By Catherine Cranston
Located in Sydney’s inner west, the unlikely suburb of Burwood has been named the coolest neighbourhood in Australia, according to Time Out’s annual vote.
It’s also the home to 17 bubble tea shops along Burwood Road, making it one of the must-try items when visiting the Inner West suburb.
Rarely seen without a tea in my hand, I embarked on a tea crawl through Burwood to find what was the hottest drink in the coolest suburb.
First stop on Burwood Road was Tea Spot to try their Longjing Lemon Mandarin Fruit Tea ($9.90), which comes topped with coconut jelly and two slices of fresh lemon. It was refreshing and fruity.
Brewed fresh, the tea had a strong citrus taste, leaning towards mandarin flavour making it a delightful contrast of flavours.
Would I have it again? The coconut jelly was nice, but next time I’d try something different.
Cotd Café, a small shop in an arcade off the main road, specialises in matcha teas, coffee and cake. I ordered a Jasmine Matcha Latte ($9) made with cold-brew jasmine tea, ceremonial matcha and milk. It was perfection.
The jasmine tea perfectly offset the slightly bitter matcha – and no sugar to distract from it. I felt calmer just from drinking it and would highly recommend.
Hey Tea was my third stop, the Kale Health Tea had me intrigued, but I chose the Coconut Mango Boom ($9.90) with sago topping included.
This drink took me straight to summer, it was tropical, rich and milky. It felt more like a dessert than a drink and the sago was a nice addition.
It isn’t an everyday drink, so I’d save this for when I craved a sweet treat.
Finally, I headed to Tea & Co, where they brew their tea fresh for every order. I couldn’t resist trying two drinks there: a Golden Diamond Pineapple Passionfruit Four Seasons Spring Oolong ($9.20), with jasmine green tea jelly, and an Orange Americano ($7.50), a mix of black coffee and orange juice.
The tea was luscious; a tropical tea drink and the jelly complemented it perfectly. The coffee was okay; it reminded me of dark chocolate with orange and gave a hardy caffeine kick.
The winners on the day were Cotd Cafe and Tea & Co for their fresh flavours.
Next time you are in the mood for tea, why not head to Burwood, and spend the afternoon going on your own tea crawl.
Featured image: A giant panda with a bubble tea greets visitors to Burwood Chinatown. Photo: Catherine Cranston
