Taste Test: Does ZUS Coffee Have Good Cups of Joe?

(SPOT.ph) When you're looking to keep a loyal client base for a coffee shop, you either have to be remarkably good with factors, including (not limited to) having freshly-roasted beans, the best brewing machines, and, of course, the skilled baristas to make the drink. It's all of those, or you have some mid or average coffee that isn't heavy on the wallet so you can have a cup every day without completely depleting your savings. But in rare instances, by some miracle, some coffee can be both exceptional and economical. 

Rumor has it that newcomer ZUS Coffee is both, so, of course, we had to taste it for this edition of SPOT.ph Taste Test to see if it's all worth the caffeine buzz. 

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What is ZUS Coffee:

ZUS Coffee is a coffee chain based in Malaysia, known for its high-quality coffee and innovative business model. Founded in 2019, ZUS Coffee is rapidly expanding its presence in the Philippines with 16 branches as of writing—and surely, more to come soon. 

With the tagline "A Necessity, Not a Luxury," the coffee chain focuses on making coffee (a Necessity in our book) affordable. On the menu, the coffee can go for as low as P60 which is the Americano, while the most expensive is the coffee-based frappe Triple Java Jelly priced at P160. What we're reviewing are the most coveted ZUS Coffee drinks online—even in the physical world as the cashier who assisted us recommended these two drinks too: The Zus Gula Melaka (P95) and the Velvet Creme Latte (P120), both iced versions because, well, Philippines.

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What does ZUS Coffee's coffee taste like?

We're usually skeptical and raise an eyebrow when a certain item gets an extraordinary (or abnormal) amount of positive comments online because "I think I've seen this film before," and to say that we were underwhelmed, or that our expectations weren't met, are understatements we've experienced one too many times. Fortunately, that's not at all the case for ZUS Coffee's iced Velvet Creme Latte.

The reason for this is that for a 120-peso drink, the quality feels like you're buying from a fancier coffee shop selling the same drink that's P50 or P100 more expensive. It's milky and creamy with a caramel sweetness to it, which can be attributed to its "velvety cloud of crème brûlée" topping—as per its official website description. 

On the other hand, the Zus Gulak Melaka is not as milky, but it is sweeter and nuttier. The apparent darker shade of coffee comes from the added gulak melaka syrup—a kind of palm sugar from Malacca, Malaysia—that adds this smoky, toffee-like sweetness. The syrup tends to settle in the bottom no matter how much we mix it in, so if you're getting the iced version as we did, you should stir the syrup in between sips. 

ZUS Coffee's pastries and desserts are also attracting attention. What we paired with the two drinks were their pizza breads: Pepperoni Pizza Bread (P115) and Four Cheese Pizza Bread (P115). We found the bread inconsistent—the Pepperoni had a softer bread base while the Four Cheese was tougher to chew.

When it comes to the bread toppings, the Four Cheese felt lacking. Were there actually four kinds of cheeses as the name suggests? It felt like there were only two kinds, and then they sprinkled some spices (Italian, we're guessing) on top that we liked, but it didn't help because it further masked the cheesiness. What we enjoyed better was the Pepperoni Pizza Bread which, still, could be cheesier, but had smoky pepperoni half-moon bits, sweet-tart minced veggies, and softer bread that we appreciate.

What won us over was the Chocolate Yakigashi (P90). It is expensive for a solo serving of a chocolate cake but it was simple, devilishly moist, and fudgy that it melts in the mouth. It's the kind you'd pair with a less milky brew like the Zus Gula Melaka, it's also the kind you won't regret ordering a second slice to take home.

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The final verdict: 

Is  ZUS Coffee worth all this hullabaloo? TL;DR: Yes. What's great about ZUS Signature drinks (the Velvet Creme Latte and Zus Gula Melaka) is that you can still taste the coffee despite the dairy and sweeteners added. Certain coffee shops, based on our observation, would sell coffee with the same price points but would add more milk, water, and ice for the sake of having a full cup of "coffee" but then you wouldn't be able to notice the coffee any longer.

Thankfully, ZUS Coffee's drinks aren't anything like that, and hopefully, the quality remains the same, if not better—especially the pizza breads which leave room for improvement. This Malaysian coffee chain is a strong contender for good, cheap, and accessible coffee in the Metro, giving fast food, convenience stores, and other coffee startups, a run for their money. 

Fun fact, an IYKYK: Who doesn't want to save more money? ZUS Coffee has promos where you can get more coffee and save money—a win-win. There's a B1T1 promo on their drinks for first-time users of their mobile application. On Tuesdays, they have a buy three, get one free promo on their handcrafted drinks when you order using the ZUS Coffee mobile application.

See a list of ZUS Coffee branches. You can also download the ZUS Coffee mobile application for iOS and Android users. For more information, check out ZUS Coffee's Facebook page.

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