Yes, cheese tea exists: Here's what it tastes like and where to get it
When we heard about Little Fluffy Head’s cheese tea, we had two immediate thoughts: “Weird!” and “We need to try that.”
So on the cafe’s opening day, in the middle of a late-summer heat wave, we walked the five blocks from our office and ordered a drink—just one to share, because we weren’t feeling brave enough to commit to cheese-on-tea yet. But one sip in and we immediately regretted not ordering more. The whipped, cream cheese-based topping was not pungently cheesy as much as it was salty, savory, and satisfying against the tart sweetness of the jasmine tea. We drank every last drop, scraped every last bit of foamy cheese off the walls of the cup.
The drink, which has become feverishly popular in parts of China, Taiwan, and Malaysia, is somewhat new to Los Angeles, and definitely new to Downtown LA. We had to tell others about our discovery, which, of course, led to a taste test. Here’s what the team at HelloGiggles had to say about this tangy-sweet creation:
Christina Wolfgram, Video Producer / On-Camera Talent
“Boba tea is one of my absolute favorite treats, especially when it gets crazy hot in LA. When I heard there was cheese in this creme brulee boba drink, I was worried it would taste like a liquid Ritz cracker. One sip proved all my fears wrong, though. This concoction is sweet and milky and oh so decadent. I guess I like cheese with my boba – who knew?!”
Mia Nakaji Monnier, Copy Editor
“I tried my first Little Fluffy Head tea hoping for a fun new flavor experience. I didn’t really expect it to taste good, even though I’m a big tea person and love all forms of dairy more than my lactose-intolerant body wishes I did. But the unlikely combination completely won me over. The ‘cheese’ here is more like savory whipped cream, and I like it even more than the typical sweet version.”
Nicole Adlman, Senior Editor
“Something about a drink named Dirty Mess spoke to me on a cellular level. So I ordered it, tentative, expecting to be overwhelmed by Oreo flavor, or creme brûlée topping, or both. Instead, my first sip was mostly the black milk tea, sweet but not cloyingly so. I spun my straw around to mix in more of the creme brûlée topping, which added a salty-sweet element made richer by the Oreo crumbles embedded in it. Was it good? Yes. I slightly prefer the classic jasmine tea with the whipped cream cheese topping, but this is good for an after-lunch dessert drink on a warm September day.”
Keri Pina, Editorial Video Producer
“I love tea and I love cheese. I really wanted to like this drink, but I really really didn’t. I don’t love boba to begin with, the texture is just not for me. But even without the boba, the taste of the tea was just… not great. Maybe it’s an acquired taste?”
Sade Deanne Akenzua, Associate Video Producer
“My first thought while tasting the drink was, ‘Wow, this is really creamy and strong.’ The drink had the smell of Oreos, but tasted like a really sweet black tea, with the consistency of a milkshake. If you don’t like sweet things, I wouldn’t recommend this drink. Overall it wasn’t too bad for someone like me, who occasionally enjoys sweet desserts. I probably wouldn’t order this as my first choice, but it definitely was a nice treat!”
Gina Vaynshteyn, Editorial Director
“This tastes like iced jasmine tea (very distinctly so), but slightly creamier. I couldn’t even tell this was made with cheese product, TBH.”
Missy Dawes, Editorial Video Producer
“I usually like my tea pretty sweet, so I was unsure about adding in a potentially salty flavor. The particular tea I tried didn’t taste too crazy. The cheese flavor wasn’t overwhelming, but I did feel like I had accidentally grabbed the salt instead of the sugar when sweetening my tea or something. For me, I didn’t get the refreshing taste I look for when drinking tea, but I love cheese so much that I wouldn’t be opposed to trying it again.”
Alyssa Morin, Associate Beauty Editor
“I’m from the South, so I love tea (it’s like my weakness). I tried the Peach Oolong tea, which has whipped cream cheese foam at the top. While I loved the peach-flavor from the tea, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the cheese foam. It’s not that it was bad, but my mind just could separate the taste from the ingredient. So it was more of a mental thing for me. Like, the peach-flavored part of the drink was UH-mazing, but I just couldn’t get the cheese part out of my head. So I sort of have a love/hate relationship with this tea.”
Gretchen Cathcart, Editorial Video
“I was very skeptical of the idea of cheese tea but I went for the peach tea because it looked more like butterbeer than a cheesy beverage. The cheese was in the foam and it was light and just a bit savory which counterbalanced the sweetness of the peach iced tea, so I was pleasantly surprised.”
Rachel Sanoff, Features Editor
“I am now forever intrigued by this Camouflage Matcha drink, in a good way though. I just literally don’t understand it, in a good way though. The base of the drink is an iced matcha latte, and as the menu describes, it has ‘creme brûlée cream swirled around the cup and mixed inside the latte.’ Matcha and creme brûlée are two of my most appreciated ingredients, but I was hesitant to taste how the cheese played into all of it. But then I drank it, and it was the creamiest Matcha latte I’ve ever had. Like, so delicious. I didn’t taste any cheese, which actually was slightly disappointing because I figure that’s part of the experience—but who cares because it was so good. Also shout out to the drink’s ~fun~ color palette of green and yellow.”
For more about Little Fluffy Head and the origin of their wonderfully quixotic cheese tea, visit their website and Instagram.
