After dinner at Hong Kong Kitchen- San Gabriel, we thought it would be pleasant to have some sort of dessert. So, we visited Tea Station, a recently opened tea shop in Temple City that takes the location of a clothing store.
There we decided to only order one or two items to share, but found out that every person has to order one item for dine-in service. One of my companions decided on a glass of bubble green tea with tapioca pearls/boba. Out of all the places we have tried, Tea Station (or any Tea Ren place) seems to retain most of the tea's flavor and fragrance. Although we like the chewy, tender tapioca pearls and the overall quality of the tea, the bubble green tea is on the sweeter side for our preferences. Asking for half of the amount of sugar will allow the tea to stand out more.
Another companion ordered the Caribbean fruit tea, which happened to be on a discount at 3.99 USD during our visit. This tea is also on the sweeter side, but has plenty of fragrance and rich fruity flavors to compensate. There were however no refills, so the little teapot was it for this drink.
Also on the discounts placard was the pineapple coconut yogurt snow ice (2.99 USD). Basically, this is a form of pina colada, but the fresh pineapple or coconut milk is not very evident. The basic flavor of a pina colada is there, but the fresh pineapple taste and rich coconut flavor is not.
I ordered a bowl of taro soup with red beans and taro balls. Although the taro balls and red beans were tasty, the taro powder soup tasted quite awkward.
If we visit ever again, we'll stick with the tea options. After all, this place is called Tea Station, and it is quite evident that they do items that involve tea very well!
Tea Station
9578 Las Tunas Dr.
Temple City, CA 91780
Tel: (626) 291-5688
Comments
I'm interested in trying some other places, but then again I rarely go out for such occasions! Other than the tea, the other items were quite mediocre.