“Getting to Know the Neighbors” is a series where awesome locals share their local favorites.
Photo: Jonathan Hsieh / Motion Lighthouse
Freelance creative Joyce Yong has been a State College resident for 11 years. Chances are, you’ve seen (or sipped) her creations around town more than a few times!
While Joyce has primarily worked in food storytelling and branding during her time in State College, she’s probably best known around town as the creative mind behind Thunder Thunder Tea. After venturing into the Specialty Coffee industry in 2016, she’s been working to create a similar movement for Specialty Tea and her wonderful creations have become a local staple. (After browsing her website, we’re now daydreaming about sipping a cup of Peony Garden, with elements of white peony tea, sage, lavender, lemon verbena, orange peel, and cornflowers, on a sunny spring day in the not-too-distant future!)
We asked Joyce to fill us in on her State College favorites and hope you’ll enjoy this look at what lights her up locally!
Day to Day
On a typical weekday, you’ll find me… in my tea HQ or downtown at Happy Valley Launchbox.
And the weekends are for… reading books, making curry, biking, napping!
If the town of State College had a yearbook, I’d be voted Most Likely to…Laugh at All Your Jokes.
Awesome Local Alert!
I’m probably most well-known around town as… the tea lady, but I can also be found spreading the gospel of tinned fish.
Something I uniquely contribute to our community is… a global food-storytelling perspective.
Favorite Things
To me, a perfect day in State College looks like… biking to the Arboretum for a picnic brunch, doing some reading after that, then biking to Chew Chew Bun or Elixr for a matcha cortado with oat mylk. Then swinging by Squirrel & Acorn to browse for my next read. Late lunch at Juana’s. Bike over to the duck pond on campus to read some more. Drinks at Chumley’s (one of the tea cocktails!) Then biking back home to make dinner. Early night under the covers playing a few rounds of Stardew Valley.
The season I love most in State College is winter because… I love watching the snowfalls, bundling up for biking, brewing and sipping on cozy teas, and visiting frozen lakes.
Favorite local park? Does Rothrock State Forest count as a park?! I love it because there are so many different trails / trail combinations to explore on foot, by bike, or by car! Love brewing tea by any of the creeks there!
The best, can’t-get-it-anywhere-else food item or meal is: Tinned Fish (rotating gourmet assortment) & accoutrements at Chumley’s & The Lobby Bar
The Local Experience
One community I couldn’t live without here is… the network of local producers, ie farmers, farmers markets, farm shares, artisans, handmade markets, maker markets, chefs, etc.
Farms: I deeply admire and appreciate folks like Sabine and her Centre Markets team for helping bridge the community of amazing farmers with everyone. Cheering them on towards their Pine Grove Market and Kitchen space! I also love folks like Tait Farm and Christie at Rooted Farmstead who are sharing unique experiences and hosting fun markets on the farm every season. Farm + Restaurant setups like Windswept / REFarm are also steadily doing the work and creating continued sustainability models for and with us!
Makers: We have a huge maker, artist, and artisan community here and I am grateful for spaces that are committed to showcasing and featuring them — The Makery and Makery Market, 3Dots, Manny’s, Calder Alley Pop-Up, Pop Up Ave, Belle Mercantile, Smith & Front, Lightning Bug Gift Co, The Rivet, Happy Valley Launchbox, etc.
One townie secret I wish I would have known earlier is… biking is one of the best ways to explore the town!
My personal list of State College hidden gems includes… Etey’s Gursha (Ethiopian cuisine, available through Centre Markets), The Koop (best Korean-style fried wings), Calder Alley Pop-Up Store (rotating-concept pop-up space for entrepreneurs), Deep Hollow Mushrooms (available year-round at Tuesday Boalsburg Farmers Market), Coffee Hemp & Tea (Puerto Rican Bites & Bevs)
Something that has pleasantly surprised me about living in State College is… How great a place it is for incubating ideas or learning to be an entrepreneur or business owner. With the ever-revolving Penn State community, it’s like having fresh eyes and new audiences for trying out new ideas and ventures to learn what works and what doesn’t. When I first moved here I was told that many things stay the same and are hard to change, but I’ve found it’s more like a stream — there are those of us who love keeping the water moving through with new ideas and experiences while there are (just as importantly) sturdy banks on either edge of constant, established communities and services. Over time, naturally some of the banks get eroded or carved by the moving water but together we make up a unique pathway for the community to thrive.
Looking to the Future
A business I’d be thrilled to see open in State College is… a food hall space with multiple vendors, commercial kitchen spaces, and rentable booths for retail/events!
If I could wave a magic wand and ensure that one local business/amenity/resource would be around forever, it would be… Rothrock State Forest and our local farms!
Photo: Thunder Thunder Tea
