LatTéa at 8733 SE Division Street Unit 110 celebrated its grand opening on October 25th, five months after making the transformation from Ocha Tea and Coffee. Mark Asa and Hannah Lam took over the space from a previous owner to build their dream family coffee shop. Both new owners have an affinity for the surrounding Jade district community, having worked in neighboring businesses and spent their formative years along SE Division Street.
The couple purchased Ocha in July 2025 and kept the location mostly the same, retaining as many of the original staff as they could. “We’ve always wanted to open up our own coffee shop, and Ocha seemed like a great stepping stone for us to learn that. When we first took over, we just left operations as is, learned the routine, learned the system, learned the environment,” recalled Asa. Then, the day after Mother’s Day 2026, they closed Ocha and began a multi-week rebranding effort. They welcomed customers back into the space the last week of May, but family and health issues pushed back the formal reopening celebration. LatTéa continued to serve customers in a multi-month soft-opening mode as Asa took care of himself. “So I have a great team, and while I was decommissioned, my wife was holding the fort down and taking care of our baby and handling our other business,” explained Asa.
The location matters to the owners, who see their business as a community touchpoint and a permanent home. “I grew up walking up and down Division in the early 90s, so I don’t foresee us moving anywhere,” said Asa. He explained that his father had a long career in the restaurant breakfast industry, which influenced his desire to open a cafe. Asa explained that Hannah Lam has more direct food-service experience, with a business degree and work history as a hostess at Excellent Cuisine when it was called Wong’s King Seafood, located in the same complex as their shop.
With the new name, the owners adjusted the menu, keeping five main classic drinks from Ocha. They then developed new offerings, bringing in items they discovered in their travels. “We would go to San Francisco, China, Hong Kong, Philippines, and other big food areas,” said Asa. “We’ve always [appreciated] milk teas, coffees, lattes, and everything, and we remember those, thinking about what works best.” They determined ingredient quality and preparation most influenced the value people perceived in good cafe experiences. That led them to focus on vendor selection as a way to boost their business impact and earn the community’s patronage.
Mark Asa also knows that a community store is more than just drinks, particularly near a school. “As a kid walking up and down these streets, I didn’t have a lot of money. Whenever I saved my money, I’d always go to either 7-Eleven or Canton Grill and get a soda from them.” Thinking back to those days prompted Asa to add gachapon vending machines to the shop. He says he works with vendors to source authentic products in the machines but at a relatively low price. “I keep them as low as possible,” said Asa, explaining the margins are essentially set to cover credit card fees but otherwise close to cost. “A lot of the kids, after school, save their allowance and they come here. So knowing that, I just try to keep everything as low as possible.”
LatTéa is open weekdays starting at 11 a.m. and open an hour earlier on weekends. They close most nights at 7 p.m. but stay open an hour later on Friday and Saturday. The company website, online ordering, and the company’s Instagram page have additional information about menu items and special events. They are also interested in partnering with the community for gatherings, having recently hosted a coffee with a District 3 City Councilor. They hope people will stop by to try their new drinks and rediscover the space.
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