5t Ice

As I opened the door of the restaurant, the sweet aroma from the sizzling, hot tea with pupil-like, tapioca balls danced through the air straight to my nose.

Oh how the scent was deceiving. I took my first step into 5T Ice, and it seemed like I walked into some barren, remote land. There was no one in sight even though it was rush-hour on a Saturday. It was a brand new restaurant with no customers except my friend waiting there with the same confused look on her face as me. We both went up to order a Matcha Milk Tea and a Strawberry Slush with boba, however, to our surprise, the cashier could not comprehend what we were saying. We had to point out the number on the menu to let her know what drink we wanted.

To explain whether or not we wanted boba, we had no other option but to do expressive movements; we don’t know how effective they truly were and probably looked like monkeys on the security camera, but we hoped the cashier finally understood what we were trying to order.

The cashier flipped her computer to show us that the total for two small drinks was close to $10! Our mouths dropped to the floor, and my moms dropped even further. Our expectations skyrocketed, and we prayed that these drinks tasted as scrumptious as hot cocoa with melted marshmallows on Christmas morning.

Fifteen long minutes later, the same cashier, unfortunately the only person working there, called us over to pick up our drinks from the counter next to the cash register. Craving to finally drink the tea, we hastily walked over to pick up our drinks when we noticed, from the corner of our eye, a thick layer of dust.

My friend and I looked at each other, looked back at the dust, and then looked at the drinks. At that point, we weren’t sure if it was worth drinking.

Our growling stomachs urged us to live on the edge a little and try a sip. I wearily reached for the Strawberry Slush and placed the fat, plastic straw in my mouth. As soon as the slush hit my sensitive taste buds on my tongue, I cringed. I felt like I was pouring a pixie stick down my throat, overdosing on sugar. There was no strawberry-flavor even present; it tasted acutely artificial.

After my friend took a sip, she looked like the nauseated face emoji. Coincidentally, her drink was green too. She described the taste as bitter grass with a sprinkle of sugar, which did not sound appealing enough for me to try it.

As soon as I got in the car to get home, my stomach started growling again. This time it felt different because I wasn’t hungry anymore. The feeling was more painful. Involuntarily, my hands reached to grab my stomach. I had to lie down in the car ride and took medicine when I got home.

My stomach was upset with me and I was upset at the drink. Sadly, they both rejected me.

I went there because of the stellar reviews and ratings; 5T Ice has an overall of a 4 star rating and opened up recently at a location near me. Other bubble tea places, such as Kung Fu Tea and Teahouse are not only cheaper, but of higher quality. Some people may enjoy going to 5T Ice because of the decor and vibrant colors. It is also nearby and offers other types of food such as shaved ice, frozen yogurt, and sandwiches. However, I don’t plan on giving this place another chance.

I believe this restaurant has fake fans. Realistically, the prices are too inflated, and the quality is not only unhygienic but tastes atrocious. I would rather travel five minutes further to spend three dollars less on a drink the same size with better taste. When I go to Kung Fu Tea and Teahouse, my stomach is content, which means I am content.

The cons outweigh the pros at 5T ice, and I would not recommend going there. It’s hard for me to believe some of the reviews to the point where I think the manager wrote them. I would choose quality over travel time any day.

5T Ice

24555 Dulles Landing Dr.

Dulles, VA, 20166

Works Cited

R., Clara, et al. “5t Ice - Sterling, VA.” Yelp, 19 July 2019, www.yelp.com/biz/5t-ice-sterling-2.