Nihao Tea House, a family-owned bubble tea shop in Johnson City, has been serving classic Taiwanese bubble tea since 2012. The cozy, plant-filled shop is run by Emily Pan ‘17, MBA ‘18 and her parents.
The shop was born from a dream Pan had in 2012 — literally.
“I feel like I’m kind of witchy,” Pan said. “I have premonition dreams sometimes, and I dreamt of the logo and the location, and then my mom also had a similar dream.”
At the time, Pan’s father was fixing computers for a living, and the family was looking for a way to make more money. With bubble tea’s growing popularity in the United States and no other authentic boba shops in the area at the time, Pan saw an opportunity.
In 2012, Pan graduated from high school in Johnson City and was taking classes at SUNY Broome Community College, but she made time to handle the tea house’s marketing and branding. She was also one of the shop’s four everyday employees, along with her sister, mother and father. Her sister has since moved to San Francisco, so now it is just Pan and her parents running things.
It took the family just under a year following the dreams about Nihao Tea House to officially open up the shop. During that time, the family researched Taiwanese techniques for authentic tea making. Pan said her father took classes in Taiwan to perfect the tapioca.
“A lot of it was learning how to do the techniques,” Pan said. “How to make it perfectly, how to cook the tapioca perfectly, because not to toot my own horn, but I think we have the best tapioca in the area, and that’s what we get comments about all of the time. So we really are proud of our technique.”
Once the business was up and running, Pan said they thrived because of their loyal customer base in Binghamton, where people are eager to support local small businesses.
“Having a really great product translates to having good customers and a long-lasting clientele,” Pan said.
Pan’s father emigrated from Taiwan to the United States to study computer science at Binghamton University and met her mother on a vacation back to Taiwan. They share their daughter’s witchy side — when they went to a psychic together just after meeting, they found that their fortunes pointed towards each other. The two got married within the week, and a year later, Pan’s mother moved with her father back to the United States.
With their heritage in mind, they knew they wanted to commemorate Taiwanese culture and food through Nihao Tea Cafe. With all of their teas sourced from Taiwan, they have totaled over 35 flavors of milk and fruit tea, taking classes and pursuing research to ensure their product is the highest quality.
Pan described the tradeoffs to starting a business so young, losing friends because of her tight schedule between working, high school and eventually obtaining her bachelor’s and then master’s in marketing at the University. But she said the experience also helped foster stronger relationships between her and her closest friends, who would come visit her at the cafe.
Since Nihao Tea Cafe was last featured in Pipe Dream in 2018, Pan said the shop has changed a lot. They added smoothies as a healthier alternative to the delicious — but high in sugar — classic bubble tea. Additionally, they have planned some new marketing tactics. Pan, who is also an artist, will make new hand-drawn stickers every month for returning customers, starting with a Valentine’s sticker launching in February.
Last week, the shop held a Lunar New Year promotion. Patrons who purchased two or more drinks received a red envelope, a classic Lunar New Year tradition typically given to children or family members for good luck, with a blessing inside instead of cash.
Long term, Pan is looking forward to a day when her father will be able to take a step back from the business.
“My dad really likes playing golf, so I really want to be able to make enough money and things like that to help him retire so he can play golf every day,” Pan said. “But yeah, I feel like we’ll still be open.”
While her parents are still working at the shop, Pan said she really values the time they spend together each Tuesday when the shop is closed. They plan family dinners and get a chance to relax together after working hard all week.
Nihao Tea House is open every other day from noon to 7 p.m. except for Saturday when it is open from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Pan has recommendations for both bubble tea lovers and newbies alike.
“For a good starter bubble tea, I would always recommend taro or mango, and that could be in any of our forms, like a milk tea, fruit tea, a slush,” Pan said. “Personally, I really like the slushes, and [they are] really popular amongst kids too.”
“For a person that has already had bubble tea and wants to try something new, I really recommend the white peach fruit tea with strawberry jelly or strawberry pop,” Pan added. “I think that’s a super amazing refreshing combo, and I recommend it all the freaking time to everyone that comes in.”