Specialty tea shops, many originating in Taiwan and China, have exploded in Australia in the last five years. What’s behind their popularity in a coffee-loving country?
Annie Hariharan
Australians in major cities will queue up to buy croissants, chicken wings and cinnamon scrolls. Now, they’re also lining up for tea. But these drinks are not your average cuppa.
People are waiting in all weather for cheese, grape or mango tea from brands such as Hey Tea, Tea White and Molly Tea. Many of these franchises originated in China and Taiwan and now have a global following. In a nation of coffee drinkers who love their local cafes, how can the Australian explosion in specialty tea shops be explained?
Australia’s tea industry is estimated to be worth $118.5 million and is projected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 10.5 per cent over the next four years. Our coffee industry is significantly larger at $3.0 billion, but growth is slower – between 6 and 7 per cent.
Robert Clifford, a hospitality consultant, believes tea’s popularity comes down to affordable luxury.
“Years ago, luxury meant buying a Mercedes. Now it is food,” he says. “If you want good coffee, you might go to Higher Ground in Melbourne. Or buy biscuits and cakes packaged in a beautiful box.” A carefully crafted tea drink from a glossy store with clout falls in the same category.
“We had to put up a poster to teach people how to drink it.”
Anthony Mu, Sharetea Australia
Are these tea drinks just jazzed-up bubble tea? Yes and no. The new crop of tea franchises often sell bubble tea, but they’re better known for more innovative specialty drinks that cater to tea connoisseurs − people who know their hojicha from their genmaicha, and prefer single-origin tea leaves over blends.
Cheese tea has become a fan favourite. HeyTea poured the first one in 2012 in Guangdong province. While the name gives the impression of a mug topped with a chunk of brie, the drink features a base of green, black or oolong tea, milk and a final layer of salted whipped cream or cream cheese. The result is an aromatic, sweetened, milky tea with a slight briny aftertaste.
Anyone used to steeping a tea bag in hot water or preparing loose-leaf chai may view these iced teas − with their fruity flavours, cream, and chewy basil seeds − as more like dessert.
Kaishan Mellis, a tea specialist and certified tea grader, has a better comparison: cocktails.
“Tea is any product that has camellia sinensis, so these infused tea drinks are tea plus flavours. [They are] the cocktails of the tea world. Just like gin where there’s regular gin and flavoured gin,” she explains.
But there’s some basis to thinking of these tea drinks as a dessert. What’s offered in Melbourne’s most popular tea shops today is similar to the soupy desserts (or tong sui) that are popular in South China.
Anthony Mu is the general manager and founder of Sharetea Australia, a local outfit with more than 140 franchised stores in the country. He spent six months designing the bespoke takeaway cup lid that seals cheese tea’s creamy top and provides the right-sized opening for a delicious mouthful of cheese, milk and tea.
“We had to put up a poster to teach people how to drink it,” he says.
Many tea brands suggest customers sip cheese tea at a 40 to 45 degree angle. Using a straw is not advised: you get all the milk and tea but not the cheese top, which defeats the purpose.
“Years ago, luxury meant buying a Mercedes. Now it is food.”
Hospitality consultant Robert Clifford
Lactose intolerant tea lovers don’t miss out on the fun. At Taning Lemontea’s three locations across Melbourne, staff pour oolong, jasmine and black tea, then add muddled lemons and ice to make a refreshing drink. Seasonal bitter melon and lemon tea caters to those who are familiar with the polarising vegetable or enjoy sour-herbal flavours.
How are these tea franchises thriving in a country where Starbucks famously could not cut through and independent cafes are struggling to turn a profit?
Clifford explains that, as much as we romanticise our “fiercely independent cafes”, the franchise model works better for those who want a foot in the hospitality industry because the supply chain, procurement and marketing components are already set. Franchisees can also keep their operating expenses down in a way that cafes cannot.
“These quick-service restaurants usually don’t have dine-in options, so the number of staff is minimal. It is also usually a kiosk so it has a low footprint, which means lower rent,” Clifford says.
While “Asian-Australians have been familiar with bubble tea for about 20 years now,” according to Mu, specialty tea fans these days can be anyone. “We cater to a wide demography, not just places with a high Asian population. For example, we just opened a kiosk in Bathurst!”
Just like that, a town of 45,000 people in regional NSW is now connected to a global drink phenomenon.
Five tea brands to try
Gotcha
Coconut milk teas are the crowd-pleaser. Stores have pastel peach splashes, light boxes and other futuristic touches.
Multiple locations in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, SA and WA, gotchafreshtea.com.au
HeyTea
Known for its cheese tea and kiosks evoking a sense of calm, expect whiffs of jasmine tea and warm wooden interiors.
Multiple locations in Sydney and Melbourne, heytea.com
Milk Flower
Mango is the signature ingredient here. Try fruity and refreshing mango ice tea or tea-free mango drinks such as Mango Milk Flower, with sago and coconut jelly.
Multiple locations in Victoria, NSW, ACT, milkflowerdrinks.com.au
Sharetea Australia
Drinks range from the simple (iced oolong or lychee-infused tea) to the more elaborate such as tiger milk tea, which features “stripes” of brown sugar syrup through matcha, Oreo or mango-spiked tea.
Multiple locations in Victoria, NSW, ACT and QLD, sharetea.com.au
Taning Lemontea
These standing room-only kiosks are known for iced lemon teas, perfect for those avoiding dairy.
Melbourne CBD; Doncaster East; Box Hill; Perth; taninglemontea.com.au
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