62 The Queens Courier • buzz • april 21, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com buzz Photos by Brianna Ellis (left to right) Affiliate Harada Shinichi, co-owner Minly Li and owner Changqi Li welcome Bayside residents to Nippon Cha Nippon Cha brings a taste of the Japanese tea ceremony to Bayside’s Bell Boulevard BY BRIANNA ELLIS been passed down for many generations, explained bellis@qns.com/@briinformed Changqi Li. “In Japan, people drink matcha. For American or Are your taste buds tingling for authentic Japanese European people, they drink coffee a lot. They have matcha tea and dessert? Well, brace yourself for the a coffee culture just like water,” Li explained. arrival of Nippon Cha Café as it makes its way to “We are going to guide people on how to drink Bell Boulevard in Bayside. Japanese coffee. We are teaching them and showing Owner Changqi Li feels optimistic about Nippon them,” he commented on the cafe’s vision. Cha’s grand opening: “I can’t wait,” he said. Matcha is an organic ground powder of carefully Li noted that finalizing the cafe’s paperwork may grown and processed green tea. According push the event back to an unknown date. Bell Boulevard will be Nippon Cha’s first United States location at 39-34 Bell Blvd. The company is a powerhouse in Japan that runs a tea farm, factory and food company, and this family tradition has to Li, it is very difficult to store the powder, which is sensitive to light and must be kept in a cool, dry area. Nippon Cha will offer a variety of matcha, ranging from original green tea, thin matcha green tea, genmaicha tea, eucommia tea, frozen matcha lattes and adzuki. To satisfy your sweet tooth, their desserts will include matcha rice-flour dumpling parfaits, matcha ice cream, cheesecake and chocolate. Soups and tofu are also available but udon is for eat-in only. A Long Island resident Terry Stead who stopped by Nipon Cha to inquire about its opening shared the sentimental value that the new tea house has to him. “A lot of these Japanese artifacts are reminiscent of my childhood and things I used to remember as a kid,” reflected Terry Stead, who explained his mixed Japanese and black heritage. “I haven’t found anything close to what my mom used to make,” he said.
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