Evy Tea Bar Reopens This Month in Jamaica Plain

Get an early look at the patio renovations this Saturday, May 5.

By Jacqueline Cain· 5/2/2018, 11:43 a.m.

Evy Chen stands with a new mural on the patio of Evy Tea Bar in Jamaica Plain. / Photo by Jacqueline Cain

UPDATE, Tuesday, May 22: The Evy Tea Bar in Jamaica Plain reopens Wednesday, May 23, at 8 a.m.

PREVIOUSLY:

Reopening her Jamaica Plain tea bar is taking Evy Chen a bit longer than anticipated, but the cold brew will be flowing this Saturday during one of the most exciting weekends in the neighborhood. Chen will welcome guests on the patio with free cups of her iced teas on Saturday, May 5, during the 40th annual Wake Up the Earth festival.

Evy Tea first opened on Amory Street, near Stony Brook, two years ago. The tea bar has been under renovation since September, after Chen moved business operations of her growing, bottled cold brew tea business to Charlestown.

The move more than doubles the size of the JP café. She extended the bar around the space, and added four more draft lines to increase the number of beverages on tap to 12. When it reopens, the tea bar will have a selection of sweetened and unsweetened, mostly organic cold brew teas, as well as sparkling drinks, kombucha, and iced coffee. Guests can add bottomless boba to their drinks, and there will be more pastry options for sale from other local business like FoMu and Pain D’Avignon.

The renovated space will seat 18 inside, and an additional 15 outside. A new mural by local artist Alex Cook overlooks the patio. During the first 80-degree morning of the year, Chen and a group of helpers were cleaning up the outdoor area, and planting herbs and flowers in a couple container gardens.

“When I first opened the tea bar, I had no budget,” Chen says. Before it was Evy Tea’s first headquarters, the property was a car garage. Though it’s accessible right off of the Southwest Corridor, “this is sort of a forgotten corner of the neighborhood. I wanted to bring more life to it,” Chen says, explaining the eclectic décor. “Everything was secondhand. People tell me it was vintage and hip, but I didn’t have money to make the flow efficient.”

She’s hoping the upgrades will make the place more welcoming for guests who want to linger over cold brew and vegan scones, and also make it more conducive for hosting events and classes. “We’re definitely becoming more of a community spot,” Chen says.

Her Charlestown business, though, is no longer an Evy Tea bar. It’s her offices, storage, and bottling facility; the wholesale side of Evy Tea puts four varieties of cold brew in 500 grocery stores, cafés, and other locations from Vermont to Washington, D.C. It got to be a lot to manage, so Chen sold her second tea bar in early April. Charlestown Tea & Treats opened there last week, Eater Boston reported.

Chen’s focus now is on growing her retail business, and putting down deeper roots in Jamaica Plain. The latter begins this Saturday from noon-6 p.m., during the community festival—stay tuned for the tea bar’s official reopening date.

Evy Tea Bar, 253 Amory St., Jamaica Plain, evytea.com.