This place had mix feelings but on the good and weird side…read more Meaning I don't know if it feels like a restaurant or and antique / boutique shop put together. It's seems to be a lovely joke in the wall cafe made for its grand variety of Tea. They have other foods but I came for the Tea and the tea treats. Tea choice: Bombay Chai-hot Very good more towards the floral note than the spice chai side. Very good. Food: Scones of the day: Blueberry scones- good but feels to soft and cake like a muffin and not the crumbly scone texture I'm used to. The lemon curd side was good and the cream was very basic. Not reall clotted cream hit good enough. Cucumber Tea Sandwiches: Overall the sandwiches were fine but it's not the traditional style with Mayo or white bread. Didn't like the rye bread. Felt like it was too strong of a taste for the cucumber to shine through with its crispy refreshing taste .the rye bread masked with its slight caramel dark burnt taste. Then instead Mayo, they had a cream cheese chives on the spread, I was not a big fan since this not as traditional hence the 3 starts. Overall- a nice homey home comefort feeling of an antique home and cafe put together. Basically it's hue like someone s house turn into a cafe which interestingly makes it feel humble and small town living. Will go back for the tea but food wise- could be better.

It's was my first time in very excited with everything they serve!!!! Everything is great for me…read moreservice is great

Surprisingly we found a nice but low key vegetarian/vegan place in a college town on a road trip in…read moremid west. They use organic ingredients but don't charge you the crazy price. Indeed healthy food for the non-pretentious people. Hats off to the owner and hardworking server. We enjoyed our stop over for the delicious vanilla chai tea and vegan sandwiches. Thank you!

Lovely shop with a large selection of teas and a nice vegan menu. We enjoyed a chickpea wrap, bagel…read morewith egg, roast beef and cheeze, and a cup of jackfruit soup. All of it was very yummy, and so were our drinks. Enjoyed the fun atmosphere and looking through one of the books they had in their game cabinet. Service was friendly.

My sisters & I celebrated a birthday tea in this magical home hosted by Carole & Todd. Everything…read more about it was lovely from the moment we drove onto the beautifully landscaped wooded property. Serene, each room beautifully appointed, and gracious hosts. We can't wait to return!

This was an amazing afternoon tea. We went for a birthday celebration and it couldn't have been…read moremore enjoyable. Our hosts were delightful and hospitable. The food was delicious and the home and grounds were beautiful. We will be going back!

I visited the Lowell Inn to attend a sponsored event. Stepping into the lobby feels like a step…read moreback in time. Our lunch was in a room behind the restaurant. They provided a sandwich buffet where there were lots of fresh sandwich toppings and a variety of breads. A huge highlight was the chicken wild rice soup. Staff were excellent. They had several servers providing drinks and cleaning dishes. So helpful and kind. The room worked well for the presentation, no issues with tech and the room was small enough that no mic was needed. The only thing that was a little annoying was, with the restaurant next door and only folding doors separating us, we could hear some residual noise but not enough to cause issue with the presenter. I liked the vibe here and would like to stay a night and check it out in the future.

I absolutely adore The Lowell Inn. This has become my favorite place to stay when in Stillwater…read more This historic hotel is beautiful and has so many details that can not be missed. The hallways are reminiscent of the past and remind me often of the Titanic and the dining rooms have an old elegant charm. There are fresh baked cookies upon check in and there are brochures for all the activities for you to do in Stillwater. The rooms are always comfortable and clean and some have even had famous guests in the past. The Lowell Inn serves breakfast and lunch everyday and the food was phenomenal. We were offered an assortment of fresh bread. For lunch we ordered the Almond Crusted Walleye with sour cream mashed potatoes and asparagus with a lemon cream sauce. Which I will definitely be getting again! Our other order was Chicken A La King and had fresh ingredients and great flavor.

It was fun to sit and have tea in this fancy hotel. The service was friendly but it took too long…read morefor the food to come out; like we waited an hour for the food and I drank way too much tea during the wait. The tea was black currant tea, so it's not a choice of teas. The savories were just ok, but the bread on the tea sandwich was dry. The scones were good and I enjoyed the candied nuts and the sweets. The pineapple mousse was my favorite.

I've done the tea at the St. Paul Hotel two other times, a holiday tea and non-holiday. Today's…read moreholiday tea was disappointing. The atmosphere is still lovely. The lobby decorated festively, beautiful live piano music playing in the background. The table setting is nice. In the past, each course was brought out separately with the wait staff explaining what each course offered. We were given different options for tea. Today, only black current tea was offered. The first three courses came out together, served on a 3 tier tray. We had a menu in front of us and had to figure out what we were eating. Many sweet things, felt overwhelming to have it all there at once. Course three (bottom of the tray) were the savory sandwiches. We enjoyed one of those. I understand that doing it this way requires less wait staff, but it really diminshed what had been a very special experience. Shortly after receiving the three tiered serving tray, they brought out the fourth course, a cold scone. It was plopped on a plate in front of us. No clotted cream or jam but some kind of butter. The clotted cream was missed. We were looking forward to a warm scone with clotted cream. Today's choice, a fruit cake scone was cold, dry and without much taste with no clotted cream to help revive it. Our servers were pleasant. One came around to show us a Christmas ornament for purchase. That seemed odd. We both thought today's tea was fair, not what it had once been. We were disappointed.

Such a great find! The inside which I neglected to take a picture of is much more cute than their…read morepicture on their website would suggest. The popover with a selection of either savory or sweet toppings is fantastic!. They even do a pop over chicken pot pie. We got their selection of finger Tea sandwiches with a fruit plate. That was absolutely gorgeous and delicious. I definitely want to go back for high tea.

Tasty shortbread! Looking forward to trying the high tea. Nice quiet spot off Division Street.read more

Perfectly lovely little drink-treat spot in Lino Lakes, just off of 35-E. Lots of sweet…read morerefreshments! If you like to slurp decadent, milky tea concoctions with gushy pearls up a thick straw, this place has you covered. As I was trying to choose from their plentiful offerings, a guy was on his way out with an armload of what I learned were the Soha's Tiger Milky which he knowingly and passionately recommended to me. I went with it and was not in the slightest bit disappointed. That's exactly the kind of dessert drink I was hoping for, and the size of it for that price makes it a great deal. I also got a cream cheese danish which had a really satisfactory amount of cream cheese. But there are tons of other things on this menu I want to try. They make their own Dubai chocolate and baklava, and they do açaí bowls, Vietnamese coffee, matcha, and a variety of smoothies and lemonades. Everything is priced much more reasonably than what I see in the cities. The dining area is clean, tidy, uncrowded, and pleasantly decorated for a strip mall space, and the barista was really friendly and helpful. They are available on Uber Eats and Doordash so you can order ahead or send out for them. They are open every day until at least 6pm (7pm on Saturday and Sunday). Tons of reasons for you to try some of their stuff!

My 11-year-old niece loves this place. That's usually a good sign... and it definitely was this…read moretime. She couldn't wait to take her tante (me) and Grammy (my mom) to her fave boba tea place when we were visiting the Twin Cities...and we're so glad she did. It's a cute place in a strip mall, on the border of Hugo and Lino Lakes. There's a huge menu and I was super intrigued with the milk tea options and the matcha, but my niece wanted us all to get slushies-so, of course, I did. I settled on the strawberry kiwi which was good, but sweet. Mom got the watermelon and it was really, really good. There's ample parking. The servers are nice. I look forward to more visits with my niece. She's got great taste!

I live in Hopkins and accidentally found this place while I was looking for the tobacco shop. Nice…read moreguy told me they don't sell tobacco but THC and hookah which I thought great I'll bring my friends. Couple weeks later I bring 3 people they tell me no hookah and kick us out while I'm explaining to my friends the situation. It felt so unwarranted and mean for no reason. Will not be back.

I was looking for a nice, chill place near home where I could bring my cribbage board and have tea…read more I googled a few places and found a couple of breweries that looked fun, but then I remembered I had walked by this mysterious place in downtown Hopkins before and never went in. You wouldn't know it was there because there is no sign that says 'Smile Tea Bar,' but there is a bright neon sign of a smiley face on the side of the building. As we walked in there was a hallway with more neon signs that lead to a staircase that goes down to the tea bar. At this point I was intrigued and excited to see what was on the other side of this stairwell. We went downstairs and the lighting was low and purple. There were board games on one wall and a collection of vinyl records on the other. It seemed like just the chill, relaxing place we were looking for to play cribbage. One of the guys working behind the bar came up to us right away and greeted us, told us about the kinds of teas they have and was super friendly and welcoming. They have couches by a fireplace, bar seating and tables, but because there was a trivia game going on there weren't any open spots. The friendly guy who originally greeted us pulled up a table and chairs in an open space for my friend and I so we could have our tea and play our game. I found out that they are actually holding a cribbage tournament this weekend. I do wish that these events were promoted on the website instead of spread by word of mouth, but I guess that adds to the mystery of it all. I had the red iced tea which is supposed to help with relaxation and pain relief. I would describe it as a combination of kombucha and a smooth iced tea. I wish I would've gotten a picture of the tea but I was so taken by the ambiance and just fully enjoying the experience. I don't know what they put in their drinks, but everyone who was in the tea bar seemed super friendly and happy to be there. There was even a dog walking around at one point taking in all the pets and love. I would definitely recommend this speakeasy type joint to anyone who wants to experience a trippy, alcohol free bar atmosphere with good, friendly people.

This is a cozy-looking place near the University of Minnesota where you can get some high-quality…read morematcha (I made mine into Kyo Matcha-style lattes). The Jingshan Yabukita matcha is REALLY good and I will be back for more next time I come to Minneapolis. Since matcha will lose some of its flavor as it oxidizes, they seal up the container after they scoop the powder in--I didn't open the container until a month after I got it and there weren't any off flavors. I can't comment on the sit-down experience since I was just there to buy the small container in the picture, but I liked the dim lighting and calming atmosphere. I also like their gift boxes that have single servings of different teas in tiny packages--it reminds me of a Godiva chocolate box.

This is an absolutely delightful tea experience…read more When you open the door, you come into the display area showing the shop's tea wares - gaiwans, tea cups, tea sets, and tea pots including some lovely Yixing pottery. When you come a little further in, you line up at the counter to order. Staff will let you smell the teas if you're having trouble deciding. After you order, you pick a table. There are tables with a sturdy little kettle built in for folks drinking gongfu style, and a few without for folks who don't need that. It's a lovely, quiet space with a big fish tank. It's worth noting that they want to keep the space quiet and ask people not to bring laptops though it's fine to read quietly on a tablet. Onto the tea. The tea selection here is frankly fantastic. Everything is well-chosen, and I had to remind myself that there isn't going to be a bad choice. I chose a Taiwanese black tea for my first experience here, the sun moon lake, though I will be back to sample their matcha, which they mill in-house. The selection covers white through pu'er and everything in between. I drank gongfu style, so they gave me a little tiny gongfu tray, a gaiwan, and enough tiny cups for everyone at the table. For people who want to try gongfu style but haven't done it before, they are happy to show you. The only downside is that all of their snacks have gluten in them. I'm hoping that this will change going forward, getting GF mochi or even mochi donuts would be perfect. Overall, this is my new favorite spot in the city, and I only wish I'd discovered it sooner. I'm going to be returning to drink my way through the menu.

Immaculate vibes here. Loved my drink, loved the staff, loved the location, loved the store itself…read more Decked out for the holidays, offering holiday options, too cute overall. I've gotta come back for FOOD sometime!

If you're ever in the Northfield area, you do not want to miss going to Tin Tea for delicious boba…read moreteas. I got the mango tea with passion fruit popping pearls. My S.O. got the matcha milk tea with tapioca pearls. The boba shop has a great atmosphere with beautiful decorations and the customer service is phenomenal! There's so many options that you're bound to find sometime for everyone! The owner is very kind and we are always happy to support a young business owner.