The tea craze can be attributed to the wellness driven zero-proof <\/a>movement, as an antidote to the loneliness epidemic, and as a reaction to the loss of late-night coffee shops, which once drew generations of San Francisco youths.<\/p>\n \u201cAll we\u2019ve known in our industry is the nightlife, [but there\u2019s] a new emergence of the daytime economy,\u201d said Pabla, who produced the Chai Rave. (opens in new tab)<\/a>\u00a0 Attendees were already lining up when doors opened at 9 a.m., he said. The restaurant served alcohol, but Pabla estimated that fewer than half of those in attendance partook. \u201cThey\u2019re not here to get hammered \u2026 [but] to connect with people and have meaningful conversations,\u201d he said. \u201cGen Z is definitely wired differently.\u201d<\/p>\n In Berkeley, Joyce Wong, 20, a rhetoric and prelaw student, has joined tea rooms at gatherings like the VibeGala, an annual East Bay party,<\/a> and a soiree for Gabe Bankman-Fried (Sam\u2019s younger brother). The prevalence of tea at social events seems like a recent phenomenon, she said, but noted, \u201cI am extremely young and have a small dataset.\u201d<\/p>\n She was so inspired by tea parties she has attended that over the summer, she borrowed her parents\u2019 china and hosted one for around 20 friends. She served 15 varieties of tea and pastries, and played light jazz. \u201cWe sat around, drank teas, and caught up. \u2026 [It was] very chill and a moment to breathe,\u201d she said. She hosted her second tea party in September.<\/p>\n Jenny Shen, a 32-year-old designer at Pinterest, channeled her own obsession into a startup, Teya Tea (opens in new tab)<\/a>, which sells tea bags. She\u2019s hosting a tea-themed party Sunday at Jilli, a Korean tapas bar in the Mission. There will be craft tea tastings, tea-flavored pastries, and cocktails made with you guessed it. The $48 tickets are sold out (opens in new tab)<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are making tea the main character, to modernize it and make it fun for everyone,\u201d she said, pointing to her zero-proof muscat-grape \u201cwine spritzer\u201d variety. \u201cSome people think tea is intimidating, [but] it can be easy; it can be social.\u201d<\/p>\n Whitney Vangrin, a multidisciplinary artist, has embraced the salon approach. Since 2023, she\u2019s run the pop-up Night Tea, (opens in new tab)<\/a> an alcohol-free gathering that connects artists and neighbors over shared food and drink rituals. \u201cTea feels familiar and grounding \u2014 a communal ritual that\u2019s constantly reimagined,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n In Oakland, 13 Orphans, a mahjong speakeasy,<\/a> serves tea-based elixirs provided by Teaphile, (opens in new tab)<\/a> a local collective. Founder Annie Chen said her audience is primarily Asian Americans \u201ctrying to build their own relationship with tea \u2026 without their parents.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Some see tea events less as a cultural movement and more as a much-needed late-night third space, where young people can hang out or get work done.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are so frustrated that SF cafes close too early,\u201d said Samantha Ouyang, 21, an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania who splits her time between Philadelphia and the Bay. In July, Ouyang piloted Elsewhere, a late-night specialty tea and coffee pop-up for \u201cpeople that don\u2019t have conventional 9-to-5s,\u201d in the Rincon Hill office of a venture capital firm. She served three lattes and three teas, including the Instagram-famous blue butterfly pea Thai tea.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe had 400 people and a line out the door,\u201d she said. A permanent Elsewhere location on 3rd Street is slated for 2026 (the landlord agreed to a six-month pilot); it will serve tea and pastries and stay open till 2 a.m. \u201cWe are riding the wave of no alcohol,\u201d she said, calling it \u201cjust a late-night spot to chill, to work.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Many of the emerging spaces also serve coffee, but organizers say the Gen Z crowd is gravitating more toward the tea. \u201cI love coffee, but chai tea is more of a vibe thing for me; it\u2019s more social,\u201d said Nikita Singh, 33, a software engineer from Rincon Hill who was at the Chai Rave.<\/p>\n Gen Z\u2019s jump on the tea train makes Oshan Anand very happy. The founder of events company Tea Tribe (opens in new tab)<\/a> and the Memetic Literacy Lab, a nonprofit combating misinformation, Anand has spent 17 years steeping in Bay Area tea culture. He runs the Key Haus teahouse (opens in new tab)<\/a> at Burning Man and says he has served tea at Google\u2019s Halloween party and once flew to Aspen to perform a ceremony for a tech billionaire.<\/p>\n \u201cTea culture builds community and cultivates authentic connection and communion [in] a way that other social activities don\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen people are grounded and centered \u2026 they connect on a deeper level.\u201d He\u2019s raising money for Mystic, an alcohol-free, tea-based nightclub planned to open in 2026.<\/p>\n The Chai Rave, too, is becoming permanent. The response to the first one was so big that Pabla has expanded to San Jose and San Diego. The next SF Chai rave is Nov. 8. (opens in new tab)<\/a> \u201cFor years we\u2019ve been asked to expand into the Bay,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is going to be permanent. We\u2019ll be there every month.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/-S3840x2560-FPNG.png\"\/)
Whitney Vangrin runs the pop-up Night Tea, which is run like a salon series for artists and neighbors. | Source: Nicholas Sargent Photography<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/-S3840x5759-FPNG.png\"\/)
Iced tea served at a Night Tea pop-up. | Shao Feng Hsu\u200b<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/-S3840x2880-FPNG.png\"\/)
The scene at the chai rave was bumping. (Chris Behroozian for The San Francisco Standard)<\/p>\n