The brown sugar pearl milk craze continues as another famous Taiwanese brand arrives in Metro Vancouver.
Founded in 1999, Jenjudan 珍煮丹 originated from Taipei’s Shilin Night Market and is best known for their brown sugar pearl milk drinks – a blend of fresh milk, brown sugar syrup and tapioca pearls.
Jenjudan slow cooks the brown sugar at 120 to 160 Celsius until they are a fine grain size. Tapioca pearls are then stir-fried in brown sugar for an added charcoal flavour.
Jenjudan Metro Vancouver Locations
The brand has four new outposts in Metro Vancouver: one at 1210 Robson Street (West End), 290 Robson Street (Stadium District), one at 3490 Kingsway (coming soon) and at 125-5999 Cooney Road in Richmond (coming soon).
The brand also has international locations in China, Singapore, Macau, and Hong Kong.
Jenjudan at 1210 Robson Street
The Jenjudan location at 1210 Robson Street takes over the space formerly occupied by L’Eclair de Genie. I visited the shop on the first day of opening and it was busy.
Customers can observe the brown sugar pearls being cooked and scooped into cups at the counter. It was fun watching the gooey, sticky pearls scooped up and placed into the cup.
The space features some seating area along the side. The back area appears to be reserved as a working space for staff.
I thought the staff did really well in terms of taking orders, explaining the menu and creating the drinks in a timely manner despite it being just the first day of operations.
Jenjudan Robson Menu
Jenjudan’s menu is divided into different series: Brown Sugar Milk, Brown Sugar Tea Latte, Fresh Fruit Tea, Original Taiwanese Flavours, Latte Macchiato, Lemonade, Specials and Single Origin Teas. The drinks range from $5 – $7.
From November to March, they also have a Winter Special offer of Brown Sugar Longan Ginger Tea and Brown Sugar Longan Ginger Latte.
Choices for toppings include Black Pearls, Grass Jelly, Nata de Coco, Pudding and Red Bean.
Drinks can be customizable for sweetness and sugar level.
Top 12 Jenjudan 珍煮丹 Drinks [General]
Here are the top Jenjudan drinks that have been posted on the exterior of the shop. However, it seems this is just a general list because not all are available at the 1210 Robson location. Scroll below to see the list of signature drinks that ARE on the Robson menu.
- Brown Sugar Boba Thai Milk Tea
- Brown Sugar Boba Milk
- Chocolate Boba with Latte
- Grandma’s Brown Sugar Plum Tea
- Red Bean Brown Sugar Milk
- Brown Sugar Winter Melon Lemon Tea
- Grass Jelly Brown Sugar Milk
- Green Tea with Passion Fruit & Boba & Coco Jelly
- Jasmine Green Tea with Cream
- Lemon Celadon Tea
- Honey Chrysanthenum Tea
- Uji Matcha with Red Bean
Jenjudan Vancouver Robson Signature Drinks
Here is a list of signature drinks that are identified on the Robson Street location menu:
- Brown Sugar Pearl Milk
- Passionfruit Green Tea with Nata de Coco & Black Pearls
- Celadon Green Tea Latte
- Brown Sugar Pearl Lemonade
- Thai Brown Sugar Pearl Milk Tea
- Brown Sugar Earl Grey
What I Tried
I went with a few of their signature drinks: Brown Sugar Pearl Milk, Thai Brown Sugar Pearl Milk Tea, Grass Jelly Brown Sugar Milk, Red Bean Brown Sugar Milk and Passionfruit Green Tea with Nata de Coco & Black Pearls.
For brown sugar pearl milk drinks, they seemed less rich, strong and full-flavoured than other places I have tried. That isn’t bad if you prefer something less intense. The pearls were on point being soft and chewy.
I enjoyed the Thai Brown Sugar Pearl Milk Tea the most which is a surprise to me as traditional Thai milk teas are usually overly sweet for me. This one was more mellow and much more drinkable.
The Nata de Coco toppings were also nicely soft and chewy.
The red bean toppings were tender, well-cooked and had the right amount of sweetness.
The grass jelly had a nice, smooth and bouncy texture and did not have a strong herbal taste.
Here’s a look at my bill for reference:
Overall Impression
The drinks were all pretty good if you prefer bubble tea that is not overly rich and more mellow. I’d be interested to go back and try more of their drinks. Rating: 4/5
Jenjudan BC
1210 Robson Street, Vancouver
290 Robson Street, Vancouver
3490 Kingsway, Vancouver (coming soon)
125-5999 Cooney Road, Richmond (coming soon)
www.instagram.com/jenjudan_canada/
This post was originally published in July 2019 and updated October 2019.
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