“It’s too milky! I can’t taste the tea flavour enough.”
I often hear this sentiment from my family and friends when we get our weekly bubble tea fix, and I wholeheartedly agree.
Now, feel free to disagree with me, but as someone who prefers tea over coffee, there were times I felt disappointed when the aroma and taste of the tea were overpowered by too much milk and sugar.
So when At Tea Singapore invited the Vulcan Post team for a tasting, I was sceptical and thought, “It’s just another Taiwanese brand trying its luck in Singapore’s saturated bubble tea industry.”
So, together with my fellow writer, we decided to head down to At Tea’s flagship outlet at Somerset to see if it’s “just another bubble tea brand”, and boy, were we in for a treat.
A bubble tea brand aiming to create more jobs
For those unfamiliar with the brand, At Tea was founded in 2020 by Taiwanese musician Jam Hsiao. The brand marks his first foray into the F&B industry.
In an article by 8Days, Jam shared that he started the brand not as a cash grab, but to create more job opportunities for those who needed them.
He explained that family members and friends had asked for help getting work, but he was determined to separate his work and personal life. Eventually, Jam founded At Tea to help his social circles and soon opened franchising opportunities overseas, including in Singapore.
Dylan Mok, now At Tea Singapore’s Managing Director, saw the offer as a lifeline. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he struggled to sustain his businesses in the city-state, which spanned seafood imports and exports, cruise ship refurbishment, and event ticketing.
At the time, he was left with two choices: retrench all of its staff or find another way to sustain the business. Dylan decided on the latter, despite having little to no experience managing a bubble tea brand.
He then recruited Aleste Lim, who had years of experience managing F&B brands before becoming At Tea Singapore’s General Manager.
“Our team is comprised of F&B and non-F&B professionals and individuals who faced job losses during the pandemic, which created a shared sense of determination and commitment to succeed,” said Aleste in an exclusive interview. “It boils down to the very simple fact that everyone needs to survive.”
He added that due to the team’s varying levels of experience, it took them time to form a cohesive team, and they sent them to Taiwan for training to meet the standards set. However, with training costs raking up to more than S$10,000, you might wonder if it’s necessary to bear the extra cost.
Dylan shared that employee development is a pillar of the brand’s business philosophy and that tea baristas should be held in the same regard as coffee baristas, who often undergo training and certifications to back up their skills.
Unsurprisingly, At Tea Singapore garnered much attention due to its association with Jam. Customers lined up for as long as one and a half hours to get their first sip of the new drinks, and eventually, five outlets were opened islandwide.
While the customers were pleased with the tea quality and drink offerings, Aleste shared that as Singapore is a popular destination for many overseas bubble tea brands to launch new franchises, they needed to find a way to stand out amidst the almost saturated market.
This eventually led to the company undergoing a 15-month rebranding exercise, which included in-depth training for its baristas. The company reopened four outlets in July this year after temporarily closing for store renovations.
18 drinks later, and I’m still not sick of it
Remember when I said I often miss the “tea” flavour in bubble teas? Not only did I satisfy my tea cravings, but I also tried many new combinations that made my tastebuds sing.
Instead of tea powders, the brand prides itself on using authentic tea leaves from Taiwan, and each drink comes with a tea bag in a separator to retain the earthy tea flavours.
But putting a tea bag is not enough—the brand has also developed a new hot-cold brewing method, with the drink being primarily cold brew tea, with the separator containing the tea bag and topped off with the hot tea.
“One of the main killers that heavily affects the quality of the drink is ice,” Dylan said. “Before making the changes, it was difficult to control the quality of the drinks due to the different melting speeds of the ice, [the melting speed] changes with the tea.”
Before this tasting, I was not the biggest fan of milk teas, as I found them to be overwhelmingly rich with an almost malty aftertaste. However, I noticed that At Tea’s drinks were smoother and lighter on the tongue, and I enjoyed it a little better than the original tea brews.
However, to my surprise, my favourites were At Tea’s oat milk tea offerings. The brand collaborated with homegrown oat milk brand Oatbedient to provide oat milk options and co-create a plant-based cream foam: The Oaty Fluff. Think of it as a macchiato foam but thicker and slightly sweeter.
While it looked intimidating in the tiny glass, the fluff did not overpower the Pu’er tea. Rather, it balanced out the bitter and earthy notes of the drink, giving just the right amount of sweetness.
We tried 18 types of drinks from At Tea, and it will take us forever to explain the taste of each one. Here are some other drinks that became our favourites of the bunch:
- Chrysanthemum Osmanthus Oat milk tea: There were bits of the chrysanthemum petals at the bottom, and the oat milk was subtle enough not to overpower the drink.
- Cane Roasted Genmaicha Black Milk tea: The Genmaicha tasted nutty, and as a milk tea, it was smooth and not cloying to the tongue.
- Passionfruit Green Tea with Oolong Jelly: Passionfruit is front and centre for this drink, with bits of the pulp and seeds of the fruit occasionally slipping into every sip. The Oolong jelly added a nice touch, soft yet not mushy.
- Pink Meteor 945: An exclusive drink to the Singapore franchise, the drink is made of guava puree and perilla plum and topped with ruby pomegranate jelly. The sweet and sour taste was refreshing and reminded us of the old-school “Kiam Sng Tee” treats.
Becoming a more “inclusive” drink brand
Bubble tea is often described as “sinful” and “unhealthy”, and it does not help that there is an additional charge whenever we opt for a plant-based or healthier option.
While At Tea Singapore has already absorbed some of the costs of their oat milk and plant-based drink offerings, Dylan wants to do more to make his customers feel “less guilty” when consuming bubble tea.
“It’s not that we want to convert others to consume solely plant-based food and drinks,” Aleste clarified. “It’s more about finding the neutral ground that people can accept and yet know is friendly for our wallet and health.”
When asked if At Tea Singapore has a partnership deal with Oatbedient, Aleste shared that both companies are working together on a “plant-based month campaign” in October this year and are finalising their range of drinks to be offered.
While the brand has plans to expand and is accessing potential locations to set up shop, he shared that the company is focused on increasing brand awareness in the city-state and is taking a more meticulous approach to its expansion plans.
“Hopefully, we can expand to 12 to 15 outlets in the next few years,” Aleste added. Currently, the business is also looking to create a new franchise to expand to Malaysia and Indonesia.
Dylan also shared that the brand is experimenting with new drink recipes and exploring collaboration opportunities with other companies for special, festive drinks for the upcoming Christmas and Chinese New Year celebrations. “I also hope to make [At Tea] halal,” he added.
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Featured Image Credits: Vulcan Post