Malden is a city that houses vast numbers of foreign-born people from different parts of the world. Malden Center holds a piece of everyone’s culture in the form of food chains, ranging from Korean Fried Chicken, Santa Fe, or a favourite at Malden High, bubble tea. There are two boba tea shops right by the high school, Kung Fu Tea and Tsaocaa, and across from Stop & Shop, there is Gong Cha. Right by the Train Station, there is a new competitor: HeyTea.
HEYTEA first started as a small shop in an alleyway in China, which they called “Jiangbianli,” creating a series of new types of bubble tea unprecedented in the rest of the world. As of today there are two shops located in Massachusetts.
Previously having success in other locations like Newbury Street in Boston, in which shops are often packed with customers, questions have arisen on whether the unopened location in Malden will live up to the neighboring location’s standards.
With an unconfirmed release date, there have been speculations about it opening later this year. While it has not opened yet, some Malden High students have begun to voice their opinions. Junior Tempest Chen, an avid Santa Fe customer, shared how he doesn’t “mind” the addition of another food chain in Malden.
Chen added how HeyTea won’t “affect” the consumerism of other stores near it like Santa Fe, as their five-dollar deals on Monday bring a lot of attraction. When it comes to the boba shops, Chen believes it “might have some impact” in the competition of customers, especially among MHS students.
With the “convenience” of other boba shops near the school that are “better overall” in Chen’s opinion, he believes that the opening of HeyTea will have a little impact on the boba competition in Malden. Having previously tried HeyTea at a different location, Chen emphasized that it’s “overrated” and thought that the long lines aren’t “worth waiting for.”
On the contrary; sophomore Meybelin Guadron Nieto, a boba enthusiast, believes that the drinks on the HeyTea menu seem “very captivating,” which may “catch” the attention of people passing by. She added that HeyTea’s variety of drinks on their menu may affect the number of customers at other boba shops.
Although Nieto has never tried HeyTea before, she shared that she would be willing to “wait in line” due to the variety of coconut drinks, since she “loves coconut and other stores don’t have as many options.”
Ending it off, Nieto shared that HeyTea might become her “new favorite due to the variety of options.”
For further updates on HeyTeas opening, visit the location at 180 Pleasant St. by the train station.
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