If you haven’t heard of Far East Alchemy milk tea protein … boy are you missing out. An Aussie brand by founders Ophie Ho (a regular contributor here at MealPrep) and Alric Wu, Far East Alchemy was born in 2020 when Ophie and Alric decided they wanted to create a brand that brought something fresh into the sports supplement industry. And so, they created a boba store for fitness enthusiasts where everything was actually healthy but tasted just as good if not better!
And the good news is preorders of Far East Alchemy’s latest range has just DROPPED. Ophie and Alric spent the last 6 months on hiatus working on our business strategy and reformulating their products, and have relaunched their entire whey protein range of flavours with new recipes as well as two new flavours:
The Protein Milk Tea Range:
- Brown Sugar Milk Tea
- Taro Milk Tea
- Matcha Latte
- Thai Milk Tea (🚨NEW)
- Durian Milk Tea (🚨NEW)
If you want to try this sick new range for yourself, use the special discount code MEALPREP10 for 10% off that can be used unlimited times until 11:59pm AEDT 25 October 2022.
The Tea: Q&A With The Founders Ophie Ho & Alric Wu
In honour of some spectacularly delicious goods hitting the online store soon, we wanted to have a chat with Ophie and Alric to see how Far East Alchemy has been going over the last 2 years.
How’s the last 2 years been for Far East Alchemy?
We launched back in June 2020 as one of the very first brands globally to offer boba tea ranges of protein, and the first 6 months of operation were amazing! We had a consistent flow of stock and were able to scale quickly during this period of time.
After that, unfortunately, we ran into a lot of COVID-related supply chain and manufacturing issues, which created long periods of inventory shortages and major delays (sometimes months) in orders. Throughout this time, we experienced challenges with inconsistent ingredient quality and major price hikes due to the reduced global supply, with lead times suffering greatly. The challenges we faced here hit us hard, which caused us to completely rethink our business strategy as a whole.
We’ve spent the last 6 months on hiatus working on our business strategy and reformulating our products completely. We’re proud to have relaunched our entire whey protein range of flavours with new recipes (Brown Sugar Milk Tea, Taro Milk Tea and Matcha Latte) as well as launching two new flavours: Thai Milk Tea and a limited edition Durian Milk Tea protein flavour.
What’s been the most popular flavour to date?
One of our original ranges of protein flavours, Taro Milk Tea and Brown Sugar Milk Tea were very closely tied, with Taro Milk Tea having just a slight edge. Out of our newly reworked flavours, Thai Milk Tea has been at the front of the pack.
What’s your favourite flavour of the new range, and which do you reckon will be the fan fave?
This is a tough one because taste is so subjective! Everyone has a completely different go-to bubble tea order, with their own preferences in sweetness and creaminess level so it’s hard to say what will be the fan fave.
Though Thai Milk Tea is winning the popularity contest for now as it’s a brand new flavour, our updated Brown Sugar Milk Tea formula is something very special – it has a smell and taste much like freshly cooked brown sugar pearls! This is Ophie’s personal favourite and has a special place in her heart because her go-to boba order is a Signature Milk Tea with pearls from Xin Fu Tang. Alric’s current flavour is the Durian Milk Tea, and he doesn’t normally like durian at all! It’s got a perfect balance of flavour that brings out the best in what durian has to offer without smelling offensive, making it perfect for anyone too shy or afraid to eat the actual fruit!
Any plans to offer plant-based protein in the future for the vegans out there?
(We know your new proteins have a lactase enzyme to help break down the whey in the blend – very cool!)
Yes! Developing a plant-based protein has always been in the works from the very beginning. It has always been challenging to replicate the flavours in plant-based protein due to the inherent aftertaste many of these ingredients have. We’ve come across some exciting stuff recently which makes a plant-based protein seem like a real possibility in 2023. Keep an eye out!
What makes you stand out from other protein brands?
One of our primary differences is that our protein is not only flavoured differently, but it’s created using only the finest ingredients possible in an effort to recreate the authentic boba experience that’s healthy and also appeals to our boba aficionados. For instance, our Matcha Latte now uses a whopping 4 grams (per serve) of ceremonial grade matcha straight from Shizuoka, Japan, to create an even more authentic taste experience. In addition, we’re using the best grass fed Australian whey in our formulations in an effort to ensure you get the best the industry has to offer, whilst also supporting our local dairy farmers, who produce some of the best dairy in the world.
As a brand, we place a strong emphasis on our community. This relaunch and the changes in our products were based completely on our customer feedback, with the sole intention of creating a community-focused brand that our customers can have a direct hand in building themselves. For instance, we recently sent out a large number of pre-production samples to our VIPs for feedback prior to our launch, so that we could ensure we were delivering what our community wanted and had been asking for.
Finally, the name Far East Alchemy was based on the idea of continuous improvement, innovation and striving for perfection. Though we’re a young brand, we’re always looking for ways to challenge what the industry has to offer, with the plan to bring much more than just awesome flavours of protein to the table.
Any plans to expand to things like protein bars or supplements?
There are so many more exciting things we have lined up in the pipeline that are not limited to protein shakes! We absolutely intend on expanding our range to more functional foods and supplements as soon as we can. In fact, we’re very close to finishing work on the formula for a new product line we intend to launch in the new year, though that’s super secret for now!
Stay tuned for what’s to come in 2023 – it’s going to be a big year!
How To Enjoy HOT Milk Tea Protein
Step 1:
👉 Visit Far East Alchemy and use MEALPREP10 to save 10% off your favourite milk tea protein.
Step 2:
Measure 250ml of milk in a microwave safe mug, then heat in microwave for 1-2 minutes
Step 3:
In a shaker, add 100ml room temperature water with 1 scoop of protein powder until mixed (about 15-20 seconds) 💡 Mixing with room temp water first allows the protein powder to have a smooth consistency, as mixing directly with hot temps will cause it to clump!
Step 4:
Pour your shaken protein into the heated milk then stir to combine and ENJOY! 🔥💜
