Over The Moon with Moonleaf

Milk tea. This might be the most popular word nowadays (Anne Curtis being the second one). If you don’t know what it is and the craze it’s been causing Metro Manila, then it’s safe to assume you’ve been living inside a cave. With the plethora of choices where one can have their milk tea fix (see our Happy Lemon and Serenitea review here), differentiation can be very difficult for milk tea entrepreneurs.

Not for Moonleaf Tea Shop.

Starting in Maginhawa Street, UP Village, this once humble tea shop gained fame from college students who frequented the place and has become one of, if not, the fastest growing milk tea place in the country. It is also the first one to have ventured outside Manila (they have stores in Pampanga and Naga). Moonleaf also diversified its offerings; aside from teas, they now have their own planner which sold like hotcakes last Christmas season.

So how does Moonleaf’s tea taste like? Why has it become so popular with high school students, college students and yuppies alike? We visited their Dapitan branch (near UST) to find out.

Here are some of Moonleaf's best-sellers:

Wintermelon Milk Tea, 75 php (+10 php for add-ons)

Glutton Guy: If you ask Moonleaf patrons what to drink on your first visit, this is what they'll probably suggest. Honestly, this is not the first drink I bought on my first time at Moonleaf. Eventually I gave in, so now it's my favorite drink.  I don't exactly know what wintermelon is (is there even something like that here in the Philippines?). I don't know what magic ingredients they put in this drink, but it's so good that it really is hard to resist. I've even known friends who buy 2 of these everytime they visit Moonleaf. There really is the sweet and creamy taste that you don't get from the normal milk tea. Wintermelon is leaning more towards the milky type of drink rather than the tea type. It's really a must-try for the beginners! : )

Glutton Girl: Moonleaf’s Wintermelon Tea has got to be its most popular drink. They say you haven’t really been to Moonleaf if you haven’t tried Wintermelon Milk Tea. And they’re damn right. Moonleaf’s WMT hits the spot. Some even call it “jackpot”. Its sweetness is just right, especially for people who love sweet stuff like me. The pearls (which I ordered for my sinkers) completed well with the milk tea. The serving is huge too for its price. Sulit na sulit. I dub thee “THE WINNING DRINK”.

Aside from their country-famous Wintermelon Milk Tea, we’ve tried other variants in our previous visits that might interest you as well. Yes, this is not our first time. We can’t even remember how many times we’ve been to different branches of Moonleaf!

Hakka Milk Tea, 75 php (+10 php for add-ons)

Glutton Guy: If you'd rather have something close to the original milk tea, then Moonleaf's Hakka milk tea is for you. It's very similar to the Thai milk tea and the HK milk tea. It has that bittersweet flavor, just like coffee, but it also has that creamy taste from the milk. When my friend described it (he told me that it was something close to coffee) I didn't like it because I'm not a coffee fanatic. But, when I got to try it, I easily fell in love with it. I would even rank this second on my most favorite Moonleaf drink list. Hakka would go well with any add-on that you like, but for me, I'd say it's best with pudding or pearls. : )

Lychee Yakult, 70 php (+10 php for add-ons)

Glutton Guy: Moonleaf also offers fruity drinks, and this is one of them. Lychee Yakult is something common to milk tea shops. It has that creamy taste from the Yakult blending well with the citrusy flavor of the lychee. You'd love this especially on a hot sunny day. But, I would still prefer Happy Lemon's version of this drink, simply because theirs has lemon zest bits. It's not a bad idea to try out Moonleaf's version though. : )

Peppermint Milk Tea, 75 php (+10 php for add-ons)

Glutton Girl: I’ve tried Peppermint Milk Tea once (this was a time when I was feeling experimental) and I actually liked the cooling effect the milk tea gave me. Although I still prefer Wintermelon Milk Tea hands down (never ordered anything else after), it was still a good experience to have tried their Peppermint version. It was like downing a liquid version of Double Mint chewing gum, and that’s not a bad thing (at least for me)! I like everything minty so I didn’t mind the similarity in taste.  

If the milk tea craze hasn’t caught you yet, or if you’re a non-conformist (aka the real cool), then give Moonleaf a try. With the many branches scattered across Metro Manila (and also in provinces), there really is no reason for you not to try their drinks. Who knows, you might just change your mind. ;)

Here's how we rated Moonleaf:

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(Moonleaf Tea Shop has 14 branches in Metro Manila: 1. 103 Maginhawa Street, UP Teacher's Village, Diliman, Quezon City. It's just beside Delish and in front of Cocina Juan; 2. 44A Magiting Street, UP Teacher's Village, Diliman, Quezon City. It's just beside I Heart Fro-Yo and a little past Mini Stop; 3. Esteban Abada Street, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, just beside Crave Burger; 4. Katipunan Avenue corner F.B. Dela Rosa Street, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, just behind KFC; 5. Jardin De Zenaida, Sgt. Esguerra Avenue, Quezon City; 6. 2nd Floor Barrington Place, Congressional Avenue, Quezon City. It's just beside Ling Nam; 7. 25 General Ordoñez Street, Concepcion, Marikina City. 8. Ground Floor Vizione Dorm 1012 G.M. Tolentino Street, UST Area, Sampaloc, Manila; 9. 1233 V. Concepcion Street, UST Area, Sampaloc, Manila. This street is just behind UST; 10. 1st Floor St. Thomas Square, España corner P. Campa Street, Sampaloc, Manila. 11. 9 East Capitol Drive, Brgy. Kapitolyo, Pasig City; 12. Harrison Plaza Village Square, Pablo Ocampo corner Mabini Street, Malate, Manila; 13. Unit LG2, 1152 E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue, New Manila, Quezon City; and 14. #50 EK Building, Don Antonio Heights, Brgy. Holy Spirit Drive, Quezon City. They also have provincial branches: 1. Sandrose Place, Ruby Street, Umali Subdivision, Los Baños, Laguna; 2. Ground Floor, MWC Building, Mac Arthur Highway, Sindalan, city of San Fernando, Pampanga; 3. Doña Aurora Street, CM Recto, Angeles City, Pampanga; and 4. ADC Building, Magsaysay Avenue, Naga City.)