Street Eats: Skip the Lines at the New HeyTea in Sanlitun, Try These Other Cheese Teas

Confession: we, the Beijinger editorial staff, are obsessed with milk tea. And who wouldn't be? When in need of an afternoon pick-me-up, after a morning of forcing ourselves into consciousness by drinking one too many cups of coffee, we head out in search of something a little different (check here for Tom’s fabulous roundup of Beijing best milk tea).

But milk tea has a strange little brother, which, like bubble tea, originated in – 奶盖茶 (naigai cha), literally "tea with a milk cap." On top of a cup of iced tea lies a "cap" of a three-centimeter-thick layer of cream made of milk, milk powder, cheese, whipped cream, and condensed milk to give it a fluffy texture.

Walking through Sanlitun Taikooli, you may see an eager crowd, roped off in a queue that seems to be for no establishment –the line to get into the new HeyTea (喜茶) is so long, it cannot just wrap around the building. A separate second queue has been established, where patrons patiently wait in line to wait in the first line outside the store's doors. Insane? Maybe. But if you're eager to try cheese tea (but not eager enough to stand in line for up to seven hours), try any of these nine other cheese teas in Beijing, sorted by level of our enthusiasm: Excellent, Good, Meh, I'd rather not, and Definitely not. 

Excellent

Kurotaki Chabann (黑泷太郎), RMB 22

Founded in 2014 in southern China, and now a national network of about 400 outlets, Kurotaki Chabann just opened a store in Sanlitun Soho recently. The place is airy and relaxing with a modern café vibe, and – most importantly – it offers black tea with cream cheese (RMB 22). The tea is sweetened with brown sugar, and a generous dollop of whipped cream cheese covers the tea without stealing all the glory. To offset your rich, creamy, fatty beverage, they also offer a bunch of healthy salads (RMB 28-38). See our first impression here.

Verdict: It is certainly a guilt-inducing treat.

Casa Talia, RMB 28

We didn't expect a posh Mediterranean restaurant to provide such a down-to-earth drink with a Chinese twist. The earl grey tea (RMB 28) comes with a thick and semi-sweet whipped cream cheese topping. The cheese layer doesn’t disappear into the tea (as the cheap renditions always do), and the aroma of the tea doesn’t steal the predominant flavor of the cheese, nor vice versa. Bravo.

Verdict: It is addictive and fulfills a cream cheese lover's dream. 

Good

Coco, RMB 11

Coco is crowned as our office’s favorite afternoon delight, so we came with high hopes. Built in 1997, this Taiwanese brand has over 1,600 outlets around the world. The bubble milk tea, milk tea with pudding and red beans, and fruity tea are tasty with good value, making the brand popular among students and office workers. I was surprised that RMB 11 could get such a legit cheese tea based on real black tea, and a thick layer of the mixture of milk and cheese, which was salty and sweet. Even though the tannins from the black tea overtook the taste, it still had a solid and sturdy cheese layer when we were halfway through it. I'm not sure that we'll be "forever young" as their slogan boosts, but we'll go back again.

Verdict: Delicious with the best value.

Royaltea, RMB 21

HeyTea (喜茶), probably the busiest shop in Taikooli on any given day, was formerly called Royaltea, and changed their name in 2014 to avoid imitators. We're not sure if this one is one such copycat or just a coincidence. But their RMB 21 signature peach-flavored oolong tea with a bowl of salty cheese cream seems legitimate to us. The tea is light, and not too artificially flavored with a strong dry finish. The cheese, however, is a bit too salty.

Verdict: Tea is good, with thoughtful packaging to prevent the cheese from ruining the tea.

Meh

Coucou, RMB 26

Also originating in Taiwan, their bubble tea is quite addictive, so we tried the signature Dahongpao black tea with milk (RMB 26). It's not too cheap, not too expensive, but it is quite large. Without letting you choose hot or iced, or the sugar amount, the lack of customization disappoints us, but using the real milk makes it genuine and healthy. Another downside: the tea part is a bit too sweet, and the milk layer lacks flavor. You might think that would allow the two to work together, but after sipping up the last drop, you'll be ecstatic thanks to all the sugar in your blood, but not about the taste. Coucou, you disappointed us on this one.

Verdict: Go for their bubble tea instead.

Gongcha, RMB 16

We may have had some unrealistic expectations for this one. It's a large portion, and you can taste that they put a generous amount of milk into the cheesy layer. In fact, maybe too much – the thick, dense cheese layer brings a heavy dairy flavor (with a rare coconut note) that overpowers all the flavor in the tea. It almost tastes like someone brewed the tea with coconut milk instead of drinking water. Yikes.

Verdict: It’s lame, maybe try the bubble tea instead.

I’d rather not …

Happy Lemon, RMB 12

Founded in 2006 in Shanghai, Happy Lemon’s outlets could be spotted everywhere at shopping malls. However, the cheese green tea disappoints us on several different levels – the green tea has a predominant artificial flavor and is simply too sweet. The layer of cream floating on top is weird: It tastes like green tea-flavored chewing gum, even though we order the non-sweet variety. The cream tastes like nothing but MSG, and after a slight stir, it becomes a hazy, dubious cloudy mixture (read: disgusting). Everyone who tried it gave a puzzled face, and a “What is that?”

Verdict: Too artificial, stay away from it.

Definitely not ...

IGongcha, RMB 18

The most disappointing one, not because it took two hours to deliver, but for the utter lack of flavor in both the tea and the cream. In fact, we should blame ourselves: It has stolen the logo and the name of the famous brand “Gongcha” on Baidu Waimai, but charges higher prices. The only strength is that it's large, but is more of a bad thing really good? The oolong tea base could not penetrate through the equally flavorless cream. Just generally poorly executed all around. We paid dearly for our belief in appearances. So fake and so lame.

Verdict: Even though it's fake, it has many Chinese celebrity endorsements. Seriously, do you guys have no conscience?

Same Same but Different

Little Ming Taiwan Railway Mealbox, RMB 22 

We also tried Little Ming, a Taiwanese mealbox restaurant. Unfortunately, they don’t offer the popular cheese tea, so we opted for their most similar one – 青蛙撞奶 (literally "frog runs into milk") which is pearl bubbles in milk. This rendition is quite sugary, even though we chose the minimum sugar (50 percent), and we doubt that the milk is real. It has a strong flavor of brown sugar, which is popular in many beverages in Taiwan. RMB 22 is not a bad deal given its 500ml portion, but most of it ended up going down in the drain. On a personal note, my tooth crown fell off while chewing the bubbles, forcing me to go back to the dentist. The cherry on top of a really not-great experience.

Verdict: Stay away from it, go for their signature milk tea.

More stories by this author here.

Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Tracy Wang