Heytea Opens Its First UK Lab in London's Chinatown
The fifth heytea lab outside China brings 12 menu items to the UK for the first time, including three UK exclusives
LONDON, Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Heytea (www.heytea.com), the originator of new-style tea and the brand that reinvented tea for a new era, opens its first UK heytea lab today at 118-120 Shaftesbury Avenue in London's Chinatown. The two-level, 218-square-metre store is heytea's fifth lab-format store outside China, following locations in New York's Times Square, Toronto and Bangkok, as well as the recently opened gelato lab+ in New York. Alongside the brand's classic drink menu, the London lab introduces 12 creations to the UK for the first time through three sections-Tea Lab, Bake Lab, and Tea Ice Cream, including three products developed exclusively for the UK.
Heytea entered the UK in August 2023 with its first store in Soho. Since then, its UK footprint has grown to 18 stores across nine cities, including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Liverpool and beyond. The new heytea lab-the brand's most elevated store format globally-marks the next step in that expansion.
At heytea, a "lab" is not a back room; it is a playground for exploring what tea can become next. Each lab module expresses tea in a different form-drinks, gelato, cakes or other baked goods. A heytea lab brings one or more of these experimental modules together with the brand's classic drink menu.
The London store brings together two lab modules-Tea Lab and Bake Lab-alongside a Tea Ice Cream section.
- Classic drink menu: Mango Coconut Sticky Rice, created for heytea's global collaboration with BLACKPINK's Lisa, reimagines the Thai dessert as a made-to-order drink with freshly cooked Thai sticky rice, fresh-cut mango and a coconut milk-based slush. Other signatures include Coconut Mango Boom, Kale Boost Tea and Supreme Brown Sugar Bobo Milk Tea.
- Tea Lab: UK-exclusive Rock Oolong • Caramel Biscuit layers roasted, floral Rock Oolong and milk with caramel biscuit cloud, torched brown sugar and biscuit crumbs.
- Bake Lab: Original Croissant Egg Tart pairs flaky croissant pastry with silky egg custard and a lightly caramelised finish. Other highlights include the UK-exclusive Caramel Biscuit Croissant Egg Tart.
- Tea Ice Cream: Jasmine & Rice Ice Cream and UK-exclusive Caramel Biscuit Milk Tea Ice Cream that combines milk tea ice cream made with freshly brewed black tea, caramelised biscuit spread and crunchy biscuit crumbs. .
The three UK exclusives-Rock Oolong Caramel Biscuit, Caramel Biscuit Croissant Egg Tart and Caramel Biscuit Milk Tea Ice Cream-share one inspiration: the familiar British ritual of tea and biscuits, reimagined as a drink, a warm pastry and a scoop of ice cream.
"The UK has a very established tea culture, but people are also open to enjoying tea in new ways," said Chen Hao, heytea's Vice President of Public Relations and Communications. "Opening our first heytea lab here is an exciting step in our long-term growth. Inspired by tea and biscuits, the three UK exclusives show our commitment to creating more locally relevant experiences as we deepen our presence in the market."
Set inside a Victorian-era building between Chinatown and Soho, the two-level London lab draws on the quiet simplicity shared by British country houses and Chinese tea gardens. Restored architectural details, warm wood and an open tea counter create a calmer space just steps from the West End. The store also carries a curated selection of heytea lab merchandise, including an egg tart plate, ceramic mug, tote bag, tumbler, Longjing whole-leaf tea and jasmine tea incense sticks.
Heytea created the first cup of cheese tea in 2012 and, with it, helped establish a new category of made-to-order drinks: new-style tea. Since then, the brand has continued to expand what tea can become through fruit tea, Teamix, tea-centred desserts and specialised store concepts such as teabar and heytea labs.
That experimental instinct also shapes how heytea grows. Consistent operations support thousands of stores behind the scenes, while specialised formats, location-specific design and locally developed products give individual stores room to feel different. The London lab is the latest expression of that model: global scale paired with local ideas, and growth driven by experimentation rather than repetition.
For more information, visit www.heytea.com.
About heytea
Founded in 2012 in Jiangmen, Guangdong, China, heytea is the originator of new-style tea and the creator of the first cup of cheese tea. The brand reimagines tea for a new generation through tea-centred products, experimental store concepts and brand experiences rooted in sharing everyday inspiration through a cup of tea. Today, heytea operates more than 3,500 stores across more than 330 cities worldwide, including Shanghai, Hong Kong, New York, London, Toronto, Sydney and Seoul, with 150 million registered members globally. Heytea entered the UK in August 2023 and now operates 18 stores across nine cities.
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