MANILA -- It seems that milk and fruit tea shops are everywhere. Though there is very little that differentiates each shop from the other, different brands seem to be popping up every day.

Then there’s Presotea, the newest milk tea franchise from Taiwan, which recently opened its first in-line store at the Annex of SM City North EDSA.

Claudine Roura, one of the co-owners of the Philippine master franchise of Presotea, was apprehensive when they were presented with the business. She went to Taiwan with her family and partners to try Presotea first-hand.

Presotea is owned by Good Young Co. Ltd., one of Taiwan’s biggest tea producers and retailers. In Taiwan, they sell tea everywhere from restaurants to the supermarkets. For Presotea, they make special tea blends and package them in special tea bags that work with the special way the brand brews its teas on-demand.

What makes Presotea stand out are the specially customized espresso machines that are used to pull the tea under pressure. The result is tea with bolder and stronger flavors that’s brewed fresh every time a specialty beverage is ordered. Surprisingly, the process does not add a significant delay to the preparation of drinks so customers can get their orders pretty fast.

Having a giant tea company as the mother company gives Presotea access to different kinds of tea.

“If you see other shops, they just sell black and green tea. At Presotea, the flavor really comes from the tea. For example, we have our Peach Tea. If you really smell the tea bag, it’s really peach because of the flavor of the tea. We also have the Japanese genmaicha, which is our one of our top sellers, that is like Japanese roasted rice tea. At present, we have nine different varieties of tea,” said Roura.

Presotea prides itself in using matching the teas to the right preparations. For example, not all of the teas have a milk/latte variety. Their best sellers are the Japanese Genmaicha, Royal Earl Grey and their Signature Roasted Ooolong tea.

As expected, they offer pearls, boba, pudding, black gulaman/jelly, aloe vera and other “sinkers” to go with their drinks. The PPJ (pearls, pudding, and jelly) Milk tea is a recommended for those who want to sample the basic sinkers. For those looking for something a little different, Presotea’s Japanese Milk Tea Macchiato with Red Beans is a best-seller and is worth a try.

For the fresh teas, Roura recommends the A-li Shan Tea, her personal favorite. Tea aficionados will like this high mountain tea for its green, herby refreshing taste. The fruit teas are made with dried fruits to make the tea base. Roura singles out the blueberry tea as another favorite.

Besides being a tea entrepreneur, Roura is also a doctor. Her background gives her an appreciation to the health benefits of freshly brewed tea.

“Compared to coffee, tea, in general, has less caffeine but more antioxidants than coffee. Especially if it’s fresh, the antioxidants are more effective. If you let tea stay out too long, the flavor disappears. That’s why we make our tea fresh, to preserve the flavor, the ingredients and the health benefits.,” Roura explained.

With unique teas, unusual preparation, stand-out tea flavors, Presotea is sure to pressure the competition to up their tea game.

The Presotea in-line store can be found at the 2nd Level of the Annex, SM City North EDSA, while Presotea kiosks can be found at Robinsons Magnolia, SM Cherry Shaw, and SM Marikina.