Cha for Tea
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| cha FOR TEA | |
|---|---|
| Type | Private ISO 9001 Certified Company |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | David Wang |
| Headquarters | Irvine, California, USA |
| Key people | David Wang Kristen Lee |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Website | www.chafortea.com |
Cha for Tea is a Asian tea house that is a subsidiary of Ten Ren Tea. There are over 400 Ten Ren stores throughout Taiwan, China, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Canada and the United States. In the US there are currently four stores, all located in Southern California. The first store opened in Westminster, CA. Two years later the second location opened close to the UC Irvine campus in Irvine, CA. The third store is located near CSU Long Beach in Long Beach, CA. The fourth store is located near Alhambra High School in Alhambra, CA.
Cha for Tea is known for being more of a modernized, upbeat version of a tea house. Contrast to most of Ten Ren Tea's stores, most of which are styled as a traditional Chinese tea shop and are mostly aimed at adults, Cha for Tea is unique for attracting youths, mainly high school and college students.
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[edit] The Name
Cha for Tea literally means "Tea for Tea." Cha is the word Chinese use for tea so Cha for Tea indicates the store gets its tea from China. In Taiwan it operates under the name 喫茶趣 (Hanyu Pinyin: chīcháqù; English: "the pleasure of drinking tea").
[edit] Southern California History
[edit] 1999
David Wang opened the first Cha for Tea in Westminster, California located at the Asian Garden Mall.
[edit] 2001
The second store opened in 2001 in Irvine, CA near the UC Irvine campus.
[edit] 2003
The Long Beach store was created in 2003. Located across the street from CSULB, the store is much larger than that in Irvine and can accommodate more dine-in customers, which gives it a café feel. With the opening of the Long Beach store came the close of the Westminster store.
[edit] 2005
With the absence of a store in a dense Asian market, Cha for Tea opened its fourth store in Alhambra in 2005. This store is also relatively large and can accompany several groups. The store is located relatively close to CSULA, but is particularly and largely favored as a hangout place for high school students, as the branch is located near the Alhambra High School campus. The Alhambra branch also sponsors a free crispy chicken promotion and contest held twice annually, and is promoted and participated by the school's ten service clubs. Mark Keppel High School's other service clubs also sponsor the event.
The Alhambra branch will be moving from their old location, which is being torn down as part of a renovation, to a new location directly near the AHS campus in early 2008.
[edit] Drinks
Most of the drinks made at Cha for Tea are shaken, hence the slogan "Where Tea is Shaken Not Stirred." None of the drinks are made with either one of the two main tea bases; Jasmine green tea or black tea, all of which are provided by Ten Ren Tea Company. There are two types of shaken drinks, fruity iced teas such as mango, peach, lychee, green apple, passion fruit, and orange and milk tea flavors such as almond, taro, coconut, thai, chai, and honeydew make up most of the flavors. Contents for a specific drink are poured into a martini-style shaker and shaken together. This is all done by one person behind the bar most commonly referred to as "The Shaker." The shaken drink is tasted and than poured for the customer usually over pearls (boba milk tea).
[edit] Foods
Cha for Tea restaurants also serve foods or snacks, all of which are mostly generic westernized Asian foods, such as dumplings or orange chicken. One unique recipe for most of their snacks or meals is that all ingredients are marinated in tea, which is used to bring out the flavors of the food. The crispy chicken has msg in it. Many visitors suggest that it is overpriced and that you should know someone behind the counter to receive free drinks. The toilet seat is still loose and Eric has a big forehead.
