Chatime was once my first obsession with the Taiwan-style tea brand since I wasn't much of a coffee person. I think it's probably because the prices of milk tea are slightly lower than coffee shops like Bo's Coffee Club where operating hours are longer while using premium ingredients. Definitely, I ended up having my thrifty side when I chose tea shops over coffee shops even if I do get a glass of coffee from Bo's Coffee Club if ever I'm meeting someone there. Gong Cha became my second alternative to Chatime all before more competition sprang up.
The story of Gong Cha
Here's an excerpt of Gong Cha's humble beginnings:
In 1996, a man named Wu opened a premium tea shop in Taiwan. The reputation of the shop grew and it wasn’t long until customers were lining up to purchase Wu’s tea. To meet the demand, Wu decided to expand, standardizing his recipes to ensure that all stores served consistently good tea.
Wu worked hard to develop his own tea blends, testing everything 23,000 times to perfect his recipes and ensure he could guarantee the same high quality at every single shop. He patented his milk foam formula and, in 2006, Wu established Gong cha in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.The new tea brand inherited the quality and commitment of the original shop, but with the new Gong cha commitment to serve tea fit for a king, literally — Gong cha refers to the act of offering tea to the emperor as a form of tribute in ancient China. The brand name represents Wu’s philosophy that tea served at Gong cha will be made with the highest craftsmanship and the knowledge of a tea master.Gong cha’s success wasn’t thanks to a slick advertising campaign or a polished business strategy. Instead, the tea shop chain did things the old-fashioned way — letting its high-quality drinks speak for themselves and relying on word-of-mouth to grow the brand.
Later, a certain Mr. and Mrs. Berry eventually joined the family after they fell in love with it. Currently, it has a global headquarters in London which opened in 2020. I wonder did the shares of the company split up yet again after the Korean owner was able to get 70% of the company shares from what I heard? I guess that's why Korean celebrity endorsement of it is very popular. Actors Lee Seungi, Park Seo Jun, Lee Jong Suk, and Roo Woon (all South Koreans) have been its popular endorsers. Seung Gi even endorsed Gong Cha for the Filipino target market. Its marketing may have been done due to the popularity of South Korean entertainment among Filipino tea drinkers.
I would think that I'm more of a fruit-tea lover. I do love milk tea but it depends on my craving. I was thinking about trying some stuff at Gong Cha not found in Chatime and comparing their products one after the other. I've tasted and loved their lychee green tea (which has lovely aloe vera jelly) and the Alisan Mango Tea. Alisan Tea is named after Mt. Alisan in Taiwan which is yet another tourist spot. I also enjoyed their strawberry black tea which for me is "exotic" even if it's reasonably priced given the long operating hours and premium ingredients. Gong Cha managed to fill in my cravings for Taiwanese fruit tea whenever I'm in a health-conscious mode in the desire to lose more weight. I usually order fruit teas sugarless unless my body craves something sweet especially when stressed. I did order their coffee milk tea when I wanted to try another variation after I tried Chatime's. I would say it was unique in its own way and a worthy competitor against the local coffee shops too.
So far, I've been to Gong Cha Ayala Center Cebu (near Persian Palate), Gong Cha SM City Cebu (which is a stall), and Gong Cha SM Seaside. So far, it's been a good alternative to my previous milk tea experiences. I usually recommend going after their fruit teas though. I do like their milk tea but I ended up enjoying some of their fruit teas better. Then again for some, it's the other way around, right?
References
"Our Story: Brewing Happiness"