"It's the downtown street," Xin Wei, chief financial officer of Molly Tea's Palo Alto shop, told The Paly Voice when the student paper asked why the Shenzhen tea brand chose University Avenue. "We check around and did surveys to see how many people are going to the stores, how many people are on the streets and that's how we decided."
That's one way to open a tea shop downtown. Within a few blocks of Molly Tea, Maruwu Seicha pours matcha from its own farm in Uji, Japan, and Rikyu serves matcha from a menu developed inside a fine-dining omakase kitchen in Los Altos. Two more shops have been announced for the area, Auntea Jenny and Bonbon Matcha, and both still list themselves as coming soon. Downtown Palo Alto now has enough tea that the brand name tells you less than the source. Where the leaf comes from, and who wrote the menu, separates these shops more clearly than anything else.
Begin at 250 University, where the farm is the brand
Maruwu Seicha opened first. The Kyoto-based company soft-opened at 250 University Ave., Unit 101, on Oct. 20, 2024, Palo Alto Online reported, and it has grown matcha on its own tea farm in Uji since 2011. The name over the door is also the name of the grower.
The menu stays close to the leaf. When the shop opened, the coverage focused on matcha and hojicha lattes, cheese tarts, soft serve and matcha gelato. The Maruwu Seicha website still lists the Palo Alto address and daily hours and offers in-store pickup. That makes it the easiest stop on this walk to plan around.
A Shenzhen menu at 318 University, with a long wait behind it
Walk east to 318 University Ave. and the source moves to Shenzhen. Molly Tea opened there on Nov. 21, 2025, its fourth Bay Area location, The Paly Voice reported. The brand has more than 1,000 stores in China and began its U.S. expansion in New York in late 2024.
Its specialty is floral tea. "All the tea is scented with jasmine flowers naturally and there is no artificial flavor or anything," Wei told the paper. Wei also said the menu changes with the seasons, following the changes the company makes in China. The drinks at 318 University are planned overseas and rotate on the company's schedule.
Molly Tea also shows how slowly this block moves. A "coming soon" sign hung on the shop for more than half a year, and Wei put the delay down to permitting. "Palo Alto has very strict rules," Wei said. "Applying for the permit takes a long time, way more than the other cities [we opened in], so that was the biggest challenge. We've been waiting for almost a year to open."
Next door at 328, a 10,000-store chain is still coming soon
Ten street numbers up sits 328 University Ave., the planned Palo Alto home of Auntea Jenny. The Shanghai-based brand was started in 2013 by Rongrong Zhou, and Palo Alto Online described it in February as a women-led chain with more than 10,000 locations worldwide. Its U.S. stores at that point were in New York and Orange County.
The February report expected the shop to open "this summer." By Sept. 15, Palo Alto Online's opening roundup had moved that to late September. In mid-October the brand's own store locator still listed Palo Alto as Coming Soon.
The menu will be mostly fruit teas and milk teas. The roundup names the Classic Mango Grapefruit Sago, a mango smoothie with red grapefruit pulp, coconut milk, crystal pearls and sago, along with a Jasmine Green Fresh Milk Tea and a Green Grape Jasmine Milk Tea made with muscat grape juice. Auntea Jenny is also planning a San Mateo shop at 253 S. B St., in the former Hereetea space. The roundup ties both openings to a wider Peninsula push by Chinese tea brands, including Mixue, HeyTea, Charlie's Tea and Molly Tea.
Once it opens, 318 and 328 University will put two Chinese tea brands with a combined 11,000-plus stores almost next door to each other. Molly Tea chose this stretch by counting pedestrians, so it's fair to read the second chain's arrival the same way, as a bet on that foot traffic.
Around the corner on Lytton, a menu from an omakase kitchen
Turn onto Lytton and the source changes again. Rikyu opened at 121 Lytton Ave. on July 20, The Paly Voice reported in a September review. Owner Daiji Uehara also owns Hiroshi, the omakase restaurant in Los Altos. Rikyu's own story says the café "began as an experimental idea within the culinary kitchen at Hiroshi," where the team wanted to try "something more everyday."
Palo Alto Online's February preview explained what that means in practice. Hiroshi executive chef Masakazu Nonomura leads the food. The matcha comes from Shizuoka, the fruit flavors are made in-house from real fruit, and the menu has no boba or artificial syrups. Japanese sandos and chirashi cover lunch.
"The menu is chef-crafted. … Nothing is left to chance."
Rikyu manager Alvaro de Quesada, speaking to The Paly Voice
The room is meant to stand out as well. Uehara told the paper he hired a designer to blend Japanese and Scandinavian styles, and the review describes light wood and silver accents, a shelf of potted plants overhead and a glass front wall. De Quesada said the team spent its first months getting the kitchen and front of house running smoothly and is now working on seasonal and new menu items. Come fall and winter, the menu may look different from the one reviewed in September. Rikyu's website posts current hours and ordering links.
Off the main strip, dessert drinks and one more opening
Two more shops round out the cluster a little off University's busiest blocks. Tong Sui's store locator lists a Palo Alto shop at 540 Bryant St. with posted hours. Debby Wang started the brand in Sunnyvale in 2019, so the source here is local. It's known for jiggly coconut pudding topped with fresh fruit, and its best sellers include the Mango Mochi Coconut Pudding and Mango Sticky Rice Coconut Pudding. Mr. Sun Tea is listed with daily hours at 436 University Ave., the farthest east of the University Avenue addresses here.
The newest arrival will be Bonbon Matcha, at 439 Waverley St. in the former Gong Cha space. Emily Niu created the brand, which debuted in Cupertino this year. The September roundup expected the Palo Alto shop in early to mid-October. Its matcha leans toward dessert, with strawberry, mango and yuzu matcha lattes, toppings like sea salt cheese foam and strawberry cloud, matcha crepe roll cake, matcha tiramisu and slices of Basque cheesecake. Given how often opening windows slip on these blocks, check @bonbon_matcha before you plan a stop.
The walk, by source
| Shop | Address | Where the tea or menu comes from | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maruwu Seicha | 250 University Ave., Unit 101 | Company's own farm in Uji, Japan, since 2011 | Open since Oct. 2024 |
| Molly Tea | 318 University Ave. | Shenzhen brand, seasonal menu set in China | Open since Nov. 21, 2025 |
| Auntea Jenny | 328 University Ave. | Shanghai chain, 10,000+ stores | Listed as Coming Soon |
| Mr. Sun Tea | 436 University Ave. | Not specified | Listed with daily hours |
| Rikyu | 121 Lytton Ave. | Hiroshi's kitchen in Los Altos, Shizuoka matcha | Open since July 20 |
| Tong Sui | 540 Bryant St. | Sunnyvale brand founded in 2019 | Listed with hours |
| Bonbon Matcha | 439 Waverley St. | Cupertino brand by Emily Niu | Expected in October |
On the map, the three shops with a single named origin sit a short walk apart. Maruwu Seicha has its farm, Rikyu has its kitchen and Tong Sui has its Sunnyvale roots. A good order for an afternoon is a hojicha latte at Maruwu first, then Rikyu for a sando and a fruit matcha, then Tong Sui's coconut pudding to finish. The chains sit in the middle of University Avenue, where the foot traffic Molly Tea counted actually is. Molly Tea has been pouring jasmine tea at 318 since last November, and its neighbor at 328 is still listed as coming soon.
Half the fun of downtown Palo Alto is knowing which counter is worth the walk. If you're getting to know these blocks, or thinking about a home within walking distance of them, Liz Lanza would be glad to share what she knows and introduce you to the people behind the places. Let's Connect.
