The Tea Garden

2601 Hennepin Ave S
Minneapolis, MN
612-377-1700
Other locations in Grand Ave, Downtown St. Paul, MOA, and U of M
http://www.teagardeninc.com/

Category: Tea/Cafe

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 8
Service: 7
Ambience: 5

Recommendation: Very Good. They offer a great selection of teas (we’ve only tried their bubble teas, and we’re big fans).

If you’ve never tried bubble tea, you must. You’ve probably seen people walking down the street in Uptown with a clear plastic glass filled with tea and some obscure black stuff at the bottom. The black “stuff” is tapioca pearls – they don’t really have much of a flavor, but their chewy texture makes for a fun drink. We’ve only visited the Tea Garden in Uptown and its usually packed with the young, hip and artsy. The space itself isn’t much to write about – it occupies a corner of Hennepin Ave and isn’t really an ideal spot for lounging around for extended periods.

The drink menu is extreme and it’s hard to tell the difference between the Tea, Tea Latte, Shake, and Cooler options. The most basic is the Fruit Tea – available in a whole host of flavors, its served hot or cold as black tea or jasmine green tea. You can add pearls of jellies to the cold tea. The Coolers are like fruit slushies – no tea, but with a choice of fruit flavors and can include pearls or jellies. Shakes are coolers that have a creamer added to it. Similarly, the Tea Lattes, only available in a few flavors consist of black or green tea with a creamer. Needless to say, we haven’t had a chance to try all of the options on the menu, but we certainly have favorites. The Green Fruit Teas have a distinct flavor that pairs well with fruits such as Passion Fruit, Kumquats, and Mango and we’d recommend adding the tapioca to the drink. You can get the same fruit flavors as Coolers and you can’t go wrong – it’s just a different texture, with the crushed ice. The Pina Colada is amazing as is the Pineapple, but if you’re in for something more unusual, try the Coconut Red Bean, a very nice texture and flavor combination. If you’re going to get the Pina Colada or the Coconut Red Bean, we’d recommend trying them as shakes as well – a creamier texture is a little more decadent. If you get the pearls or jellies, the drink does become quite heavy so it will fill you up.

$. Drinks range from $3-$6. Street parking is available but hard to find.