Cool down this weekend at Quickly

Hot weather is here and a new tea place in Clovis has something different to cool you down.

The icy cold drinks are the star of the show at Quickly at 701 W. Shaw Ave., which opened this spring in the former TCBY. The franchise also carries Asian fusion fast food. Quickly was founded in Taiwan and has 2,000 locations worldwide. This is the first in the Central Valley.

The drinks include iced coffee, but also specialty teas ranging from black and green tea to the more exotic No. 1 seller, Thai milk tea. The No. 2 seller is the purple taro milk tea with the flavor of the root vegetable.

The teas are essentially cold teas (served hot in the winter) mixed with “milk,” though in this case the milk is nondairy creamer. It’s safe for people who are lactose intolerant, says director of operations Jonathan Echols.

You can add whipped cream, flavors ranging from vanilla to passion fruit, boba — big chewy balls of tapioca — or green tea “jelly” and other flavored little squares of gelatin. You can also add a “pudding” that tastes like flan to the drink.

With all that action going on in your tea, the drinks are served with extra-wide straws. A plastic top is sealed onto the drink with a special machine so that it won’t spill. Customers break through the top with a straw, sort of like a Capri Sun drink.

If all this seems a little new to you, fear not. Quickly employees are quick to offer samples of any tea.

“Believe it or not, people break out of their comfort zones really easily,” Echols says.

If you really want to cool down, you can opt for a slush or a snow. The slush, similar to a Slurpee, is made with ice and a range of flavors, including chocolate, honeydew and strawberry. The snow is like a milkshake made with ice and nondairy creamer. The watermelon slush is made with fresh watermelon.

“Slushes and snows are now replacing our specialty teas because of the heat,” Echols says.

Teas, slushes and snows cost from $2.99 to $3.49.

Then there’s the food: Bento box meals at lunchtime and snacks such as popcorn chicken, fried tofu tots, French fries, mini egg rolls and an egg puff — a version of the Hong Kong street food that’s a light airy waffle.

Quickly is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

This story was originally published June 25, 2015 at 7:05 AM with the headline "Cool down this weekend at Quickly."