KISSATEN 𓃦 | FUYU ◒ — Attraction in Manchester

I had the banana milk tea with black tea. They didn’t seem to have an option to have the typical black tapioca as a topping but instead had other types of tapioca. I opted for the honey tapioca which was surprisingly great, soft and chewy.

The milk tea itself was awful. At first, I really liked it. You could actually taste the black tea so it tasted quite authentic and good quality, but then after a couple more sips, the drink quickly became overwhelming and was making my mouth feel weird. I’m not quite sure to how to explain the sensation, I assume it has something to do with how sweet the drink was (I got the recommended sweetness level, so that was a surprise). I couldn’t drink anymore and had to throw the drink away.

I had a taste of my friend’s matcha drink (I can’t remember the specific order), I didn’t like it. I’m not well-versed in matcha, I have matcha milk tea often, but I can’t confidently say I can tell good quality from bad quality matcha. But one sip of the drink made me want to gag. It wasn’t bad, necessarily, it just had a very strong earthy taste that I wasn’t expecting. It lowkey tasted like healthy vegan soil (terrible description, I know, but that’s the best way I can describe it unfortunately). My friend said she didn’t mind the taste, she wouldn’t have it again, but she wouldn’t throw it away either. So it’s not like I wouldn’t recommend it, I’m just warning you that it might not be what you expect if you get matcha milk tea from other places like Gong Cha for example.

My milk tea cost me around about £6.70, if I remember correctly. I don’t think the drink was worth £6.70, in fact, I don’t think any boba is worth £6.70.

As for the service, you order on a screen and you watch a TV screen which says that your number is being prepared and then tells you it’s ready. You go up to the little window and wait for someone to bring the drink, they check your receipt to make sure it’s your order and give it to you. It’s an introvert’s dream, but honestly felt a little inconvenient considering the TV and server don’t match up sometimes, so people go up and end up waiting a couple minutes for someone to hand them their drink. Anyways, I felt like the system could use some work because the wait time varies between 5 minutes (for my order) and 15 minutes (for my friend’s). I can see it getting more chaotic and frustrating when the place gets busier.

Finally, what makes this place different from other boba places is its gashapons (the capsule machines). This is so terrible. The prices range from £5 to £8, for a little piece of plastic that are not worth any more than 50p (if even that, considering they all look mass produced). That’s all there is to say about that. I didn’t buy one myself, I figured I’m already spending more than I would on boba, why waste anymore money.

The interior is quite nice though, really cute, very clean, and there are places to sit...

Tasty Bubble Tea But On the Pricier End.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear and see that a Kissaten had arrived in Manchester. My first experience of Kissaten was in London which is always super busy but with good reason, the bubble tea is really good. I decided to visit Manchester’s branch whilst I was visiting during a hot day.

Firstly, Manchester’s branch is much bigger than the branch in London. There is lots of space to walk around and there some seating available which doesn’t take up much space at all.

They also offer various Gachapon products in-store, one purchase is £6 each. Gachapon capsule products vary from popular shōnen to random funny items. Gachapon is basically a lucky dip for an item from a chosen selection you’re interested in purchasing.

There are a few touchscreen kiosks available to make an order, there a lot of options for drinks and you can customise your drink with various toppings.

I ordered the Large Taro Oolong Milk Tea w/ honey tapioca which costs £7.75 in total (+70p for a large and + £1.10 for honey tapioca). It’s definitely more on the expensive side for bubble tea, an additional £1.80 for a large drink with toppings or £5.95 for a regular size without toppings. Despite the cost of the drink, it’s definitely one of the best bubble tea drinks I’ve tried in the UK. The taro that is used is not just pure milk but also has the taro texture which tastes amazing, the honey tapioca is also nice and adds a bit more sweetness and chew to the whole experience.

Something that I was a bit disappointed with was the lack of service. The straws provided are recycled and when I tried to pierce the lid using the straw, the pointy straw end had broken and therefore I could no longer use the same straw to pierce the lid. At this point the store was empty, I went to the counter to replace the broken straw and because the store relies on people ordering through their kiosks there is no staff presence at the front of the store, there was no way to get the attention of the staff for help. I was waiting there for a good 5-10 minutes for somebody to come and help.

Overall, I’d recommend the store for the bubble tea despite the expensive prices but it’s unlikely that I would go as often as I do to other bubble tea stores because of the price and...

A lovely Japanese tea/bubble tea store located in the heart of Soho that has an array of traditional Japanese style teas and boba beverages for you to try

Firstly, I have to give credit to their ordering system whereby you use an iPad to take your own order and a receipt would be provided right after. Not a usual practice in other bubble tea places. The convenience of this is astounding. You can take your time with ordering exactly what you want and looking at the choices. Perfect for times when interacting with staff is difficult. In addition, it frees up time for the staff. The menu was well detailed, with prompts and advice at the sugar and ice level section

I went for the Matcha Rose Milk Tea. Instead of opting for normal tapioca, I chose Rose pearls. The pearls were very soft and chewy. One of the best I’ve had. The drink was incredibly sweet, even on 10% sugar level. It is advised that with additional toppings in drinks, you select for no sugar - something I’ll bare in mind for next time. The matcha was profoundly strong with an authentic tea taste that lingered in your tastebuds post-sip. It is nicely paired with the sweetness of the Rose milk.

It took a while for the order to come, but overall, I am satisfied with the experience. If you are a fan of Japanese tea, then this is worth trying as they have a lovely selection of...