Teabrary 小茶識 – Vivian Lai Opens New Bubble Tea Shops at Fook Hai Building (Chinatown) and Esplanade Xchange

It seems that Mediacorp host Vivian Lai is no longer the brand ambassador of Pokka; instead she is now the owner of Teabrary, a new bubble tea shop in Singapore. Update (26 May 2020): for this period, Teabrary has teamed up with The Pipe District (a modern European restaurant) to provide islandwide delivery for a flat fee of $8. Whatsapp +65 9634 3894 to order. A minimum order of $20 is required, enjoy free delivery above $49.

Teabrary (小茶識)

Image from Teabrary’s Facebook page

You can buy the tea leaves home too

Image from 8days.sg

Image from 8days.sg

Teabrary (小茶識) is a new bubble tea chain in Singapore, currently with two outlets at Esplanade Xchange and Fook Hai Building (Chinatown).

The Esplanade Xchange outlet is the first in Singapore and opened on 23rd September 2019. The Fook Hai Building branch opened one week later on 01 October 2019.

The shop uses premium tea leaves sourced from plantations in Nantou, Taiwan. And according to Teabrary’s Instagram post, they only use the “best 1% of tea varieties”.

The drinks are supposed to be healthier too because the shop uses cane sugar instead of regular sugar.

Before the opening of the Singapore branches, Vivian had already opened three other outlets in Taiwan, China, and Cambodia. She has plans to expand to Japan and Myanmar as well.

There will also be a Teabrary flagship store in Singapore’s town area early next year, which will offer desserts such as chiffon cakes, waffles and soufflés.

On the Esplanade Xchange branch’s opening day, the shop saw plenty of support from fans and celebrities such as Daniel Food Diary, Pornsak, etc.

However, it seems the hype has died down somewhat. I went down to the Esplanade Xchange outlet yesterday (Monday) at around 1pm and there was only a queue of about 10 people.

The counter staff was very friendly and patiently explained to me the characteristics of the respective teas.

Menu

Dessert Tea Series Menu

Recommended Drinks (click to enlarge)

I was impressed by Teabrary’s creative variety of drinks. The menu offers Premium Tea, Milk Tea, Cheese Tea, Brown Sugar Milk, Fruit Tea, Dessert Tea, Cold-Brew Tea, and a variety of coffees (Tea Latte, Matcha Latte, Americano, etc).

The Premium Tea series consists of classic flavours like Jin Xuan, Black Oolong, Green Tea, etc.

Interestingly, the Cold-Brew Tea Series and Dessert Tea Series are served in sleek reusable plastic bottles.

The Cold-Brew Teas are brewed for 12 hours overnight in the shop. I wanted to order the “Premium Taiwan Jin Xuan” but was informed that it was still in the process of brewing.

The Dessert Teas (with house-made pudding and jelly toppings) are served in stylish bottles, which is definitely a novelty in Singapore.

Taiwan No.12 Jin Xuan Tea

I decided to order the Taiwan No.12 Jin Xuan Tea ($3), which the staff described as having a “nai xiang 奶香”, or “creamy scent”.

I really enjoyed the drink! It was light and refreshing, with a distinct vanilla fragrance and a pleasant creamy aftertaste. It was almost like drinking milk tea, but without the milk.

Try it and you will see what I mean.

If you are someone who feels guilty indulging in too much sinful milk tea but just can’t seem to abstain (I can totally relate), this would be a good substitute.

Taiwan High Mountain Green Tea

Tea filter

I also tried the Taiwan High Mountain Green Tea ($3.80), because I was curious what a 12-hour brewed tea would taste like.

The green tea was full-bodied with a strong aromatic flavour, and had a slight bittersweet aftertaste.

The bottle even had a filter which prevented the tea leaves from going into my mouth.

This is a good option if you just want to drink a pure premium tea without any sugar added. You can reuse the sleek bottle afterwards too.

Conclusion

I enjoyed drinking the Teabrary premium teas, which were refreshing and fragrant. Prices are also very reasonable, with many drinks priced below $4.

Teabrary 小茶識 (Esplanade Xchange)
Address: #B1-12, Esplanade Xchange, 1 Raffles Blvd 039593
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 8.30pm

Teabrary 小茶識 (Fook Hai Building)
Address: #01-16, Fook Hai Building, 150 South Bridge Road 058727
Opening Hours: Daily 12pm to 7pm