A ROYAL STEEP: HEYTEA TAKES CENTRE STAGE AT THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE

By Emma Carney | Bunny Pudding · Digital Coven · @bunnyscopes | Press Invite

My first words were ‘Cup of Tea’, no really, turns out even as a baby I learned what I wanted and quickly got to grips on how to get it. In the years that have passed my passion for tea remains but I had up until the HEYTEA event managed to avoid the ‘Boba tea’ trend. Not for any reason in particular, I just hadn’t had the opportunity to try it and usually when I am strutting around the city looking for a beverage my usual go to is an industrial strength coffee made from Soya milk (Trust me it’s delicious) so when I was invited to attend the HEYTEA event at the Royal Opera and Ballet House I was delighted to accept.

HEYTEA is a Chinese tea drink chain founded in 2012 and has been going from strength to strength since. It’s become a bit of an Internet Icon in China which has led to some very interesting collaborations with brands such as ‘Fendi’ (Yes, the high fashion designer) and Barbie.

I didn’t know what to expect so I went with a flavour that was a ‘Classic’, a flavour that looked the prettiest and an exclusive flavour. The flavours that I tried were: 

THE ORIGINAL: COCONUT MANGO BLOOM

Great if you want something sweet and refreshing, it certainly was delicious but a wee bit too sweet for my savoury palette. I am notorious for not liking anything too sweet though. It was a scenery experience with fruit and jelly pieces inside, yum! 

Ingredients 

• Mango Puree 
• Aqua Green Jasmine Tea (Slushie) 
• 100% mango juice 
• Clear Jelly 
• Sago
• Real Cane Sugar

CHESSE GRAPE BLOOM (LOOKS THE PRETTIEST)

Yes, CHEESE grape boom. Yes, a fruity and creamy tea with a little hint of cheese flavour. Yes, it works, I don’t know how it works but it does. This was my favourite drink of the event and I guzzled it down. The fruit and jelly made it rather refreshing and it wasn’t too sweet for my picky palate. 

Ingredients 

• Cheese foam Topping (original)
• Grape puree
• Clear jelly
• Red Cane sugar
• Aqua Green Jasmine Tea (Slushie) 
• 100% grape juice 

POP UP EXCLUSIVE: MIDNIGHT TEA PARTY

Their pop up exclusive which was also my first foray into the world of Boba tea…it was a sensory experience to be fair, and I was delighted to finally get what all the fuss was about when it came to ‘Boba’ – the balls that come in the tea which are actually made from a member of the sweet potato family. Trust me they work, again, I cannot explain how but it’s a fun experience drinking the tea and having a few Boba come up the straw. This flavour was chocolatey and rich but I loved it. The flavours all came together and it’s certainly worth a try.

Ingredients 

• Chocolate cheese foam Topping (original)
• Brown Sugar Boba 
• Real Dairy Milk 
• Red Blossom Tea 

The teas are a sensory experience, with a mixture of fruit, jelly and in some cases, Boba and are recommended to be drunk slowly so the flavours can come together, and I did find as I drank them the flavours merged more.

Overall I enjoyed my HEYTEA experience and loved getting to watch the teas being made. I really was like a kid in the candy store and you could see how much work goes into bringing a drink together. I will certainly find myself popping into a shop when I am out and about and wanting a lil treat to try their latest flavours. Rest assured I will still get my caffeine fix, as the HEYTEA is in fact caffeinated as well as delicious so I can still go back to my day fueled with that delightful buzz.

Thank for having me HEYTEA!

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