There's nothing like a hot cup of tea on a chilly fall morning. Here are the newest places to check out the next time you're in the mood for anything from a tea mocktail to a matcha latte.
Tea Bar & Fusion Cafe
2700 Capitol Ave., Midtown
Tea Bar & Fusion Cafe is a Chico-based cafe specializing in made-to-order tea-based mixed drinks and Asian fusion food. Owners Shelly and Lance Blanshei are offering beverages and healthy bites from its new Midtown space inside the Sofia at 2700 Capitol Ave., as we recently reported.
The joint's hot teas include the steamed Honeytea Latte and Oolong and Caramel Cream, while its signature nitro draught teas come in flavors like Hibiscus Mist and Mango Ceylon.
For bites, diners can try a customizable healthy wrap or bowl to taste, or grab quick meals like the Loaded Avo Toast. (You can check out the tea menu here and the food menu here.)
The café's current Yelp rating of 4.5 stars out of 43 reviews indicates plenty of continued positive attention since our initial reporting.
Yelper Whitney D. warned other customers, "First things first — they do not have boba. But they have a ton of great tea and healthy food that actually tastes good. It's in midtown, so of course parking is an issue, but don't let that deter you ... My go-to tea is the black tea and vanilla."
"The food tasted fresh (overall) and healthy. I liked the organic brown rice. ... The dressings had a good amount of flavor (I tried the low fat miso and the wasabi ginger)," James R. noted, but suggested that some might find the layout and choices in the menu confusing.
Tea Bar & Fusion Cafe is open from 10 a.m.–10 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday.
RareTea
414 K St., Suite 225, Downtown
RareTea is a bubble tea cafe based in Berkeley, now open in an upstairs space in the Downtown Commons at 414 K St., Suite 225. It also offers smoothies, snow cream and the Korean yogurt drink Yakult, but no food, as we recently reported.
Traditional bubble tea lovers can try the Tie Guan Yin milk tea with add-ins ranging from plain tapioca to aiyu jelly and Oreos. All drinks are customizable for ice and sweetness level, and on-the-go customers can get their beverages in a secure metal-topped screw-on bottle.
Helped along by a grand opening offer of buy-one-get-one on all tea drinks, RareTea is on its way to building a local fan base, with a five-star rating out of 20 reviews on Yelp.
Yelper Nina H. wasn't impressed by the brown sugar milk tea, but wrote, "The jade tea was really good! The boba had a good consistency, and a nice sweetness. ... It was actually not that sweet though, which was nice as a lot of places tend to make the drinks overly sweet."
"The place gets packed ... but I must say, they are pretty fast," said AnnMarie M. of the service.
RareTea is open from 11 a.m.–10:30 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and noon–8 p.m. on Sunday.
Station 38 Coffee
3711 J St., East Sacramento
Station 38 Coffee is a new East Sac coffee shop serving Asian-inflected coffee and tea choices, as well as waffles, pastries and more. You can find it at 3711 J St.
Tea drinks on the menu include the Thai tea, matcha latte, and sweetened iced tea drinks as well as the house specialty: a combination of Thai tea with Vietnamese coffee.
For the peckish, fresh waffles with bananas and strawberries, açaí bowls, and trendy toasts topped with avocado or peanut butter are also available.
The new coffee shop's current rating of 4.5 stars out of 50 reviews on Yelp indicates positive attention from users.
"Bomb green tea and waffles!" wrote Yelper Tam P., who was one of the first users to visit Station 38 Coffee on July 7. "Ambience is super chill and it has somewhat of a modernish hipster vibe."
And Makaela M. was enthusiastic about the food and Thai tea with coffee drink, but warned other customers, "Be aware the residential street next to the shop is residential permit only parking."
Station 38 Coffee is open from 6 a.m.–5 p.m. daily.
