Chicha San Chen is opening with free boba tea merch this weekend

Taiwan-based bubble tea chain Chicha San Chen—which has garnered a devoted fanbase over the past two decades for serving allegedly stronger tea than its competitors, a result of growing and hand-picking their own tea leaves—is soft-opening its first New York City location tomorrow, May 16, in Manhattan's Chinatown. And the brand is celebrating the big news by hosting a grand opening party with freebies this weekend. 

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Debuting at 72-74 Bayard Street near Mott Street, the international import will fete its grand opening on Saturday, May 18 from 11:30am to 8:30pm. The first 100 who attend the opening soiree will get to take home free Chicha San Chen merchandise upon the purchase of a bubble milk tea. (Note: drinks will be limited to two cups per person during the soft opening and grand opening event.) 

And speaking of bubble tea, Chicha San Chen offers a variety of flavors, including Green Tea, Osmanthus Oolong Tea, High Mountain Pouchong Tea, and Cassia Black Tea. The shop's teas are so quality, they've been awarded what’s referred to as the equivalent of three Michelin stars by the International Taste Institute, designated as "a product that has gone through a sensory evaluation of each of the above 5 criteria by professional taste-experts" and achieved an average score above 90 percent.

You can order the brand's teas a la carte or explore the NYC location’s exclusive new Tea Tasting Area, where tea lovers can enjoy a curated five-tea flight and take part in tea-tasting demonstrations, to learn about and sample variations of Chicha San Chen's Oolong Tea that hails from the Lishan Mountains in Taiwan.

Chicha San Chen is the just latest in international bubble tea brands that have been making moves into Manhattan as of late: HeyTea, the originator of cheese tea from Jiangmen, China, opened its first NYC location in Midtown this past December and Nana’s Green Tea—the modern Japanese cafe specializing in green teas and matcha desserts—debuted its first NYC location this past April at 1250 Broadway in Koreatown.