Moo Tea’s New Owners Want to Hold Space for Community

By Jaimie Ding, Editor

Husband-wife duo Alan and Sam Fang took over boba shop Moo Tea only a few months ago, but they have big plans for the shop’s future.

“For me, I really want it to be a place where people feel like they can come and connect with other people, not just grab a boba and go,” said Sam Fang. “When I was a kid growing up there were a lot of public spaces where kids could hang out and be comfortable and not be called loitering.”

Alan works full-time as an embryologist and Sam as a high school teacher, but the two saw their opportunity to make a foray into entrepreneurship when the previous owner of Moo Tea was moving back to China. Now, Sam is taking a hiatus from teaching while taking care of their seven-month-old baby and helping out around the shop, three-year-old daughter in tow.

Located in the same plaza as 168 Market on Valley Boulevard, Moo Tea offers a variety of milk teas, fruit teas, smoothies, and purple yam drinks.

Alan said his daughter already knows everything on the menu and loves to greet customers that enter the store.

“She’ll go up with the menu, like ‘What would you like to order?”,” Alan said. “She plays host very well.”

Alan and Sam are focusing on improving the space to turn it into a “hangout” spot, potentially even making a small play area for children to make it more family friendly. They also plan to update the menu down the line.

“My mom has a vision of how she wants the shop to look and how she wants it to function,” Alan said.

As a high school teacher, Sam is often involved with community outreach and school fundraisers with local businesses.

“We’d love to work with schools and do fundraisers,” Sam said. “We’re hoping to maybe even feature artwork; I’d love to have young artists feature work at the cafe.”

A SoCal native, Sam grew up in the San Fernando Valley and Glendale areas, while Alan came from Taiwan. The two met at UC Davis on their first day of college and quickly started dating. After graduating and living in the Bay, they moved back south and lived in Reseda for a few years before moving to Altadena.

Though this is their first time owning a business, Alan worked at a boba shop when he was in high school in Taiwan. Their first few months running Moo Tea hasn’t been without hiccups however; their store was broken into after just three weeks.

It’s “going better now,” Alan said, with both him and his wife closely involved with the businesses and working shifts on the weekends. Many of the employees are extended family members in the area. Overall, the flavors at Moo Tea – and the food in the San Gabriel Valley –remind Alan of home.

“Trying to recreate my childhood tastes, if you will,” Alan said. They strive to keep the toppings and drink ingredients hand-made and as natural as possible, such as their signature purple yam paste, with tea leaves imported from Taiwan. Since they have young children, they want parents to be able to give the drinks as healthy options to their kids.