Made with a base of green or black tea, or a combination of the two, newly popular and very innovative, cheese tea offers competition to bubble tea. The drink originated in Taiwan, however, is recently trending across Asia and into America and the UK. Cheese tea combines the health benefits of tea and dairy – in cheese form as opposed to milk. To make the beverage, cheese is whipped to form a froth and is poured over cold tea – topped with rock salt.
Tea franchises including Gong Cha – which sells the cheese tea in Asia - were hesitant at first about introducing the beverage in the US, concerned about the appeal it may or may not have.
“Last year they introduced cheese-flavoured milk foam, so it’s saltier and cheesier, and they only carry it [in Asia], probably because we weren’t sure how it would go over with the American market,” said Anchal Lamba, president of Gong Cha USA.
The drink was originally created in Taiwan in around 2010 with vendors mixed powdered cheese and salt with cream and milk to give teas a foamier and tangier top layer. The cheese tea trend has now taken off around the world with new stores opening across the US and UK – often attracting lines that wind around blocks. Many cafés serving the beverage have also grown in popularity, especially by making the cheese tea aesthetically appealing – appearing popularly on Instagram feeds.
“There’s always a line, often with over an hour wait, whenever we open a store. People of all ages come, and they want to get a cup of coffee, which is great, because then sometimes they’ll try cheese tea for the first time. For the most part, 95 percent of the time [newcomers to cheese tea] say, ‘It’s cool! I’ve never had it and I would’ve never thought of it, and it’s good,’” said Jasmine Chin, a managing member of San Francisco-based Happy Lemon.
