China’s Most Popular Tea Shop Chagee Modern Tea House Opens Its First U.S. Location in Los Angeles

Chagee (pronounced CHAH-jee) Modern Tea House, one of China’s most popular tea shops, is gearing up to make its U.S. debut in Los Angeles with its first stateside location at the Westfield Century City. The shop, located on the top deck of the mall, will open to the public on Saturday, April 26, with a grand opening scheduled for May 9. The U.S. location has been in progress since at least November 2024, when Westside blogger Todrick Allen spotted Chagee branding at the former Sugar Factory location.

Chagee was founded in 2017 in Yunnan and has since expanded to over 6,400 locations worldwide, including across China, as well as in Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. The chain is best known for its fresh-brewed and milk teas, served in ornate cups that would look at home in a Dior fine china collection. In advance of the Century City location opening, Chagee filed for an IPO and is now trading on the Nasdaq with the ticker “CHA.”

At the Century City shop, which is located next to the Container Store, Chagee is offering a full line-up of its signature teas, including a peach oolong tea latte, roasted oolong tea, a jasmine green tea latte, and a blended caramel tea frappe. The shop specializes in both tea lattes, available with regular milk or oat milk, as well as brewed teas. Chagee team members brew the tea using a special, artificial intelligence-powered process that extracts it in under a minute, resulting in consistent brews for every cup. Alongside the teas, Chagee offers pastries from Farmshop, such as a jasmine tea-infused cruffin, ricotta cake, chocolate chip cookies, and plain croissants.

The minimalist interior of the tea shop is clad in blonde wood with a Hollywood-themed mural on one side and a display of the tea brewing process on the other. Behind the counter, workers attend to the brewing machines before calling out orders for pickup. Seating is available inside at a few tables and couches, complemented by more chairs and tables on the outdoor patio. Noguchi-style lanterns hang overhead, illuminating the room in a soft glow, and there are a few planters with trees positioned throughout the space.

The arrival of Chagee is an exciting new addition to Westfield Century City, which recently welcomed South Korean dessert cafe Knotted, and Emma Chamberlain’s cafe, Chamberlain Coffee. But the mall isn’t slowing down anytime soon — Super Peach, a restaurant from the Momofuku group, as well as the restaurants Katsuya and Casa Dani are set to open later in 2025.

Chagee is located at 10250 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90067, and will open on April 26, with a grand opening to follow on May 9.