Chun Yang Tea, a company specializing in tea from Taiwan, will open on Vernon Boulevard later this month (Photo taken by Michael Dorgan on Oct. 11, 2021)
Nov. 5, 2021 By Michael Dorgan
A company that specializes in tea from Taiwan is coming to Long Island City.
Chun Yang Tea, which was established in Flushing in 2019, is expected to open at 49-10 Vernon Blvd. just before Thanksgiving. The company is moving into a space previously occupied by the ice-cream store Something Sweet—which closed in March.
The new store will be the company’s fifth and its second in Queens. The owners also have locations in Manhattan, Staten Island and Brooklyn.
The new Long Island City store will be like its other operations—offering customers a range of teas and bubble teas that are made using ingredients that are sourced from Taiwan, according to Ailun Wang, 31, who owns the company along with three other business partners.
“Oolong tea is our main tea base and we use it to make different kinds of drink flavors,” Wang said.
Customers at the stores typically pick a drink flavor and then add toppings like Aiyu jelly, oats, pudding, red beans or chewy tapioca balls known as bubbles, Wang said.
The honey osmanthus oolong tea is the company’s best-seller and it is served hot or cold, he said.
The new store will also serve a variety of fruit-based teas, milk-based teas and green teas. The company offers seasonal selections such as ice-cream flavored teas in the summer.
The new store will serve a range of different teas (Photo via Facebook)
The owners are looking to capitalize on an ever-growing demand for Taiwanese tea.
Wang, a Flushing resident who is originally from Hong Kong, said that the teas – particularly bubble teas – are becoming more mainstream and are consumed by people of all backgrounds.
He said that Long Island City, however, does have a growing Asian community—as reported in the NY Times—that is good for business.
“There are major developments being constructed in Long Island City and we see a huge opportunity to expand into the neighborhood,” Wang said.
The company is currently renovating the 650 square foot space and aims to provide seating for eight people when it opens. The store, however, will focus primarily on take-out orders, Wang said.
Opening hours will be from noon to 9 p.m. Mondays through Sundays.
LICTalk was the first to report on the opening.
The new location will add to the list of Asian-inspired tea stores to open in Long Island City.
Teazzi Tea Shop, which specializes in bubble teas, opened in April on the ground floor of the Hayden residential building—a 51-story complex in Court Square located at 43-21 Hunter St.
Meanwhile, Möge Tee, a global bubble tea chain, opened in June on the ground floor of The View at East Coast condominium building – a 184 unit complex located at 46-30 Center Blvd. The chain also has a store at 42-38 Crescent St. in Long Island City.
Chun Yang Tea’s new LIC location will also serve a variety of fruit-based teas, milk-based teas and green teas (Photo via Facebook)
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