CHAGEE Modern Tea House delivers invigorating flavors and an up-to-the-minute coolness that will upset the hierarchy of West Los Angeles cafes and boulangeries.

On a sunny Friday afternoon, a curtain of black umbrellas festooned the balcony of Westfield Century City shopping mall. For weeks, the display has been a common one as CHAGEE initiated a soft debut of the chain’s first United States location in Century City, less than two miles from UCLA. However, on May 9, the queue of people tapering from CHAGEE’s entrance snaked along the balcony and grew longer with every passing moment for its official grand opening. It was clear that CHAGEE had amounted a formidable reputation.

CHAGEE’s selection ranges from refreshingly fruity iced teas to delicately aromatic tea-infused lattes. Founded in 2017 in Yunnan, China, CHAGEE is renowned for marrying the ancient art of traditional tea making into the contemporary sphere of exhibition and on-the-go dining. This synthesis is positioned at the forefront of CHAGEE’s marketing campaign, exemplified by the CHAGEE-branded photo booth overlooking the LA skyline, accompanied by a professional photographer. Beyond the pomp and circumstance of the teahouse’s grand opening, the establishment offers a dynamic tea experience for tea and latte lovers alike.

The menu for the Century City location was reduced to four drinks and one pastry to streamline the long queue of customers attending the grand opening. Several advertisements championed the BOYA Tea Latte as being the most popular among CHAGEE’s international consumer base. The drink unites a high-mountain green tea originating in Yunnan with a white-tip green tea from Fujian, China. When the tea blend mingles with the gentle influence of the latte, the flavor profile is truly illuminated. Alongside CHAGEE’s advertised high-pressure tea extraction technology that amplifies flavor, the teahouse also recommends certain straws to further enhance customer experience.

According to the directory adjacent to the order pickup counter, the tri-sip straw was recommended for the BOYA Tea Latte. Sampled through the tri-sip straw, the BOYA Tea Latte was smooth, creamy and redolent. The tea notes were salient, floating along the tender yet creamy latte; the tea conducted the flavor. For comparison, when sipped through a classic straw, the milky taste of the latte overpowered the subtler tea blend.

Tea lattes were not the only offerings at CHAGEE’s opening. The store’s drink selection ranges from tea lattes to pure teas, among other specialty tea selections. From the pure teas, the Peach Oolong Pure Tea stands out. With its infused blend of peach and Golden Guanyin oolong, the iced tea is refreshing and bittersweet. It was a sharp but welcoming diversion from the BOYA Tea Latte, which was sweet and rich.

Lastly, the only pastry on offer during the grand opening was the peach oolong tea-infused cruffin. A hybrid between a croissant and a muffin, the cruffin was certainly an ambitious endeavor, and while the peach oolong tea filling was delicious, the dough itself could have been a bit more inviting. This is not an uncommon trait of croissants—and other pastries for that matter – in worldwide cafe chains. The flaky, buttery appeal of a freshly made croissant seems to elude these establishments, supplanted instead by doughy, chewy and slightly soggy bread in the shape of a croissant. This was not entirely the case with CHAGEE’s cruffin, as it still retained a crisp outer layer, dusted in confectioner’s sugar and redeemed by the sweet peach oolong tea custard filling. However, the pastry erred too far on the side of caution for being the most expensive item on the menu at a hefty $6.45 (pretax).

Although CHAGEE succeeds in introducing signature tea lattes and iced teas, it is unfortunate that the opening did not incorporate more traditional warm teas. Though specialty teas and tea hybrids are important in the evolution of tea as a whole, one would expect to find at least one hot tea on the initial menu of an establishment that markets itself as preserving and honoring the art of tea making.

“Traditional tea” is at the forefront of CHAGEE’s marketing campaign. The scenic design motif imitating porcelain that envelopes the establishment is an example of this. From the promotional sample station on the ground level of Westfield Century City to the cardboard cups that customers posed in selfies with like trophies, CHAGEE’s aesthetically pleasing presentation is partially what makes it so appealing to customers. Like many chains that have amassed national recognition before them, CHAGEE certainly has a strong comprehension of what commercial elements can seize the ephemeral attention of LA’s influencer class.

In spite of CHAGEE’s at times overwhelming embrace of modernity, its innovation is nothing to scoff at. It was very clear that customer experience was carefully considered in not only the presentation of the tea but in the tasting experience as well. CHAGEE’s selection was tasty, refreshing and worth waiting in a 15-minute line for, which is the mark of any delightful cafe. With a pretax price of pure teas at $4.95 and tea lattes at $5.95, CHAGEE Modern Tea House is an accessible option for Bruins seeking reprieve from the summer swelter.

ChAGEE Modern Tea House has offerings that taste as good as they look on an Instagram feed.