The bubble tea brand about to open at Metrotown did not start in Taiwan, or in Richmond.
It started in London, in 2023.
Several Noms Magazine community members (miss.ollie.life & shanaachen) spotted Chayan signage up at Metrotown, on the lower level near the T&T end of the mall.
It will be the brand’s first Burnaby shop.
The unit is the one Little Monk Pretzels recently vacated.
Little Monk has not left the mall, it has relocated to the former American Cheesesteak Co. space over on the Silvercity side.
Chayan built its name on tea rather than on toppings.
The shop brews whole leaf tea and runs it through a teapresso machine, the same category of equipment that HeyTea uses, then finishes drinks with fresh milk, organic matcha, syrups made daily rather than poured from a bottle, and oat popping boba.
Its flagship drink is the black tea frappe, built on jinjunmei black tea with fresh milk, a light whipped cream cap, and pecan chips scattered over the top.
There is also a lemon series using perfume lemons flown in rather than sourced locally.
Richmond came first, then the Robson Street shop opened downtown in the old Lattea unit, soft opening June 11, timed just ahead of the World Cup crowds.
Metrotown makes three in Metro Vancouver, and the brand has been making moves in other cities as well like Seattle and Edmonton.
No opening date has been announced yet, but the Robson launch is a reasonable guide to what the Metrotown one will look like.
That day ran buy one get one free across every drink on the menu, with complimentary milk tea for the first 30 customers through the door and a membership sign-up that knocked 10 percent off a first order.
If the same playbook runs here, showing up early on day one is the whole strategy.
Chayan Metrotown joins other upcoming Burnaby food spots like Captain’s Boil at Gilmore, One Cafe’s second Crystal Mall stall, and Thrifty Foods at Brentwood.
For more new and upcoming food spots in Metro Vancouver, take a peek at our tracker here, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
Address: Metropolis at Metrotown, Burnaby (lower level, former Little Monk Pretzels unit)