With a mission to discover the best ingredients the island of Taiwan has to offer, Chicha San Chen, the Taiwanese bubble tea chain known for its devoted fanbase, has been brewing tea for over 20 years. And now us New Yorkers can get a taste of them with their very first NYC location set to open today, Wednesday, May 15th in Manhattan’s Chinatown.
The chain has locations all over the world and has been awarded the equivalent of three Michelin stars by the International Taste Institute.
Because Chicha San Chen grows and hand picks their leaves in Taiwan they claim that their tea is stronger than their competitors. And this could be true, considering their devoted fans say their teas have a stronger taste.
And as for those teas they offer a ton of delicious flavors, including Green Tea, Osmanthus Oolong Tea, High Mountain Pouchong Tea, and Cassia Black Tea.
NYC’s location will also have an exclusive Tea Tasting Area where guests can savor the brand’s Lishan Oolong teas, each of which offer a unique aroma and flavor. They’ll even offer a curated 5-tea tea flight!
And this isn’t the first chain hailing from Asia making its NYC debut–HeyTea, the originator of cheese tea, opened its first NYC location in Midtown this past December and leading Japanese matcha café Nana’s Green Tea debuted its first NYC location this past April.
Chicha San Chen NYC will soft open at 72 Bayard Street, near Mott Street, on Wednesday, May 15th and Thursday, May 16th from 12 pm to 6 pm.
They’re hosting a grand opening celebration this weekend on Saturday, May 18 from 11:30 am to 8:30 pm. The first 100 customers will receive a gift with the purchase of a bubble milk tea.
There will be a limit of 2 drinks per person on Soft Opening and Grand Opening days.
You can learn more on their Instagram.