Original inventor of cheese tea, Heytea opens Westgate store with a zen-like concept

SINGAPORE – Famous cheese tea brand Heytea hailing from China has unveiled its new store at Westgate shopping mall, its latest addition to its ION Orchard and Clarke Quay outlets.

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They have proudly declared themselves the original creator of the famous Cheese Tea – dubbed “Cheezo Tea” in their menu. Speaking to one of the spokespeople of Heytea, they affirmed that they pioneered the popular drink that took Asia by storm. When they first launched in ION Orchard, queues can stretch up to two hours. As a heads up, their beverages can set you back easily by S$6 - S$10 for one.

The interior design at the newly opened Westgate store is inspired by the minimalism concept and the traditional Chinese handscroll. When you enter the space, soft greys, white and gold elements and minimalistic furniture greet and beckon you into the store.

The Chinese handscroll has been used for both calligraphy and paintings throughout history. As a result, the furniture in the store sports a handscroll-like design to represent the Chinese culture, which tea has been an essential part of.

In conjunction with the new opening, Heytea introduces two brand new items to its menu, the Oreo Boboshake and Oreo Sundae, which will be launched end September.

Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore was at the pre-opening session and did a taste test of some of the all-time favourites as well as the new offerings.

One of the drinks they recommended was The Tipsy Grape Beer (S$8.70). It is a refreshing combination of malt beer and Kyoho grape. The sweetness of the famous Kyoho grape balances out the malt beer, leaving a lingering aftertaste. If you have never tried beer with fruit teas, you should try this one. It is currently available at the Clarke Quay and ION Orchard stores and will be available at the Westgate store soon. A non-alcoholic version, Very Grape Cheezo (S$9.50) is also available.

The Peach Cheezo tea (S$9.90) was the priciest of the lot but the combination of a salty layer of cheese foam on top of natural tea (we went for the Rose Oolong) is a heavenly one, making their Cheezo Tea undoubtedly the most popular drink on their menu. The vibrant sweetness of peaches is complemented with fragrant rose oolong, with a dollop of creamy Cheezo to top it off!

We also had to try the new Oreo Boboshake (S$7.80) and the Oreo sundae (S$3.50 for mini, S$4.50 for regular) before they officially launched. A new member of Heytea’s Bobo Family, the Oreo Boboshake is a rich Oreo slushie (cue: Oreo fans!) made with fresh milk and chewy Brown Bobo. Personally, the Brown Bobo could be an overkill with the thick and creamy slush. The drink is topped off with an Oreo cookie for you to dunk into the rich Oreo slushie!

If you can’t get enough of Oreos, round up with the Oreo sundae which is a combination of King Fone Cheezo ice cream with Oreo crumbles sprinkled on top. We already love the original King Fone Cheezo Crispy Cone (S$1.90 for mini, S$2.80 for regular) so it was an additional treat to enjoy it with crunchy Oreo bits.

Currently, the Bobo Family drinks are also some of the best-selling items on the menu, affirming Singaporeans’ craze with anything bubble.

We also noticed that there are Singapore exclusive drinks in the menu, namely the Durian Crispy Cone and Salted Egg Yolk Crispy Cone. However, we were not able to try these items yet (next time then!) as they were not available at the pre-opening session.

Brand Director Henry Chen said, “For each country we open a store in, we want to introduce exclusive items inspired by the popular foods in the country itself.”

When asked about further expansion plans for Heytea on top of their China, Hong Kong and Singapore presences, he said that they are looking at Japan next.

Since 2012, Heytea has opened 268 stores in more than 35 cities in China and aboard. Singapore is the start of its global journey and Heytea will be looking to continue its expansion in Singapore as well as in the region.

Heytea Westgate is located at 3 Gateway Drive #01-25. Opens daily 10am – 10pm