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Ada and Hadley Nolen waiting for their wintermelon lemonade tea at Sharetea, Orinda Photo Sora O'Doherty
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Since its grand opening at the end of February, Sharetea in the newly remodeled building at 41 Moraga Way in the Theatre District has been attracting tea drinkers of all ages. Sean Yee holds the franchise from Sharetea, a long-standing company that originated in Taiwan.
The Orinda shop offers an extensive menu of drinks including ice cream drinks, hot tea and, of course, boba tea. Customers can choose from fruit teas, milk teas, fresh milk with black, green or oolong tea, matcha, coffee, and cocoa. There are signature, non-alcoholic mojitos, brewed hot teas, and ice blended teas with pearls, pudding, ice cream or jellies. Customers can select the desired level of ice, the level of sweetness, ranging from 30 to 100%, and toppings, which cost an additional 75 cents. Creama adds $1.25 to the base prices, which range from $4 to $5.75.
Yee says that the classic milk tea with pearls and the Thai iced tea with pearls are really popular. He adds that his customers range over all ages and all ethnicities. "It's not just an Asian thing!" he says. In the afternoon, the shop tends to be busy with children and teens, while on the weekends, families come in. During the day, business people stop by for a drink. Yee currently employs 18 staff members. Yee himself can be found serving tea, and his wife also helps with the business, when she is not working at her part-time job as a human resources manager. Yee, who spent 12 years working as an attorney while his wife has worked in the food and beverage industry all her life, grew up in Orinda and his parents and two sisters still live here. Sharetea is Yee's first franchise.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA