Creating Clouds & Community
James Summers of Cloud Tea for Black Business Month
“It’s not just a drink, it’s a work of art.”
We’re celebrating Black Business Month this August by highlighting Cherokee’s Black business community, in partnership with Cherokee By Choice investor Georgia Power.
Cloud Tea is a Black-owned bubble tea café in Canton. Opened in 2022, Cloud Tea provides bubble tea and other drinks – with a new spin.
“We add dry ice to our bubble drinks, which creates a smoke effect,” said James Summers. “When people get their drinks, they’re making clouds.” But Cloud Tea doesn’t stop at creating drinkable clouds. “With our milk teas, we add tons of whipped cream, cookies and all different things to make it like a milkshake sundae.”
With a background in customer service, Cloud Tea Owner & Founder James Summers sought to bring something unique to Cherokee. “When you hang out with friends, you want to stay local,” said Summers. “I wanted to make a difference here. I wanted to make something where families could go have fun and excitement.”
Summers was always passionate about providing personalized service. “I worked in customer service for over 10 years, I even worked in finance for about six years. I always had a knack for helping people,” said Summers. “No matter how my day was going, whenever a client came in, it’s like a switch flipped. I was always in a better mood, a new mindset.”
Just before the pandemic, Summers felt a decline in customer service across many industries and wanted to make a change. “I thought, ‘Let me actually make a difference in my community. Let me start a business here in Canton,’ and bubble tea was the first thing I thought of,” said Summers. “It’s something I love and something that Canton didn’t have.”
Cloud Tea’s goal is to create a unique and personalized experience for everyone. “My vision for Cloud Tea is to not treat customers like a number, but to build relationships with every client that comes in,” said Summers.
Summers believes this relationship starts with Cherokee families. “I really want to make a difference and turn Cloud Tea into a family destination where you can bring your kids and have a whole experience,” said Summers.
Family has always played a big role for Summers when creating Cloud Tea. “One secret that no one knows is the day Cloud Tea opened was the same day my daughter was born. My very first child, born the exact day as our grand opening,” said Summers. “After having a child, I noticed that there weren’t many kid activities outside of the parks in Canton. I want to change that.”
Cloud Tea strives to engage kids and get them out of their comfort zone. “When kids first come in, we always play tic-tac-toe with them. We engage them, give them the opportunity to speak and give them something fun to do,” said Summers. “If a kid wins, their whole family gets free drinks. Even if they lose, we take their Polaroid picture and put them on our Community Wall – the wall now has over 1,000 pictures on it.”
Summers is proud that Cloud Tea is part of this community. “Cherokee County and Canton have been amazing,” said Summers. “The impact of seeing Canton families come in – their joy, their excitement – I love it.”
Cloud Tea is a proud Black-owned business. Summer participates in as many events as possible with the Black business community, including the Juneteenth Market Event where Black businesses are invited to showcase their products.
Summers also participates with the Cherokee Office of Economic Development’s Black Business Roundtable. “I come to as many Black Business Roundtable meetings as possible, in order to stay in the know, stay connected and find other ways to grow our business community.”
Summers encourages anyone thinking of starting their own business to take the leap. “If you have a dream or something you want to pursue, do it. Step out on faith and do it,” said Summers. “One thing I wish I would’ve known is that all business owners, from Elon Musk to Mark Zuckerberg, if you asked them ‘Did you have everything figured out when you start?’ each and every last one would say no.”
“You’ve been yearning and hearing the call. Just do the research and step out,” said Summers. “No one knows what tomorrow may bring, so make the jump and we’ll figure it out together.”
Taste your own sip of the sky. Visit Cloud Tea at 151 Reinhardt College Pkwy, Canton, GA 30114.