"Pret" is one of London's ubiquitous eatery chains. It sells coffees, sandwiches, salads, pastries, to take-away or eat-in quickly. The food is fresh, decent quality. And not cheap.
So when matcha latte was introduced during my stay, I was quite excited. In general, the UK does not do Japanese foody things well, and has a tendency to completely misunderstand them. Which is how the strange output of places like Wagamama still get accepted as Japanese food!
But accessible matcha in a fairly classy place like Pret seemed worth a try. And in the absence of an Asian Tsujiri or Nana's on my way to work, this could prove a boon.
But no.
Fashionably rancid
OK, on my first try, and despite the fact nearly all matcha latte in Asia is made with regular milk, I didn't specify regular milk. And so was automatically (inexplicably) given a Western-healthy, vegan, matcha made with a bizarre trend here: coconut-rice milk. Good grief! Revolting is not the word! A truly rancid concoction. And, despite its high price (around £2.50/S$4.50/$3.40 for a small cup) this green tea approximation had to go in the bin!
Unperturbed, I went back the next day and requested another one with normal cow's milk. And though 100% better than the awful coconut one, it was still revolting. Bitter, yes. But nothing creamy or dreamy going on at all. It was grim; tasting as if very old, fungal-infected green tea powder had been used instead of fresh stuff.
No wonder so many British pals had been suspicious of my matcha obsession! If this weirdness is what's served up in the UK, they have every right to be turned-off!
So, definitely save your pounds and avoid. Pret does good coffee and Western things. But it's up there with Itsu and Wagamama for the 'Japanese' stuff!
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| Advertised with pride! OMG :/ |
For more matcha reviews, click the Matcha Addiction label :)
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