Cheese Tea Is Stirring Up The Iced Beverage Game

Whipped cream is so 2000. Cheese cream is where it’s at these days.

Whipped cheese is basically whipped cream that has cheese added to the mix, and it’s being served on top of iced tea. The drink started back in 2010 in Taiwanese food stalls and it quickly became a hit in Asia. The concoction is known as cheese tea, and it’s stirring up the beverage world.

Cheese tea is also available stateside  in major cities such as Los Angeles and New York City. 

The original recipe made in Taiwan called for powdered cheese. But these days many tea companies specializing in this drink, such as Little Fluffy Head Cafe in Los Angeles, use real cheese. Little Fluffy Head put together this video on how they make their cheese tea:

The tea has been an instant success for two reasons: the flavors of the tea and cheese are very complementary, and the cheese cream is an effective way to tone down the natural bitterness of the tea.

“Tea culture  has a long history in China already, but bitterness at the beginning when people drink it is off-putting for some younger people,“ HeyTea CEO Nie Yunchen, 26, told Condé Nast Traveler . HeyTea started with a humble 330-square-foot location in China and now has 69 stores in 12 different cities.

“We wanted to add a new flavor that young people would like,” Yunchen elaborated. And cheese cream was it. 

Will cheese have the same staying power in the states that bubble tea has? Only time, and lots of cheese, will tell. 

H/T Refinery29