Bubble Tea Shop Finally Opens On Moody Street - Amid Pandemic

WALTHAM, MA — A bubble tea shop called RoyalTea finally opened in the space next to Bonchon on Moody Street.

In 2019 owner Yukit Wu said he was aiming for an early 2020 open date "if all went right."

Then the pandemic hit.

He quietly opened this week, he said. "It's been a long time coming," he said in a phone interview.

"We tried to open earlier," he said. "But because of the pandemic, getting city permits and construction finished gave us almost a half a year delay."

He pivoted, he said, getting the right sanitization protection for the space, and focusing on take-out.

Wu said he's planning to host a grand opening on Jan. 28, and offer a buy one, get one free promotion in an effort to attract would-be bubble tea drinkers.

For now, hours will be limited, and he will be open from noon to 7 p.m. every day, he said. Eventually he hopes to be open daily from 11:30 a.m. until 9 p.m.

"It's very slow, because there's no one on the street," he said.

Wu, who lives in the Quincy area, said he moved to the Boston area when he was 9 and throughout his travel between the area and China throughout the years, he got hooked on bubble and milk tea. He said at one point he got the idea to open up shop in the area and met with RoyalTea, which has more than 130 franchise spots in China and around the world, and decided to open a shop here.

In 2018, he opened a RoyalTea in Boston's Chinatown, and wanted to expand. At customer request, he said, he decided to open in Brookline and in Waltham.

Although bubble tea - the name given to a variety of milk or fruit teas with chewy tapioca bubbles or "boba" at the bottom - started popping up on the West Coast in the 1990s after becoming popular in Taiwan. It spread from there. Today, according to the trade group Tea Association of the USA, some 87 percent of millennials in the US drink tea. And Wu said his beverages are most popular with the 18 to 28-year-old crowd.

RoyalTea serves made to order milk and fruit teas complete with toppings like boba, but what it's known for is cheese tea, Wu said.

"We actually are famous for Cheese Tea," Wu said previously in an interview. "A lot of people question cheese, but when they try it they love it. Cheese tea is like a cream cheese that's specially blended. It doesn't taste like cream cheese it's a little bit salty with a sweet finish that complements the tea."

A cup of hot or cold tea starts around $4 and depending on what toppings or additions can go upwards of $6 mainly because of the quality of ingredients, said Wu. The fruit tea is made with real fruit, according to Wu. The teas may take a while to brew, between 5 to 10 minutes, but it's all high quality, he said.

The shop sells fresh-brewed bubble and milk tea, and will be take-out only - at least in the beginning - he told Patch.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).