Update: Sad to say they've closed all outlets in Singapore as of June 2023.
There's a new bubble tea brand in town and I'm loving it! A popular brand hailing from Melbourne, Gotcha Fresh Tea has arrived in Singapore at the uber-cool GR.iD Mall along Selegie Road (close to Dhoby Ghaut MRT) and prides themselves on using farmed tea leaves from Taiwan (Alishan, to be specific). I had the pleasure to be invited to try out a few of their bubble teas and here's all the intel and my review of it. I also did a TikTok about it that you can watch here!
While the facade of the old POMO has changed drastically (was it during Covid?) to look like a futuristic e-gamer mall, the shops lined outside still remain and Gotcha's conveniently located there.
They have an opening promotion from now till 15 May, which I greatly appreciate because we are living in inflationary times! It also allows people to try more drinks.
Here's the Gotcha Fresh Tea Singapore bubble tea menu. Prices are all-inclusive of toppings instead of being a separate add on, which I really appreciate! First it suggests what is the best topping to go with the drink, and next there's no bill shock. You'll notice that instead of brown sugar fresh milk, they use black sugar instead. The other thing is you can ADJUST THE SUGAR LEVEL of these drinks, which in other places is typically all or nothing. I really appreciate that. I'm also curious about their yogurt drinks so I'll try it next time, and the Bamboo Charcoal Milk Tea (S$4.5 M) with mini pearls is also apparently a crowd favourite.
Here I have to tell y'all about the fruit teas. Gotcha uses fruit concentrate puree which has no sugar added and is all natural (some even has pulp!), which makes it healthier for you. Another thing is you can also reduce the puree level to 75% if you wish for a lighter flavour. I tried their Signature Fruit Tea (S$6.1 because it is L sized) with mango and passionfruit blended with Four Season tea and loved it so much.
Another interesting thing to note is the variety of toppings. Beyond the standard pearls, there's also different flavoured jellies (including grass jelly, my fav), red bean and white fungus collagen. The popping pearls are also super rare.
I got the chance to get up close and see how the Signature Fruit Tea was made. The teas are brewed fresh in carafes daily at the shop, which is more laborious but makes the tea taste fresher compared to a big pot brewed in the morning sitting there all day. And I could taste the tea which is something to be said since most of the fruit teas out there just whack you with the syrup. I love bubble tea with a stronger tea taste - which is why I like Chicha. That said, the fruit tea was my favourite drink amongst the 4 I've tried because it was just the right mix of refreshing fruit flavours and bits like watermelon and strawberry that's not too acidic, coupled with the slightly bitter but fragrant tea.
On the black sugar fresh milk side of drinks though, both the sugar and pearls are crucial, but I also found that the type of milk used cannot just be straight from the carton. At Gotcha, it is mixed with other things for a creamier counterpart to the chewy pearls amidst the black sugar. I opted for 50% for my Black Sugar Fresh Milk (S$4.9 for M) with regular pearls - and found it sufficient especially since the pearls are also soaked in sugar. If compared with Tiger Sugar (my fav but once a year drink) I'll say the sugar is still not as complex tasting BUT I'm also less likely to suffer from too much sugar with this, and that's a good compromise.
I've also tried their Black Wolfberry Collagen (S$6.90 for L) which comes with white fungus collagen, one of their unique drinks in the collagen series. The black wolfberry bits inside and the slightly chewy white fungus was super interesting. It's also super addictive to drink because its not overly sweet.
I also brought back the Matcha Red Bean Fresh Milk (S$6.20 for M) with red beans home to try and liked it, though if I'm being honest I actually prefer the milk teas or black sugar variants. The red bean topping was yummy though and it was almost a meal in itself!
Anyway thanks to Jon and Ben for the invite to try out your Gotcha Fresh Tea - I hope to be back soon to try all the other exciting drinks on the menu, and I would 100% recommend everyone to go try it if you are even not in the vicinity, but is a bubble tea fan like I am!
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