TIME FOR TEA

Growing up in China, Mia Wan began her mornings with a simple, yet beautiful tradition.

“The tea would always be brewing in the kitchen,” recalls Wan. “It’s the tradition of our hometown. We would drink tea with our family and then we would talk. When I moved to America to study at Purdue University, those are the memories I brought with me. And that’s why I wanted to bring tea culture here so people can enjoy the benefits of tea and share their good memories with their friends and family.”

Wan has brought this exquisite tea culture to South Barrington in the form of Te’Amo Boba Bar. “There was not a lot of boba or coffee shops here, so we wanted to bring the community our drinks made from real loose leaf tea and organic milks and desserts made with natural ingredients,” says Te’Amo Boba Bar’s co-founder located in South Barrington. “Tea not only hydrates you but has antioxidants to fight and prevent disease.”

Indeed, Te’Amo Boba Bar offers its customers an array of Taiwanese tea-based drinks containing tapioca pearls. But that’s not all it provides. “This place and this tea are not only good for your health, but it’s also good for your soul,” Wan explains.

South Barrington now serves as Te’Amo Bar’s tenth location. Wan and her business partners opened their first store at the University of Chicago in 2018, and followed it up with locations in Chinatown, The Shops at North Bridge, River North, Water Tower Place, and Navy Pier. And with every location comes a brand new, all-encompassing experience.

“We put a lot of effort into being creative with our décor and making each place unique,” says Wan, who currently resides in Schaumburg. “Customers can bring their friends and family to each location and still feel that it’s different. Lots of our customers live in the suburbs, but they can go to the city and experience something completely new than what they might find at our Schaumburg or South Barrington location.”

Some important business practices, however, are standard across the shops. “We use organic milk to make all our drinks,” explains Wan, who also offers an array of desserts using all-natural ingredients. “That’s really different than traditional boba tea because many places use nondairy creamer, which is bad for people’s health. I prefer to give our customers the healthier version of boba tea.”

And while the tea is why people stop into Te’Amo Boba Bar, they stay for the chance to get closer to those in their community.

“Everyone always has their eyes on their phones, but here it’s different,” says Wan, who also sells eco-friendly merchandise such as reusable straws, cups, and tote bags. “People communicate. They share their stories, and they sit together at a round table. I feel that’s so meaningful because communication is very important for people’s emotional well-being.”

Wan says her goal is to ensure that people feel better when they leave Te’Amo Boba Bar compared to when they walked into Te- Amo Boba Bar. “That’s our goal,” she says. “We want every customer to leave here with a happy face.”

Visit Te’Amo Boba Bar at 100 W. Higgins Road, Suite F-35, in South Barrington.