China’s Most Popular Tea Shop Chagee Modern Tea House Opens Its First U.S. Location in Los Angeles | Eater LA
"One of China’s most popular tea chains, founded in 2017 in Yunnan and now expanded to over 6,400 locations worldwide—including across China, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia—is making its U.S. debut at Westfield Century City. The top-deck shop, located next to the Container Store at the former Sugar Factory spot, opened to the public on Saturday, April 26, with a grand opening scheduled for May 9; Westside blogger Todrick Allenspotted first noticed the branding there in November 2024. In advance of the Century City opening the brand filed for an IPO and is now trading on the Nasdaq with the ticker "CHA." The Century City location offers a full line-up of signature teas, including a peach oolong tea latte, roasted oolong tea, a jasmine green tea latte, and a blended caramel tea frappe, and specializes in both tea lattes (available with regular milk or oat milk) and brewed teas. Team members brew the tea using a special, artificial intelligence-powered process that extracts it in under a minute, resulting in consistent brews for every cup. Alongside the teas, pastries from Farmshop are available—such as a jasmine tea-infused cruffin, ricotta cake, chocolate chip cookies, and plain croissants. The minimalist interior is clad in blonde wood with a Hollywood-themed mural on one side and a display of the tea brewing process on the other; behind the counter workers attend to the brewing machines before calling out orders for pickup. Seating includes a few inside tables and couches plus outdoor patio chairs and tables, Noguchi-style lanterns hang overhead, and planters with trees are positioned throughout the space. Teas are served in ornate cups described as ones that "would look at home in a Dior fine china collection," adding a luxe touch to the shop's aesthetic. The arrival joins recent mall additions such as South Korean dessert cafe Knotted and Emma Chamberlain’s Chamberlain Coffee, and precedes planned openings including Super Peach (from the Momofuku group), Katsuya, and Casa Dania later in 2025." - Rebecca Roland
