discovering SereniTEA
Who would have thought that located just a couple of blocks away from my home is a place where one can enjoy a cup of freshly brewed customized tea?
This is one reason why I LOVE my neighborhood.
One of Metro Manila's smallest cities, San Juan, is quickly growing to be an ideal residential area due to its proximity to other key cities in the metro, a lot of food and shopping options and various places where its residents can unwind after a crazy day at work.
After a hearty seafood dinner last Friday, Paul and I wanted to hang out at a quiet place where we can talk and relax before heading home. Since, we didn't really feel like having coffee nor do we have enough room for dessert, I suddenly remembered a meeting that I had earlier that day when a colleague enthusiastically shared with us her newest discovery called Serenitea.
She told us that it's a cozy tea shop that serves really good freshly brewed teas. However, for those who wants the sweeter version, they also have milk teas and tea lattes available. I also mentioned that you can customized your tea here. After choosing your type of drink, you will then be asked to choose your preferred sugar level. When in doubt, just ask the server to give you a sample for you to gauge how sweet you would like your drink to be.
I was impressed with their long list of drinks! In fact, I really had a hard time choosing. Should I get the milk tea? or maybe I should take the healthy path and go for a freshly brewed tea? Healthy won once again and so I got the Gyokuro Genmaicha (Green Tea) (Php. 55 -- Hot, Php. 65 -- Cold) which is one of my favorite type of tea.
Before steeping my tea, my friendly server handed me a small taster cup and asked me if 25% sugar is ok for my taste. I took a slow sip and I really liked my tea! I gave her my approval and joined Paul who got us a small table by the door.
Unlike other tea houses which gives a very Japanese Zen feel, this one feels more Chinese as accentuated by the wooden frames with Chinese proverbs on the wall. They also have a community board with photos of their regular clients and a neat looking menu board on top of the counter. What they need is a WiFi connection and students and professionals can definitely spend the entire afternoon or evening here.
Finally, my drink, which was served on a tall plastic cup, has arrived. I took a sip and savored the taste of toasted rice and green tea which is the unique characteristic of Genmaicha.
SereniTEA is definitely a must-visit for all tea lovers out there. On my next visit, I'm trying the Strawberry Milk Tea together with their snacks such as the Pepper Tofu and Chicken Chops. YUM!
SereniTEA is located along J. Abad Santos cor V. Cruz, San Juan City. You may contact them at 3794166 for more inquiries.
Driving directions: Coming from Wilson, turn right upon seeing Alex III/Gloria Maris. Go straight, SereniTEA is right in front of Mann Hann.
This is one reason why I LOVE my neighborhood.
One of Metro Manila's smallest cities, San Juan, is quickly growing to be an ideal residential area due to its proximity to other key cities in the metro, a lot of food and shopping options and various places where its residents can unwind after a crazy day at work.
After a hearty seafood dinner last Friday, Paul and I wanted to hang out at a quiet place where we can talk and relax before heading home. Since, we didn't really feel like having coffee nor do we have enough room for dessert, I suddenly remembered a meeting that I had earlier that day when a colleague enthusiastically shared with us her newest discovery called Serenitea.
She told us that it's a cozy tea shop that serves really good freshly brewed teas. However, for those who wants the sweeter version, they also have milk teas and tea lattes available. I also mentioned that you can customized your tea here. After choosing your type of drink, you will then be asked to choose your preferred sugar level. When in doubt, just ask the server to give you a sample for you to gauge how sweet you would like your drink to be.
I was impressed with their long list of drinks! In fact, I really had a hard time choosing. Should I get the milk tea? or maybe I should take the healthy path and go for a freshly brewed tea? Healthy won once again and so I got the Gyokuro Genmaicha (Green Tea) (Php. 55 -- Hot, Php. 65 -- Cold) which is one of my favorite type of tea.
Before steeping my tea, my friendly server handed me a small taster cup and asked me if 25% sugar is ok for my taste. I took a slow sip and I really liked my tea! I gave her my approval and joined Paul who got us a small table by the door. Unlike other tea houses which gives a very Japanese Zen feel, this one feels more Chinese as accentuated by the wooden frames with Chinese proverbs on the wall. They also have a community board with photos of their regular clients and a neat looking menu board on top of the counter. What they need is a WiFi connection and students and professionals can definitely spend the entire afternoon or evening here.
Finally, my drink, which was served on a tall plastic cup, has arrived. I took a sip and savored the taste of toasted rice and green tea which is the unique characteristic of Genmaicha.
SereniTEA is definitely a must-visit for all tea lovers out there. On my next visit, I'm trying the Strawberry Milk Tea together with their snacks such as the Pepper Tofu and Chicken Chops. YUM!
SereniTEA is located along J. Abad Santos cor V. Cruz, San Juan City. You may contact them at 3794166 for more inquiries.
Driving directions: Coming from Wilson, turn right upon seeing Alex III/Gloria Maris. Go straight, SereniTEA is right in front of Mann Hann.
Sooooooo near!
ReplyDeletewaaahh, anlayo sa amin
ReplyDeleteI love tea and I actually drink it more than coffee :) thanks, Fran! I'll check out this tea shop!
ReplyDeletehi! does this place have pearl milk tea?
ReplyDeleteSaw your blog in elbert's steakroom website and have been a reader ever since. Thank you for featuring Serenitea, if not, i wouldn't have seen this place and satisfied my craving for milk tea. =) keep writing!
ReplyDeleteNo offense here.. but i had tried other version of Milk Tea, and i found the one closer to the original Milk Tea Taste in Caloocan, Victory Mall. Tea Zone ang brand name. It is a milk tea designed kiosk concept..na super haba ang pila Everyday! sarap sya and mura pa. Parang 45 pesos ang XL size with free small size pa. :)
ReplyDeletethey have friendster site www.profiles.friendster.com/teazone
Hello:) ngyon lang ako natuto mag lagay ng comment dito heheh(kakahiya)...Keep on writing!xoxo
ReplyDeletei love their drinks and their pepper corn is the best!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://jotan23.blogspot.com/2010/04/serenity-found-at-serenitea.html
Hi... was researching about milk tea stores and i chance upon your blog about serenitea... i think you are overhyping them too much. No offense meant but don't you think their milk teas all taste alike? Wala lang... just my opinion. =)
ReplyDelete@krisel: thanks for visiting my blog! I wrote this entry back in 2009 when Serenitea was the only milk tea shop available in my area and admittedly I fell in love with their drinks right away. It was different from the usual fruit shakes, soda, etc. Ask any of my friends I drank Serenitea almost every single day that year and the year that followed. To date, I'd still say Serenitea is pretty good but with the entrance of new players like TeaTap, ChaTime, etc. I have my own favorites in their stores too (which you can see in my other entries). When you say most of their milk teas taste alike i guess it's because they use a common base (assam tea) which when you go to Taiwan, that's also the same case. It's just like a Frappuccino where when you order a Mocha Frap, Caramel or Coffee definitely they'll taste similar to one another because they all share the same coffee base.
ReplyDeleteNot being defensive here but I just want to explain the reason why perhaps you find their taste all alike :)