Hi y’all! My name’s Stella and I’m from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Regarding my major, I’m currently undecided, but Chemistry and Computer Science are both likely choices. College has been a winding process of me discovering what I enjoy doing, but I think I’m getting closer. My interests include searching the city for the best and cheapest eats, cooking with my sisters, and taking long strolls in parks or by the water. If you ever want/need a friend to talk to or to drag along for food adventures, I’m your gal.
There’s something intimate about sitting down with a friend and talking to them for hours. For some, the ideal setting for this conversation may be in a coffee shop or in a restaurant. For me, a local bubble tea shop does the job best. Hi Tea Cafe sports the simple decor of white chairs, glass tables, and black twine stickers against soft orange walls. It’s store front is also simple. It’s menu is vast; it specializes in drinks from milk bubble tea to passion fruit green tea with rainbow jelly. I bought my first drink, specifically a taro bubble tea, from Hi Tea Cafe during my freshman year of high school with a friend who lived in the neighborhood. The trip was meant to be a short one, but we ended up pulling up the tall stools by the glass windows and nursing our drinks for a few hours. Our usual surface talk transitioned to conversation about more personal topics. We watched as the sky turned dark before deciding that it was time to leave. As I headed for the train, I felt this new sense of satisfaction of getting to know someone at a deeper level. I’d make almost monthly visits with my friend to talk and I began to bring friends and family in and out of this bubble tea shop. I can confidently say that everyone enjoys their drinks as much as I do and that I always become a little closer with them every time we enter Hi Tea Cafe.
Unfortunately, Hi Tea Cafe shut down this summer so I sometimes head to the chain bubble tea shop a block down. However, it does not hold the charm Hi Tea used to have. It is difficult to hold a smooth conversation because groups that come in are loud and disruptive and the drinks are also more extravagantly priced. Hi Tea Cafe was a hidden gem among bubble tea places. It’s a shop that’s meaningful to me not only because it makes amazing drinks, but because I was able to foster greater friendships inside.
