BEIJING, China, Jan 16 — On the day before New Year’s Eve, powerful gusts swept through New York, battering the city with brutal winter weather, making it feel like — 10 C. But outside a newly opened Mixue store in Koreatown, dozens of customers waited in line patiently.In a stark contrast to the freezing streets, the storefront felt unusually lively. Two staff members dressed in Mixue’s signature snowman costumes greeted customers and passersby, while the brand’s upbeat theme song played in the background, repeating its familiar refrain: “I love you, you love me, Mixue Ice Cream and Tea.”Among those waiting in line were not only Asian customers, but people of diverse ethnic backgrounds, most of them young. Customers stepped out with drinks in hand and, unexpectedly, many of them held ice cream cones.Inside, the store was crowded with customers waiting eagerly for their orders. Behind the counter, seven employees were in constant motion, taking orders, preparing drinks and calling out numbers without pausing.Compared with a typical Mixue store in China, the New York location is more than twice the usual size. The second floor is currently under renovation as the store prepares for heavier customer traffic. Despite the larger footprint, the New York store retains the brand’s familiar design and layout.Affordability remains one of Mixue’s key selling points. A digital screen above the counter displays the menu ranked by popularity, with prices prominently shown. The top-selling item is a $1.19 ice cream cone, followed by fresh lemonade priced at $1.99, and peach oolong tea at $3.49.Mixue’s pricing is difficult to match. According to the food guide Eater NY, the average price of a cup of coffee in New York City ranges from $6 to $7, with non-caffeinated beverages typically priced at a similar level. By contrast, Mixue’s prices remain largely below that range.However, affordability is not the only factor driving interest in Chinese tea brands. At other chains such as HeyTea, where drinks average around $10 each, high prices have not deterred crowds, with customers continuing to line up for beverages.Customers line up to buy drinks at a Mixue store in New York’s Times Square on Dec 20. SELENE ZENG/FOR CHINA DAILYBubbling alongHow have these beverage chains, once a common sight on China’s streets, found a foothold in the United States?Mixue is not alone in its overseas push. In recent years, a growing number of Chinese new-style tea brands, including HeyTea, Naisnow and Molly Tea, have expanded into the US market, often targeting major cities with large and diverse consumer bases.Observers say the trend may reflect intensifying competition at home, as well as rising interest among younger US consumers in global food and beverage cultures. The US market also carries symbolic value for Chinese consumer brands seeking international recognition, they said.HeyTea’s Times Square store, which opened earlier this year, sold more than 3,500 cups on its first day, with average daily sales exceeding 2,000 cups, according to company figures.By comparison, independent coffee shops typically sell 200 to 300 beverages per day, while large chains such as Starbucks sell up to 700 cups daily at high-traffic locations, according to the National Coffee Association.HeyTea’s expansion in the US illustrates the global acceleration of Chinese tea brands’ spread. After opening its first US store in New York in late 2023, HeyTea has grown its footprint rapidly, increasing from just a couple of locations in early 2024 to more than 30 stores today.Other brands have reported similar early success. Chagee sold more than 5,000 cups of tea on the first day its US store opened. Auntea Jenny’s first US location, in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens borough in New York, recorded 3,024 orders and gross merchandise value of $65,000 during its initial opening period.Molly Tea has also posted strong figures. The company said its first New York store generated average monthly revenue of about $480,000, while its San Francisco Bay Area location earned $28,000 on opening day and $82,000 within its first three days, setting a new benchmark for Chinese tea brands overseas.The number of bubble tea shops in the US has risen rapidly in recent years, according to market research firm IBISWorld. There were 3,096 bubble tea shops nationwide in 2022, a 23.4 percent increase from the previous year. By 2024, that number had grown to 6,635 locations, and is expected to double again by 2028.A decade ago, bubble tea in the US was largely confined to Asian neighborhoods and college towns. Today, it is increasingly part of mainstream urban consumption.During a recent visit to HeyTea’s Times Square store, staff told China Daily the brand’s growing appeal is reflected in its day-to-day operations.Jiovani Arroyo, a barista at the location, was seen unloading boxes of ingredients outside the busy shop, many of them labeled in Chinese, suggesting the supplies were imported directly from China. “You would think that customers would be Chinese or Asian, but it’s actually a good mixture of different cultures,” he said.Arroyo said some customers go straight to the pickup counter, while others are still getting familiar with Chinese tea drinks. He noted that the most common questions from customers are “what’s your favorite drink” and “what’s the popular drink inside the store”, adding that afternoons tend to be the busiest time.While the brand comes from China and the company’s headquarters are there, “it still feels like another business in America”, he said.Around 60 percent to 70 percent of the store’s employees are Chinese, and Arroyo said management has made an effort to hire more local staff. “The manager tries his best to see if he can bring in more locals than just people from China. … We don’t want there to be a language barrier here for people who are feeling uncomfortable,” he said, noting that the store aims to be international rather than staffed only by Chinese employees.Customers wait in line to get drinks at a HeyTea store in Times Square on March 26. LEVINE-ROBERTS/IMAGOReminder of ‘home’For many Chinese nationals living abroad, Chinese tea beverages offer more than just flavor. They provide a taste of home, evoking familiarity and personal memories.Audrey Xu, a millennial living in New Jersey, traveled into the city to visit Mixue after feeling homesick.“I’ve always loved milk tea, and back in China I used to go to Mixue all the time,” she told China Daily. “Seeing Mixue here makes me feel closer to home.”Carrying several drinks in paper bags, Xu said she planned to sit down somewhere during lunch to enjoy them.While the menu offers fewer choices than Mixue stores in China, she said the essentials remain unchanged. “That’s enough for me. It helps ease my homesickness,” she said. “The core products are still the same.”Xu, who was born and raised in China and has lived in the US since 2017, said she has noticed a steady increase in Chinese tea drink brands opening across the country. With Mixue’s arrival, Xu added that it has now become the first place she plans to bring friends when introducing them to Chinese-style tea drinks because of its low prices.Some customers were drawn to Mixue by its well-known reputation in China, while others noticed the store through its extensive online promotion. The busy location itself also served as a marketing tool, generating attention even before the store officially opened.College student Ishtiyaq Shajahan told China Daily he and his friends visited the area before the store was renovated and wondered what was going to be built at the site.“My friend came last week and it was just opening up, but the line was crazy long. So we came back today with a couple more friends,” he said.Shajahan visited the store with his brother, Aqib Shajahan, and their friend James Gonzalez, all of whom are college students and Brooklyn natives. Gonzalez, who had previously visited a Mixue store in Singapore, said he was familiar with the brand.“I think it does a good job setting up other bubble tea franchises. A lot of them tend to be pretty expensive. I think this one’s more affordable. And it just feels more warm and welcoming, more friendly,” Gonzalez said.Compared with traditional beverage chains such as Starbucks, Ishtiyaq Shajahan said Chinese tea drinks offer a different flavor profile centered on the tea itself. He began drinking Chinese-style tea beverages several years ago, initially trying Thai tea at Gong Cha before becoming more adventurous.“You can try different Chinese items like pandan jelly, grass jelly or different fruits like lychee … that’s why I like it. I like those more different kinds of flavors,” he said.“I would say (Chinese tea beverages are) a little bit sweet, aromatic. I like the tea fragrance, the milk tea, and it’s just refreshing, very soothing.”He added that Chinese tea beverages have become increasingly mainstream in the US.“It is pretty popular now. I think it’s equally as popular as a lot of other drinks. Americans used to drink a lot of energy drinks or coffee, and they are kind of changing it up a little bit… It’s definitely gotten way more popular over the past five, six years, especially after COVID,” he said.Customers rush to buy Chagee beverages on the opening day of its US flagship store in Los Angles, California, on May 9. [Photo/Xinhua]Social lubricantBeyond taste and affordability, the group also pointed to the role Chinese tea beverage shops play in everyday cultural exchanges. In many ways, these brands have become part of everyday life, offering familiarity and choice to a generation already shaped by global tastes rather than explicitly presenting “Chinese culture”.“I think it’s definitely good for cultural exchange. People get to see a glimpse of diversity and different cultures,” Ishtiyaq Shajahan said.Analysts said the growth of the Chinese tea drink market has been driven in part by younger consumers.An article in the Michigan Journal of Economics noted that in the US, where multicultural food traditions are widely embraced, boba tea has gained popularity as an alternative to coffee, particularly among younger consumers.Industry data points to similar trends. A 2021 CLSA consumer survey found that 94 percent of adults age 20 to 29 had purchased bubble tea in the previous three months.Aqib Shajahan said shifting consumer preferences have created space for international brands.“Right now, people just want a change of pace, you know, they want more diversity, more variety, more options,” he said, adding more US consumers are trying to branch out into “different international things”.For more visit China DailyFor subscriptions on news from China Daily, or inquiries, please contact China Daily Africa Ltd on +254 20 6920900 or write to enquiries@chinadailyafrica.com