Yi Fang - Saint Ives Australia

Hi! Hope everyone is having a fabulous day. Can you believe that it’s December already? It’s crazy how time flies! Grayson and I have been going to Yi Fang whenever we have been wanting fresh fruit tea because their teas are always super refreshing!. As with all the other locations, this Yi Fang location has a wooden store front style counter you order at with woodsy themes throughout the cafe. I like it because it reminds of when I was living in Taiwan and it really brings me back. I also like how they display the fruit they use in their dishes and have a stove top in the front to cook their black sugar pearls in! That’s how you know they try to make their drinks as fresh as possible.

By now, you must have noticed the bubble tea station that has been popping up all over the lower mainland. Let’s talk about the store that started the trend of brown sugar milk tea in Vancouver. Yi Fang marketed themselves as Taiwanese Fruit Tea. They use real fruit and tea leaf from different regions. The difference in taste are distinct. When they first opened, Vancouver was still drinking tea of the same green/black tea base with added flavor. The introduction of Yi Fang, really took Vancouvites by surprise.

YiFang Fruit Tea is a popular Taiwanese-based bubble tea and fruit tea chain with locations worldwide. YiFang has expanded quite quickly within Metro Vancouver with 13 locations (some opened while some are in the works). One of their first locations in town is at 1725 Robson Street in Downtown Vancouver.

We had an hour to kill before a concert so after dinner, we were wandering down Robson when I spotted a bubble tea spot, Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea. They have a couple other locations (Richmond, Burnaby, Kerrisdale and South Cambie). We dropped in on a Thursday evening (around 8:00pm) and the place was busy. Pretty much all Asian clientele.