Teh Tarik Nation’s traditional pull

KOH Peng Chye, the eldest son of a 95-year-old tea-blending family business, was immersed in the world of tea at a young age.

His childhood playground wasn’t filled with swings or slides but with tea leaves and processing equipment in the family’s warehouse and factory.

“As a child, I’d climb over tea chests or play near the roasting pits,” Koh tells StarBiz 7.

It was in this environment that he developed a hands-on understanding of brewing techniques and the diverse flavors shaped by various terroirs and climates worldwide.

“My great-grandfather, a tea farmer in Fujian, China, emigrated to Malaysia and began doing what he knew best.”

The family business went on to specialise in creating tea blends, distributing them to kopitiams and chain outlets throughout Peninsular Malaysia.

Koh observed that the traditional business-to-business model had its limitations.

“We realised that no matter how well-made our tea blends were, we had no influence over the quality of the brew once we handed over the stocks to the customer,” he says.

The resulting brews varied widely due to factors like machine quality, temperature and water pressure.

There were no agreed-upon standards for brewing methods, sweetness levels, or milk balance.

In 2023, Koh and his wife, Rin Rin Wong, established the Beca Tea brand to reintroduce tea to modern consumers.

Within its contemporary tea house outlets, Beca Tea’s menu was designed to focus on pure teas, botanical infusions and experimental, mixology-inspired tea concoctions.

As a nod to our national heritage, it also offered a selection of local favourites like teh tarik, which became an unexpected hit.

“People began to discover our teh tarik, and as word got around, it became one of our bestsellers,” Wong recalls.

The beverage’s popularity prompted the idea for a separate brand with high-quality teh tarik taking centre stage.

“Despite teh tarik being so woven into the fabric of our society as Malaysia’s unofficial national drink, it’s surprisingly very hard to find a good one,” she notes.

Thus, Teh Tarik Nation was born. Launching its first kiosk in 1 Utama mall last year, the brand offers a variety of drinks, including its signature teh tarik, teh halia and roasted kopi.

It also serves creative twists on classics, like teh tarik pandan, kopi bandung, and a slushy version of teh tarik.

Each teh tarik drink is made with a special blend of 11 teas from five countries, created using the Koh family’s long experience in tea blending.

“We wanted to put forward our interpretation of what teh tarik should be, with the right balance of tea, milk and, sweetness,” Koh says.

The brand’s kiosk format and youthful, contemporary brand design is an intentional departure from more traditional establishments where the beloved drink is typically served.

“Our reference point was the milk tea from other countries, particularly Thai milk tea and how brands have been able to modernise it for today’s consumers,” Wong says.

“Teh tarik is Malaysia’s version of milk tea. We want to shift the prevalent mindset that teh tarik can only exist in a mamak or kopitiam setting.”

With Teh Tarik Nation, the founders aim to elevate and promote the drink as an emblem of national pride, and in doing so, become the go-to brand customers associate with a good Malaysian teh tarik.

The brand was also created to address a growing gap in the market for authentic tea that neither the current wave of milk tea chains nor local eateries have adequately filled.

“Taiwanese boba and Chinese new-style tea brands have popularised ‘tea’ among consumers, but they are largely sugary and artificially flavoured,” Koh says.

“Between that and the general decline in the quality of teh tarik sold today, likely due to cost pressures, entire generations have grown up not knowing what proper tea is.”

However, the founders believe the tide is turning as more customers start to prefer kurang manis (less sweet) tea beverages – a trend that bodes well for the brand, which touts far lower sugar levels compared to market players in the space.

Wong reveals that Teh Tarik Nation’s sales have doubled since opening, with its outlet already garnering its fair share of loyal customers.

“It’s been satisfying to see that in less than a year, we already have regulars who come in for their teh halia or their masala chai,” Koh notes.

Heading into 2026, the business is setting its sights on expansion, with two more outlets expected to open in high-density urban areas within the Klang Valley.

The team is also planning its foray into the fast-moving consumer goods space with an instant teh tarik product in development.

Another priority is to increase investment in automation.

To reduce human error rates and boost consistency and speed, the business is looking to automate up to 90% of its entire beverage preparation workflow.

Even as innovation and modernisation fuel the business’ future, the founders say its emphasis on heritage and tradition will stay at its core.

“When it comes to teh tarik, customers will make sure to keep you on that straight and narrow path.

We know that keeping that tradition and preserving the taste of a great teh tarik will remain foundational to whatever we do here,” Wong says.