State College has a growing number of tea, boba shops. How one is looking to set itself apart
Minh Vuong grew up in New Orleans, where he said there are quite a few tea and boba shops. When he first arrived in State College, he realized that wasn’t the case — and wanted to be the one to change that.
However, after a time, it seemed Vuong wasn’t the only one with this idea. Now, he noted, downtown State College is “congested” with boba shops. While this may have been a deterrent to some entrepreneurs, though, he used this fact to not only choose a new location for his business, but also develop a broader concept and menu that would provide unique offerings that customers wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else.
He officially opened TeaFé in October 2023 in the North Atherton Place Shopping Center.
“Now, if you look at the menu, it’s a lot of ... signature drinks that are not available anywhere around here,” Vuong described. “There’s a coffee menu, with frappes, lattes and macchiatos. ... There are food items — beignets are from the French Quarter down in New Orleans, so I brought that up here. There are crepes on the menu.”
The TeaFé food menu also takes inspiration from successful boba shops in large destinations, such as New York, Hawaii and Las Vegas. As such, customers can find popular items that have gained traction on social media over recent years, such as mochi donuts, a fun fried pastry with a strawberry, vanilla or chocolate glaze, and taiyaki, a Japanese fish-shaped sweet treat filled with custard. Another recent addition? Spam musubi, a Hawaiian snack made with seasoned rice, spam and nori.
The taiyaki, Vuong said, has become one of TeaFé’s most popular food items, but the drinks on the menu get their fair share of love as well.
“Everybody seems to love the brown sugar tiger boba, which is fairly common in boba tea shops, but it seems that our specific recipe is really popular,” he said. “Everybody loves it, whether it’s the way we make the bobas or the brown sugar that we make or it’s a combination of it that stands out compared to the other boba tea shops around this area.”
The overall menu is expansive, with not just boba and coffee-based beverages, but also shakes, smoothies, milk teas, seasonal beverages and what Vuong calls simply “the yogurt drink.”
“When people come in, they don’t know what it is, but once they try it, they keep coming back for it,” he explained. “It’s yogurt, almost like a slush, but it’s yogurt with real fruit and blended. It’s really good.”
Beyond the expansive and varied menu, TeaFé’s location has also helped set it apart from other boba shops a short drive away. While the North Atherton storefront currently doesn’t attract as many students as it does locals, Vuong noted it was his hope to change that in the coming months, as the boba shop further develops its marketing and social media presence.
Additionally, Vuong said, “We’re in the works on a second location. Although I’m not allowed to [divulge] the location, we’re looking to expand ... either this year or next year.”
For the very near future, though, menu changes are on the horizon, even if it’s nothing drastic. Fall and winter will bring seasonal drink offerings, and Vuong mentioned hopes of adding more food items to the menu, such as bánh mì, the classic Vietnamese sandwich.
TeaFé is open 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Pickup orders can be placed online, at teafeusa.com, and delivery is available via GrubHub, DoorDash and Uber Eats.
Holly Riddle is a freelance food, travel and lifestyle writer. She can be reached at holly.ridd@gmail.com.
