Foreigners Queueing Up for Chinese Tea: How "New Tea" Is Winning Over the World

If high-speed rail showcases China’s speed and mobile payments highlight its convenience, New Chinese Tea represents a softer, far more nuanced form of cultural outreach. Free of preachy rhetoric, it captivates through flavor and design alone—quietly reshaping the consumption habits of young people worldwide.

Global Viral Sensations: The Worldwide Craze for a Cup of Tea

In January 2026, Nayuki’s Tea opened its first West Coast location in Silicon Valley. On opening day, massive lines formed outside, stretching from the entrance down the main street. Customers faced wait times of over three hours, and sales topped US$94,000 in the first three days alone.

Located next to Apple’s headquarters, Nayuki’s Cupertino store sparked an instant frenzy, with queues stretching down the street and wait times exceeding three hours. (Source: Phoenix Network)

An Apple engineer waiting in line remarked, "My Chinese colleagues recommended Nayuki to me. I was surprised to see it so close to the office, so I had to come check it out." Another local resident, who had been waiting for two hours, laughed and shared, "I saw this huge line while passing by and got curious. I want to try the 'Little Green Bottle' series." (A line of tea drinks centered on health-conscious, light fruit and vegetable blends.)

Customers enjoying the "Little Green Bottle" series inside the Nayuki store. (Source: Phoenix Network)

This is far from an isolated event. In Times Square, New York, HEYTEA sold over 3,500 cups on its opening day. In Seoul's Gangnam district, CHAGEE’s flagship store triggered a similar frenzy, with order wait times exceeding three hours during peak periods. In Thailand, local netizens noted that whenever they are near Siam Square, they always drop by the Jasmine Milk Tea store.

According to the 2026 Top 50 Chinese Catering and New Tea Brands Expanding Overseas report by the China Chain Store & Franchise Association, Mixue Ice Cream & Tea now boasts over 4,000 international locations. Meanwhile, official financial reports from CHAGEE show that its overseas footprint reached 345 stores by late 2025—with Malaysia leading the market, surpassing 200 stores in October 2025. Other brands, including HEYTEA, ChaPanda, Nayuki, Teasoon, and Jasmine Milk Tea, have also established multiple outlets across global markets.

A Singaporean’s "First Sip": From Customer to Brand Ambassador

In November 2024, Singaporean resident Qiu Huina walked into a CHAGEE store on Orchard Road and ordered a "Jasmine Green Milk Tea" (Boya Juexian).

"With the very first sip, I turned to my husband and said, 'Now I get why people stand in line for this. You can actually taste real, authentic tea,'" Qiu recalled.

A CHAGEE store in Singapore. (Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition)

Her previous experiences with bubble tea had mostly been overly sweet and syrupy. Made with real tea leaves and fresh milk, this refreshing cup completely shattered her preconceptions. That single drink changed not just her taste buds, but her entire career trajectory: she later joined CHAGEE’s Asia-Pacific operations team, becoming an international ambassador for Chinese tea brands.

Qiu’s experience highlights a crucial trend: for new tea brands to win over global consumers, authentic flavors extracted from high-quality, natural tea leaves are indispensable. This contrasts sharply with traditional milk teas dominated by artificial syrups and non-dairy creamers, giving Chinese tea brands a distinctive edge in international markets.

Cultural Narrative: The Deeper Power of a Cup of Tea

The competitive advantage of New Chinese Tea lies not only in the product itself, but also in the rich cultural narratives embedded within it.

CHAGEE names its products after historic legends. "Boya Juexian," for instance, pays homage to the classical Chinese story of Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi—a timeless story of deep friendship. While international customers initially fell in love with its crisp taste, discovering the story behind the drink gave sharing a cup with friends an entirely new meaning, inspiring many to explore Chinese tea culture.

According to Xinhua News, a tea shop named “Chahua” (Tea Talk) in Belgrade, Serbia—run by a Chinese owner—has frequently gone viral on social media. From Chinese-style shaved ice served in vessels with traditional patterns to cups adorned with ink-wash calligraphy, panda-themed desserts, and specialty ingredients like red dates and goji berries, every detail exudes authentic Chinese charm.

The owner, Zhang Ruoqi, notes that Europe's understanding of Chinese culture and tea is evolving from superficial interest to deeper appreciation. She aims to blend tea culture with traditional Chinese aesthetics and ceramics, creating a tangible, accessible space to experience Chinese culture firsthand.

Aleksic, a local customer, first visited “Chahua: during a movie night event. After watching Farewell My Concubine, he developed a keen interest in Peking Opera and gradually fell in love with Chinese tea culture amidst the aroma of tea. "Here, you can watch films highlighting different historical eras and themes of Chinese culture, while savoring seasonal Chinese tea drinks. This combination of visual, taste, and cultural experiences is truly unique in Serbia," he remarked.

Commercial Logic: Selling at Higher Prices with Stronger Demand

Beyond cultural appeal, the global expansion of new tea brands is driven by sound commercial strategy.

In China, price wars have pushed competition to extremes. HEYTEA dropped the price of certain drinks below 7 RMB, bringing dine-in prices back to 2015 levels, while CHAGEE's net profit margin dipped from 18% to 12%. Third-party analytics indicate that CHAGEE’s rate of new store openings fell by 64% year-on-year in Q3. However, official reports confirm that 300 new stores were added globally in the same quarter, marking a 25.9% overall increase year-on-year. Driven by intense domestic competition, expanding abroad has become a primary growth strategy.

Overseas markets offer a relief from local price floors, allowing brands to set prices based on local supply and demand. HEYTEA’s average price in the US is nearly 40 RMB higher than in China, while Mixue’s US$1.99 lemonade sells for three to four times its domestic price. Higher price tags have not dampened customer enthusiasm; instead, they prove that overseas markets offer a lucrative commercial reality: selling at higher prices with even stronger demand.

The global battle for New Chinese Tea is about far more than securing market share—it is a cultural resonance built around the true "flavor of China."

Chinamaxxing

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Among the various everyday scenarios of Chinamaxxing, mobile payment is probably the one that allows foreign young people to "integrate" into Chinese daily life the fastest. From utter bewilderment upon arrival to being unable to imagine life without QR code payments by the time they leave—this transformation has become a shared experience for almost every foreign visitor to China.

A Londoner's "One App for Everything"

Josh, a London-based employee of Ant International, has personally compared the payment ecosystems of London and Shanghai. London has high NFC (Near-Field Communication) adoption and mature digital banks like Revolut and Monzo. But Shanghai, with its highly integrated super-apps, allows him—even as a foreigner—to easily hail rides, order food delivery, scan QR codes for shopping, and even plan itineraries and order milk tea through AI-powered mini-apps.

" London has a very mature financial market and professional services system; Shanghai, under a prudent, clear and forward-looking regulatory framework, has rapidly built a digital-first innovation ecosystem with an exceptionally rich range of application scenarios." Josh summarised his experience. For him, the experience of getting everything done with a single app is the most intuitive portrayal of China's mobile payment ecosystem.

Josh Wei explains the cross-border payment ecosystem at Ant International's booth during the 2026 China International Fintech Exhibition. (Source: China City News)

A Greek Tourist: AI Assistant Clears Payment Hurdles

For first-time short-term visitors to China, the ease of the bank card binding process directly shapes their first impression of China's mobile payment system.

Greek tourist Theo had already registered her bank card through a relevant entry service application before departure. She described the entire process as "very smooth, straightforward, and convenient"—the app's AI-powered assistant provided multilingual human-computer interaction, significantly lowering the barrier to card binding.

"To pay for today's shopping, I simply open the app and scan the QR code. I don't need to carry a physical bank card or cash at all. I Paying really is convenient," Theo said. By the end of 2025, China UnionPay further launched the Nihao China one-stop entry service app, equipped with an AI assistant offering multilingual interaction. The service now covers users from over 160 countries and regions.

Greek tourist Theo receives AI assistance to register and bind her card—a smooth, straightforward, and convenient process. (Source: CCTV News screenshot)

A French Designer: The "Walking" Story from Five Years Ago

For French designer Xiao Ma, who arrived in China five years ago, the popularisation of mobile payments was not always this seamless.

He recalls that when he and his partner Da Yu first started working in Beijing, their office was far from home, and they needed to rent shared bikes to get to the subway station. But there was a problem—they didn't know how to scan the QR codes on the bikes. So they ended up walking everywhere. "I walked a lot," Xiao Ma said with a smile.

Five years on, they have set up their own design studio in Beijing, shuttling through the hutongs daily and familiar with every street and shop. Now, grabbing a snack by scanning a QR code on the way home is just part of everyday life. From "couldn't scan" to "can't live without scanning"—this journey is a microcosm of how mobile payment has become woven into the lives of foreigners in China.

French designer Xiao Ma and his partner Da Yu at their studio in Beijing. (Source: CCTV News screenshot)

A Brazilian Tourist: One Scan, No Cash Needed

Brazilian tourist Adriano was deeply impressed by the convenience of payments in China. "I used to have to carry a lot of cash and then exchange it for RMB, which took a lot of time. Now none of those steps are needed… You just tap, and the payment goes through."

Brazilian tourist Adriano gives an interview in Shanghai about the convenience of mobile payments in China. (Source: CCTV News screenshot)

The data confirms this trend. During the summer of 2025, spending by global inbound tourists using Alipay increased by over 130% year-on-year.

From a Londoner's "one app for everything," to a Greek tourist's AI-assisted card binding, to a French designer's journey from "couldn't scan" to "scanning daily," to a Brazilian tourist's "no-cash" astonishment—these real-life stories show that mobile payment has become a key entry point for foreigners to experience the convenience of life in China.

At its heart, Chinamaxxing has never been about propaganda. It is about people embracing a way of life that genuinely makes things simpler. As Josh put it, Shanghai's payment ecosystem allowed him to "intuitively experience AI applications at the everyday consumer level." This kind of everyday convenience, enabled by technology, may well be the quietest yet most compelling expression of Chinese-style modernisation.