I am a dairy lover! I am the type of person who can order a cold glass of fresh milk in Starbucks while my friends are enjoying their Frappuccinos or Macchiatos. I mean who can even resist an extra dose of whipped or butter cream, a slice of good old authentic Camembert cheese, a chocolate-malteser milkshake with a scoop of dairy ice cream or even a bag of authentic pastillas de leche from Laguna or Isabela? Oh well unless you are lactose-intolerant, which thankfully I am not, you know that the world is a slightly better place because of the diversity of dairy products available in the market!
Now, imagine my excitement when I first learned that a homemade “artisanal” fresh-milk drink is available in Angono and Taytay Rizal! To top it all off, this Korean-inspired milk drink has fresh fruits and boba pearls! Wait… fresh milk + fresh fruits + boba pearl? What could possibly go wrong, right?
Enter Drink Studio, a newly opened beverage shop that serves the best homemade fresh-milk drink in Angono and Taytay, and I think even in the entire Rizal!
Drink Studio offers four flavors- Strawberry, Banana, Blueberry and Mango. I had the chance to taste their Mango and Blueberry flavors, and oh man, it exceeded my expectation! My milk cravings were completely satisfied!
Before we proceed with the taste, let’s first appreciate the look and feel of the product. In fact, I like the bottle they use because it reminds me of an up-sized version of Yakult. It looks very fine and chic, not to mention, it is huge! The serving size of 500 ml per bottle is just right.
Now for the taste, at first I was hesitant because I am particular with the quality of fresh milk. I know when the milk is organic, less or full fat, whole milk, powder or skim milk. But their drinks did not disappoint! On the first sip, I readily noticed the fresh milk and it tasted like your good cold glass of fresh milk in the morning! It is creamy with slight hint of vanilla and skim milk but very refreshing and easy to drink! In fact, the fresh milk is very light, I think it is best paired with a slab of bacon and buttery pancake in your breakfast table.
As a milk lover, I am already sold with just the fresh milk. But the fresh fruit along with the boba pearls are revelations! The puree is an explosion of fruity flavor with sweetness that does not overpower but compliment the fresh milk.
And I love how the fresh fruit is not mixed but merely suspended at the bottom of the drink so that you will have the liberty to either sip fast or slow on the sweet fruit concentrates or just enjoy the fresh bland taste of the milk.
There is no hint of artificial chemicals in the fruit puree they incorporated. Mango and milk are perfect combination! It tastes just like your homemade mango shake with generous amount of fresh milk without the crushed ice of course! In fact, their Mango milk-drink almost tastes like your favorite mango ice cream perhaps due to the creaminess of both the fresh-milk and the mango. But definitely not too sweet at all! The same goes with the blueberry drink. The blueberry is not too sour but it perfectly compliments the creaminess of the fresh-milk which reminds me of blueberry cheesecake!
Now I am excited to try their Strawberry and Banana milk-drinks!
The good news is that although the drinks have artisanal feel to it, still, the price is cheap and competitive. One hundred pesos for a 500ml fresh milk with fresh fruits and boba pearls is good value for your money. Not to mention that the drink is healthier than highly sweetened milk tea!
Fresh-milk and Angono evoke a sense of nostalgia of the good old days when the Municipality was still teeming with pasture lands as depicted by Botong Francisco and other Angono artists in their paintings. In fact, I asked Jelo, one of the owners, where they sourced their fresh milk— I was secretly wishing that it comes from small organic dairy farms along Manila East Road or Marilaque Highway in Tanay Rizal and Laguna— but he said they have their own supplier. Well I understand this because the grassy taste of an organic fresh cow’s milk is not for everyone! But at least they find a reliable supplier!
This drink is definitely recommended to all milk lovers out there and those looking for a healthier alternative to milk tea or coffee drinks!
You can buy these delicious drinks from. Drink Studio’s instagram and Facebook accounts.