Ethan Pham wants his new tea shop Unitea to be a gathering place for everyone. That’s why the menu is so expansive — and it's not just tea.
The menu draws influence from nearly a dozen countries — Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Mexico, England, Japan, Italy, India — with its single-brew teas, coffees, slushes, gelatos, bubble waffles and colorful mochi doughnuts.
Unitea opened this month near the University of Arizona, 1710 E. Speedway — what's actually the second location for the tea shop. The first is nearly 2,000 miles away in Michigan.
Even the cups at Unitea feature the brand's smiley face. Pictured is the brown sugar boba swirl cup ($5.75).
“I always wanted to have a boba place,” Pham says. He’s a lover of drinks — boba, milk tea, slushes — and originally looked into franchising, until deciding to do something of his own.
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He’s tried countless tea spots over the years. He traveled to Taiwan to learn more about milk tea. He went to LA to take a class about making gelato. When a location opened up near the University of Michigan, he jumped on it.
But Unitea’s Michigan location is within walking distance of five other tea spots. Pham knew he had to do something different.
Mochi doughnuts are one of Unitea's most popular items.
“When I traveled and tried many places — I love Japanese food, I love Korean food, I love milk tea from Taiwan,” he says. “That’s what made me think: why don’t we have each culture in one shop, so everyone can come in? When you go to Unitea, you can have those — you can have whatever.”
Pham moved from Vietnam in 2001, landing in Tucson where he spent the next seven years before moving to Michigan. He eventually opened a Vietnamese restaurant there, to share the food he loves with the community. (“Phở is very good in cold weather, especially in Michigan,” he says.)
Unitea offers many teas, coffees, slushes and other drinks, in addition to sweets like this bubble waffle featuring boba and ice cream.
For Unitea, he saw potential in Tucson, where his family lives and he still frequents. The University of Arizona is also where he graduated with his degree in business.
“I’m like, why not bring (Unitea) to Tucson? I know they need one,” he says, adding that his brother will run the Tucson location when he's in Michigan.
Pham spent a year searching for a location — and then the space formerly housing Greek House popped up.
Beyond the extensive menu, it was important to Pham that Unitea had an atmosphere that people wanted to spend time in. He worked with an architect to perfect the entire vibe of the space — smiley faces all around the front counter, yellow flags hanging above you. Even the packaging is Instagram-worthy — smiley faces decorate the large boxes of mochi doughnuts and the cups of tea.
When you walk into Unitea, you're greeted with yellow flags and smiley faces on the wall.
“You feel happy when you see all the faces,” Pham says.
The shop also has self-order kiosks, a feature introduced amid the pandemic. Each menu item has photos.
“I love pictures so you can see what it is, instead of asking, ‘What is that?’ You can’t describe everything, so you can see it with your eyes,” Pham says.
Unitea owner Ethan Pham says customers love the drinks with ube, described as a purple sweet potato often used in the Philippines. This is the ube smoothie ($6.50).
Pham says he can’t choose a favorite item — he loves them all — but fan favorites so far have been the brown sugar boba swirl cup and the ube swirl cup, both of which have whole milk, half and half, and cheese foam. The mochi doughnuts are a top seller, too.
Pham hopes to open a second Unitea location in Tucson and he’s currently searching for a spot in Florida. Ultimately, though, he hopes to take Unitea nationwide.
“The definition of Unitea is unity,” Pham says. “We want to gather everyone, it doesn’t matter who you are, together.”
Unitea
Location: 1710 E. Speedway
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, closed Tuesdays. The shop will open seven days a week when the UA's spring semester begins.
Price: A mochi doughnut is $3.25, most milk teas are $4.85, the brown sugar boba swirl cup is $5.75, a bubble waffle with gelato is $9.95.
For more information, visit Unitea's Instagram.
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Gloria Knott
#ThisIsTucson Editor
