What Does the Chayan Yuese Queue Story Mean for Coffee Online News?

On April 2, the Chinese tea brand Chayan Yuese, known in English as Sexy Tea, opened two pop-up stores at Shenzhen Wenheyou. Reports circulated that more than 30,000 queue numbers were issued and a single cup resold for over 200 yuan. The brand clarified that the 30,000 figure was Wenheyou's table number, not its milk tea queue.

Both stores sit on the B1 and third floors of Shenzhen Wenheyou and operate as pop-ups for three months, opened to support the Wenheyou brand from Changsha. Queue-standing services appeared on resale platforms the day before launch, priced from 2 to over 200 yuan. The episode fits a broader coffee beverage development pattern where limited openings and social media attention drive resale demand.

On April 2, the internet-famous tea beverage brand Sexy Tea opened a pop-up store at Shenzhen Wenheyou, drawing unprecedented queues on its opening day. Rumors circulated online that the number of queued tickets exceeded 30,000, and a single cup of milk tea was being resold for over 200 yuan. However, Sexy Tea officially clarified shortly afterward that the so-called 30,000 number was actually Shenzhen Wenheyou's table number, not the milk tea queue number. From Changsha to Wuhan and now to Shenzhen, why does Sexy Tea always spark such frenzy? This article will recount the events, trace the brand's development, and explore whether a cup of milk tea is worth such long queues.

Queueing 30,000 tickets just for a cup of milk tea??

What exactly is the background of Sexy Tea?

Why is everyone so crazy about it?

On April 2, the internet-famous milk tea brand Sexy Tea, with its Chinese-style theme, made its debut in Shenzhen.

On the opening day, it was once again a sea of people... The queue stretched endlessly.

No wonder topics like #ShenzhenSexyTeaQueue30k# and #ShenzhenCupOfSexyTeaOver200Yuan# quickly trended on social media.

This time, Sexy Tea set up two stores in Shenzhen, located on the B1 and third floors of Shenzhen Wenheyou. Sexy Tea stated that the decision to open in Shenzhen was to support its good friend "Wenheyou" from Changsha. The stores are primarily pop-up shops (Baidu Baike explanation: pop-up stores are temporary retail spaces set up in commercial areas for retailers to promote their brands in a short period), with a business term of three months. (For details, see: Official Announcement! Sexy Tea is Coming to Shenzhen!!)

As a brand with its own internet-famous halo, Sexy Tea's opening day was equally packed with people. According to Chengdu Business Daily: The queue for Sexy Tea had reached 30,000 tables.

But intriguingly, the day before the opening, queue-standing services for Sexy Tea had already appeared on multiple online shopping platforms. On Xianyu, the price for standing in line and buying on behalf of customers for Shenzhen Sexy Tea mostly exceeded 200 yuan.

According to Sina Shenzhen: Searching for Shenzhen Sexy Tea on a certain app fills the screen with related products, priced from 2 yuan to 200 yuan. One product page showed detailed charges: queue-standing starts at 4 a.m., a deposit is required and receipt confirmed if purchasing, queue fee is 31 yuan per hour, and delivery fee is 100 to 200 yuan. If queueing for two hours, the queue-standing fee would exceed 60 yuan.

Due to the overwhelming popularity, the queue in front of Sexy Tea even attracted the "Shenzhen Traffic Police." The Shenzhen Traffic Police posted a reminder: "The foot traffic and vehicle flow around Shenzhen Wenheyou have gradually increased, with endless queues of citizens. There are no parking spaces, so we recommend citizens choose green transportation."

However, in response to the above news, at 17:49 that day, Sexy Tea responded via its official Weibo: "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, it's Shenzhen Wenheyou's table number that reached that number, not us. Queueing 30k tickets, this misattributed hat is too big—a cup of milk tea can't wear it, let alone us. Also, they've now queued over 60k tables. The weather is hot, everyone please take pandemic precautions and visit Shenzhen Wenheyou during off-peak times~ We'll continue to do our part as the green leaves and cheer for Shenzhen Wenheyou!"

As a top-tier internet-famous "star" in the tea beverage world, Sexy Tea is not just a drink in the eyes of Changsha locals, but a landmark of Changsha.

Since previously only available in Changsha, it has been called a "regional rare item" by consumers everywhere.

Last December, Sexy Tea first stepped out of Changsha, choosing Wuhan Tiandi for its store. On the opening day, it immediately topped the trending list. Multiple media outlets reported on-site: The queue at the Wuhan Sexy Tea store was extremely packed, with some consumers even queueing overnight for 8 hours just to buy a cup of milk tea. During the queue, people occasionally tried to cut in, sparking queue disputes. The most exaggerated was scalpers reselling at 150 yuan per cup, and consumers still paid!! (Truly crazy!)

Moreover, due to the dense crowd, the store occasionally put up queue time signs, and rumors even spread that "Sexy Tea hired people to fill the venue," forcing Sexy Tea to urgently call the police to clarify.

Opening day of the new store at Wuhan Tiandi

Sexy Tea is a well-known local milk tea brand in Changsha. As a "regional rare item" internet-famous store, whether in Wuhan or Shenzhen, Sexy Tea's business is extremely booming. So, what makes Sexy Tea, which drives the whole nation crazy, so exceptional?

Sexy Tea was founded in 2013. Since it previously insisted on not opening stores outside Changsha and not offering franchises, it attracted many young people from all over the country to visit Changsha specifically to taste it, thus becoming a well-known "internet-famous" brand among milk tea enthusiasts nationwide. On January 18, 2020, Sexy Tea, which had only focused on the local Changsha market, issued an official Weibo statement confirming that it would open stores outside Changsha in 2020, and stated, "Outside Changsha, we will still adopt a direct-operated model, no franchising, no agency." The first stop was Wuhan, and this time Shenzhen is the second stop chosen by Sexy Tea.

Sexy Tea takes Chinese style as its theme, with its products, decor, and merchandise all carrying a strong "Chinese style." Its rapid development today is inseparable from its unique cultural positioning and ingenious product design, which have created a "brand symbol" for Sexy Tea. Combined with its very down-to-earth and personalized writing on its official account and Weibo, Sexy Tea has gained considerable consumer loyalty.

As of December 2020, Sexy Tea had opened over 290 direct-operated stores in Changsha.

Finally,

For a cup of Sexy Tea, consumers are truly crazy. So—

Is it really worth queueing in such long lines for a cup of milk tea??

Everyone, let's consume rationally hahaha~

*Image source: Sexy Tea Weibo, internet

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.