenhills Shopping Center

Ortigas Avenue, Greenhills

San Juan, Metro-Manila

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