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    Chayan

    4.1 (39 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

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    Harun O.

    Very easy ordering process. The preparation was well automated, streamlined and quick while still paying attention to quality. Trier osmanthus milk tea and genmaicha milk tea. Flowery notes of osmanthus milk tea was very bright and tasty, and genmaicha was on another level- earthy chocolatey as I like and very well balanced. Inside is modernly decorated with warm green tones and would make a good spot for a quick stop for a catch up with a friend, date or even working on your laptop for a bit

    Kumar V.

    Okay - this place feels premium. Too premium for a boba tea spot. Definitely cool atmosphere in a prime UW location. Right crowd to attract. Also lot of respect for respecting "No Sugar" option. I got a no sugar tea and they absolutely didn't put any sugar - lot of boba drinks will still have sugar. If I come here next time I will probably go with light sugar. Service is pretty quick - you shouldn't have to wait long.

    Jeremiah M.

    There seems to be a debate in the reviews about whether Chayan competes with Molly Tea or not. Both have similar menus and styles, but here's my take. I first heard about Chayan when I was visiting Richmond BC, and I did take a peak at that location. To be honest, the Richmond location was nicer than this one, but the inside of the Seattle location was bigger and had more seating. I went to try out the Seattle location yesterday with my girlfriend, and we both each got a drink. I ordered the Gardenia Milk Tea, and my first reaction to the initial taste was a little disappointing. I prefer a more tea-forward taste for my milk teas, and this one wasn't as strong as other places. I also saw reviews saying that the drinks were quite lukewarm, and the more I think about it, they're completely right. I was wondering why I felt off about it, but I do prefer my drinks to be colder. Perhaps they didn't want to dilute the milk tea with lots of ice. I will say, the drink got better the more I drank it, but it isn't something I would consistently go back for. So my verdict for the Chayan VS Molly Tea debate? Sorry to say, but Chayan is not as good. However, Chayan is closer for me and the drinks come out a lot faster. If I don't feel like driving all the way to the Eastside, I would consider coming here if I just wanted a quick fix. But then again, there are many better options for milk tea in Seattle.

    Wendi K.

    High end tea spot. I love molly tea and this was also fun to try. I tried the peach oolong tea and the iced lemon lychee osmanthus tea ($6+ each). Both were refreshing, but I would stick with their milk teas for sure The packaging and straws are well designed and luxurious. Staff are polite and there is a decent amount of seating inside.

    Got the pu er milk tea - IG: @datglobetrotterlife
    Sho I.

    This place is OK. If you read the other reviews here, the main complaint is that the tea flavor is not very strong. I'm one of those types that wants my tea, especially matcha, to be 'in your face' strong. Chayan's drinks are the complete opposite. There's also something odd (just a personal preference) with their non-transparent cups where you can't see the contents of your drink. Moreover, the cream layer on top seems very Western to me (for, you know, an Asian beverage), and I just don't get the pecan topping. At least space inside is alright and if you can find seating, it is a decent place to do work. But, with the other boba places in the neighborhood, I'd rather go to those.

    Camellia Milk Tea
    Carol L.

    Happy BOGO day at Chayan! Congratulations on the release of your new Camellia series. It's wonderfully floral and not too sweet but just enough sweetness and fruitiness to be a perfect midday treat. I always look forward to the new series Chayan is putting out, and the staff are always knowledgeable about their teas. They give you their signature triple straw so you can fully immerse yourself in the milk tea experience (or so I've been told!) and a spoon to eat the cream with too. They don't really do boba /tapioca balls here, it's more of a milk tea-specific establishment. Always love the selection of boba options in the university district, and Chayan is high up there in my ranking list.

    Menu (Sept 2025)
    Albert T.

    Seattle-Area Boba Shop Review #89 I recently heard about Chayan opening up in U District and decided to visit over the weekend. This was a Sunday afternoon and there wasn't a line, although there were a couple of customers sitting at the tables sipping on their milk teas. I'm surprised they come from the UK since the aesthetics - the single tone coloration, the three-coffee-stirrer-esque straws, the cups, and the focus on higher quality milk tea with limited toppings - all remind me of the newer mainland Chinese brands (e.g. Chagee and Molly Tea). Ordering is similar as well, with a kiosk right in front for convenience. Da-Hong-Pao Milk Tea, Light Ice, Regular Sweet ($5.89) - Other reviews indicate the sweetness levels are lower than the typical boba shop and I agree. Full sweetness here is similar to a bit more than 50% sugar at other places, so there's enough to be a sweet drink but not enough to feel too sweet. This tea is very fragrant, smooth and has a certain roasted nuttiness in aroma, with the flavor being easily transferred to the mouth through the fattiness of the milk, which also gives a sweet finish. It's very tasty and easy to sip on through the small straw. At light ice, the ice level feels like it's a lot, but since there's only a limited amount of liquid that can be sucked up through the straw, it takes a while to get through the entire cup. This allows the ice to melt at a steady rate and even when fully melted, the tea flavor still shines. Milk Tea Rating: 5/5 Pu'er Tea Frappe, Light Ice, Regular Sweet ($7.29) - A frappe is just the normal milk tea with whipped cream and pecans on top. The whipped cream is pretty typical fresh whipped cream. It doesn't seem to be stabilized, so it deflates quickly. It's creamy and slightly sweet, but not that fluffy. The pecans are a nice crunchy element that add some nuttiness along with a bit of salt and some almost caramel like flavors from possibly being candied a bit on the exterior. I'm not sure the two toppings are worth the extra $1.40, but they are good to try. In terms of the Pu'er milk tea, it's quite interesting. I'm used to more oxidized and fermented, exceptionally earthy and woody notes, but this one is totally different. It tastes kind of like toasted soil and kombu. No seriously, it's earthy but it has an almost meaty savory umami note. Really interesting flavor and honestly not one I really enjoy. But, the fact that there's a distinct flavor at all makes this a very high quality milk tea. Milk Tea Rating: 5/5 As with other similar milk tea spots, I probably won't be revisiting simply because of the lack of boba as a topping. Chayan otherwise serves some very good quality milk tea so it's great for anyone who wants a more Mainland Chinese and/or coffee shop-type experience. Bathrooms - Given the aesthetics of the interior, I thought these would be impeccably clean. Instead, these are larger bathrooms with multiple stalls located via a short walk through a kind of dumpy interior courtyard area. It reminds me of bathrooms found in China and Taiwan given the location and cleanliness levels. That's not a good thing.

    Outside
    Nathan F.

    I'm impressed, I might go as far as to say it's better than Molly Tea! Located in the University District and replacing Hey! I am Yogost, I got to try out Chayan at my old college grounds! My group came during the closing hour (and before school officially started, so it wasn't busy), yet the workers were incredibly kind and welcoming to us! Despite being close to closing, the interior and overall vibe serve as a good ambiance to study and socialize. I personally got the Pu'er Milk Tea. I was blown away by how high-quality the tea brew was. On top of that, the whipped cream and pecan were the perfect cherry on top. I'm very happy Chayan has started opening locations here in the U.S., not to mention in the U District! Especially if you enjoy Molly tea, you should definitely try Chayan!

    Michelle Z.

    This place gives off Molly Tea knock off version. With the same aesthetics of the interior but just different color. This place focuses on the same thing as the store mentioned above, which is solely on milk tea. I definitely can see how this can target get more students as it's located by the Ave. However, I don't think the drinks are that good and not worth the price. I was expecting something a little bit more or better and deeper tea flavor, but I wasn't really getting any of that.

    Carolyn D.

    New milk tea place! I am glad there are more places opening up that emphasize tea and are not overly extravagant with their flavors or toppings. We went to their BOGO from 9/5-9/7. I wish you could mix different drinks for the BOGO (but you had to get the same one). Line was pretty long at around 6pm and it ended up taking about 40 minutes to get our drinks. The staff were announcing numbers not in numerical order, which made it hard to estimate when your order is coming up. I hope they switch to a system where the numbers are in order. The drink itself is more subtle. I could taste the black tea but it was lighter than I thought. The worker advised us that their drinks are not very sweet, so suggested to get the 100% sweetness, which was actually perfect! 100% was not too sweet and complemented the drink perfectly. I thought the whipped cream would be more special, but it was just normal whipped cream. I liked it though. I do think Molly Tea is better in terms of the tea flavor shining through, but this is not a bad option.

    Menu 1 of 2 (frappe & lemon tea), September 2025
    Skye P.

    Cute spot off the ave! No line when I went at 1 pm on a Tuesday. Frappe is not blended, it's a normal milk tea with cream on it. Served with a very thin straw so you can appreciate the tea flavor, and a spoon to eat the cream! Optional pecan pieces to add on top come in little packets. Comes without a lid unless you request it, made it hard to consume the cream but not a true issue. Cream topping tastes like normal whipped cream. Thankful for tiny straw because it is SO good! Black tea frappe has great flavor. No caffeine free options. They do have dairy free options (soy & coconut). You can adjust sweetness and ice. Cute inside seating area, no outside seating. You order from a human, not a kiosk. Staff were very sweet and welcoming, would definitely come back!

    Chayan front
    Vinh M.

    One of my friends called this place a Molly Tea knockoff... he's also the same person who went with me to Molly Tea's grand opening a couple months ago, so I decided to do a drink run here with another one of my friends to get my own opinion. This was just before a street event down south and decided to drive up north to 30+ minute traffic to come here. We knew there was gonna be a line here but somehow it wasn't that long for a Saturday at 4pm. Turns out drinks were being quoted about an hour, but I already made the drive and the gas tank effort here, so we were literally locked in. And I'm not regretting this one bit! For starters, it indeed took an hour as quoted to get our drinks. Numbering system for drinks was a little off since they didn't seem to go in any perceivable order, and I couldn't hear the servers call out some of the numbers since it was so loud inside. For their BOGO event from September 5-7 (I went on the 6th), you can get one drink and then get a similar drink free. My friend and I each decided to get a matcha green tea frappe and a black tea frappe to take advantage. All our drinks were at regular sweetness, ice levels and milk. For both our tea frappes: - The matcha green tea frappe is all right, but the tea is really strong here! There wasn't that much matcha taste because it was drowned out by the whipped cream and pecans but it was subtle enough for both of us to enjoy. - We eventually agreed that the black tea frappe was the better of the two. It had an even stronger tea taste despite the whipped cream and pecans on top. Really floral, really ironic given those two things dimmed the taste of the matcha in the matcha green tea frappe. Most things were green inside, literally. The walls, the portion of the building above this location, and even their bags. There's several tables to sit at, and when it's a lot quieter without the lines I can imagine this area being a relaxing place for work and to hang out a little. It wasn't a good call to down both of these drinks very quickly because of my slight lactose intolerance but I thoroughly enjoyed the taste of what I had. This place is more or less similar to Molly Tea given they have similar drinks and have their own tea fragrances to define them, though this location's fragrance isn't as strong as Molly Tea's. Both places will have long lines at the time of this writing, but the wait will be worth it if you're into some high-quality tea.

    Classic Milk Tea
    Generous Y.

    Self proclaimed best milk tea and frappe from the UK has arrived in Seattle and is offering BOGO September 5th to 7th. Line to order wasn't too bad, but after ordering it was about 50 minutes. I'd recommend coming back to get your order during the promotion. Overall the value evens out with the promotion and wait time. I was impressed by the service despite the soft/grand opening pressure. Prices seem average (without promo). I'd say Chayan is similar to Molly Tea, offering premium tea drinks with no focus on toppings (extra cream and extra pecans are available here). Maybe slightly less premium but I didn't try the jasmine tea. Frappes are tea with cream and pecans so very similar. Sugar is lighter by default here, but they still offer a less sweet option. Less sweet is comparable to 25% at other spots so I guess default is around 50%? Solid location next to the west dorms of UW. Classic Milk Tea - true to the name, it's a typical black tea base with milk but honestly pretty rich. Not super different than other places, but an additional light smoky flavor is present. Good but I'd opt for their other options. For black tea enjoyers, get the frappe instead. Black Tea Frappe - the frappes here are different than the base drinks because of added cream and pecans on top. It enhances the tea to be creamier at a light cost of the tea taste but the tea is still present because it's high quality and rich.

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    11 months ago

    Peach oolong was really yummy, got it less sweet. Service was fast and friendly, not really sure what people have been talking about!

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    Menu

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