There’s another newcomer in an empty Espresso Royale Space, this time on Plymouth Rd. Moege Tee opened in late September, with a streamlined appearance, K-pop songs on its playlist, and a menu focused on tea drinks.
Moege is the latest global boba tea player to land in Ann Arbor and the second in the North Campus area after CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice in the Courtyard Shops.
Like CoCo, Moege is based in Taiwan. It has 380 stores around the world, including one in East Lansing. As with other area boba shops, customers stop at touch screens at the front of the store to place their orders.
Signature items include cheese-foam teas, with numerous choices of teas, including jasmine, rose oolong, peach, and osmanthus, also known as tea olive. Milk teas include creme brulee, Oreo, red bean, da hong pao (a Chinese tea with an orchid fragrance), and both coffee and chocolate milk mixed with tea.
Customers can also choose iced tea fruit slushes, with or without cheese foam. A watermelon tea slush was perfect for an eighty-degree day in mid-October. Other varieties include black grape, avocado, mango, grapefruit, and orange.
Moge’s drinks range between $4.50 for a medium size and $7 for the largest. Extra ingredients like herb jelly and regular boba cost 65¢, while popping boba cost 70¢ extra and cheese foam is 85¢ more.
Many Moege items are served in attractive tall reusable plastic cups with lids, rather than disposable ones like their boba competition.
The spacious shop has been redecorated with marble counters and potted plants. There is a row of five two-top tables, a pair of comfortable armchairs, and a long communal table seating six. Outside, there are round tables on the sidewalk.
At press time, Moege hadn’t responded to our request for an interview. And the shop still needs some finishing touches–boxes of supplies stood against the wall, one bakery case was empty, and video screens above the counter had not been turned on.
But peppy music by Lisa from the K-pop group Blackpink was playing on the speakers, and the steady stream of customers showed that Moege is already becoming a popular north-side spot.
Moege Tee, 2603 Plymouth Rd. mogeteeusa.com
