[Seoul - Coex] Gongcha - My go-to grapefruit green tea ade

So, I'm sure everyone is familiar with Gong cha, the bubble tea shop seemingly on every street corner and in between in Korea.

What's your go-to order?

I used to always get the Milk Foam Winter Melon Tea, but I have changed up my preference a bit over the years. Although the milk tea is always a good bet, too, I have recently started to get green tea ades.

I usually get the grapefruit green tea ade with 10% sweetness and no ice and I add the "topping" of coconut jelly just to add some texture to the drink and also some fun to drinking it.

Even though the menu is all in Korean, the workers will ask you some questions and may not ask you in English, so the first question will be about sugar level (dangdo). I definitely recommend you don't go with the botong level of sweetness (that's the 100% standard one), because it'll basically taste like you're drinking syrup. I typically go with 10% (ship pro) sugar, but that's because I don't really like sweet beverages. Additionally, I get the sweetness in my drink from the coconut jelly.

They'll then also ask you about eolum (ice). I usually go with none/not much (eollum byeollo eobseoyo). I don't like ice, either. If you go with the "not much" level, it'll just be enough ice to melt to no ice after they add the warm-ish tea/beverage.

If you do want a "topping" make sure you tell the worker you want a topping right away before they ask you about sweetness and ice. The options are tapioca pearls, coconut jelly, and the milk foam.

If you do go for a milk tea and you've never tried the milk foam before, I definitely recommend that! The foam is slightly salted, so it really accentuates the hidden flavors of the tea and the milk. Otherwise, just go for the typical bubbles and you can't go wrong.

I prefer the coconut jelly when I get a smoothie or green tea ade, basically any of the fruit-based drinks. Plus, they're just so fun to drink...it's a game to try and suck up all of the jellies before you finish your drink.

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