Tuesday 11 / February / 2025
Sipping on iced tea is a favourite habit of mine, I love the aromatic smell of dried tea leaves infused with the scent of summer fruit and the lingering bitter, yet sweet aftertaste. Nothing is better for cooling off in the dead of summer. I love them all, from lemon iced teas served in tall, slender, ice-filled glasses, to chilled milk tea, which I see as a more complex alternative to iced coffee, and, when I’m craving something a bit more exotic, as I was during the heat wave last week, I go out in search of that partially edible Taiwanese tipple known as bubble tea.
I bypassed the rows of coffee shops and fresh fruit juice shops, heading for Chatime, a well-known, funky, Taiwanese tea corner in Shatti Al Qurum. The shop serves a variety of teas made from roasted tea leaves, green tea leaves, brown rice tea leaves, jasmine tea leaves, and matcha red Japanese tea powder in either fruit-based or milk-based concoctions. The extensive menu is filled with unique combinations of teas, toppings, and fruit juices, and the best part about this joint is that you can customise the amount of sugar and ice in your drink. A few drinks off the menu can even be served hot, though its not a likely order in this weather.
I entered the shop and settled in to a seat by the window overlooking Shatti Street. I started off with their signature drink, Pearl Milk Tea, a slightly dense milk tea mixed with bead-shaped tapioca starch pearls. The milky taste was strong and exquisite, and the pearls were magnificent. Soft and chewy, they offer an unusual sensation, an added level of satisfaction while you sip — you’ll know what I’m talking about when you try it.
I couldn’t leave the shop without a to-go order of my very favourite of their beverages, the Mango Green Tea, with extra sugar. This drink blows my mind every time I order it. I could drink the addictive combination of sweet mango and grassy, bitter green tea all day, every day, but, as an iced tea aficionado, I can never resist trying something new.
Other interesting drinks on offer include, passion fruit green tea; Hawaiian green tea, made of mixed fruits; and Superior Cocoa tea, a special chocolate tea that’s great for satisfying a sweet tooth. The shop has also introduced locally-inspired flavours like Karak Pearl milk tea, and all their beverages are customisable through the addition of toppings like grass jelly, Aloe Vera, coconut jelly, rainbow jelly, coffee jelly, red beans, egg pudding, and my personal favourite, tapioca pearls.
Chatime
Beach Commercial Centre,
Shatti Al Qurum, Near City Cinema and Costa Coffee
+968 2494 9456
What to Order
Pearl Milk Tea, OMR1.9 for medium
Karak Pearl Milk Tea, OMR2 for medium
Mango Green Tea, OMR1.8 for medium
Passion Fruit Green Tea, OMR1.8 for medium
Add 400 baisa for extra topping.
