Popular tea spot which attracted days-long queues to open second store in Manchester

A tea shop which attracted huge queues when it opened in Manchester city center a few weeks ago is set to open a second site in the coming weeks.

HEYTEA launched its first Manchester branch on Market Street opposite Piccadilly Gardens in mid-June, attracting customers with their buy one get one free offers. Now, they are preparing to open a second site in Chinatown.

The second site of the brand will be located on Princess street, at the edge of the neighborhood. It will adjoin OHAYO TEA, a Japanese-themed teahouse serving freshly brewed fruit tea and a range of bubble teas.

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Although the tea brand has not yet announced the news on its social channels, the website on Strada Prințesei already features the HEYTEA brand. In addition to posters covering the site’s windows, the logo and lettering have been affixed around the door.

Chinese tea chain HEYTEA has more than 1,000 stores in China, several in Singapore and a number of international outposts. It is known for its range of cheese teas, an iced tea topped with a frothy layer of milk, sweet or savory cream cheese and whipped cream.

Also known as milk tea or cheese mousse tea, it’s just one of the drinks the shop serves alongside bubble tea, fruit and other milk-based tea options. Fruit and bubble tea options have grown in recent years, with a variety of shops and cafes popping up across Greater Manchester.

Billing itself as the “OG of the new Asian tea”, HEYTEA started as a small tea shop in an alley called Jiangbianli in Guangdong, China, and spoke out against the way milk tea shops routinely used “cheap” ingredients ” a decade ago. HEYTEA founder Neo wanted to use fresh milk and real tea and created the first cheese tea in his kitchen.

The thinking behind this was to soften the overwhelming taste of fresh tea with a layer of fine cheese foam made with real milk and create an aftertaste that “satisfied perfectly for the young and hip crowd”. Today, this new style tea has exploded, allowing them to expand and open over 4,000 stores worldwide.

For those who haven’t tried the new tea shop yet, the brand’s flagship products include fruit tea in flavors that include Grape Boom and Mango Grapefruit Boom; light tea with milk; milk tea, consisting of successful drinks such as Brown Sugar Bobo Milk Tea; and Pure Tea, a more classic tea option.

HEYTEA has not yet confirmed the opening date of the second branch in Manchester, but it is expected to open in the next few weeks.

The new tea venue will be located at 93 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 4HT.