3 new tea shops explore different facets of the world’s most popular brew

With so many global cultures represented in Atlanta, it makes sense that there would be almost as many ways to enjoy the world’s most popular prepared beverage: tea.

Like coffee or wine, tea is an agricultural product whose flavor is influenced by where and how it’s grown as much as how it’s handled after harvest. Drinking tea is also often accompanied by deeply rooted cultural mores, from the tradition of blending chai in India to the etiquette of a British high tea.

But tea isn’t hemmed in by its long history; it fits into many trends of our current age, portrayed as a wellness product, an alternative to alcohol or colorful social media bait. Look no further than the colorful, layered foams and flavored tapioca pearls of boba tea cafes.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution visited three tea-first cafes that opened in recent months: the Chai Box Cafe, Honey Bubble and Le Faucheur. Each of the three serves tea in completely different ways, and they’re all worth seeking out for their own reasons. But one cafe stood out enough to earn an AJC Critic’s Pick.

The hill station cloud beverage from the Chai Box Cafe is topped with creamy cardamom malai. (Courtesy of the Chai Box Cafe)

The Chai Box Cafe (AJC Critic’s Pick)

Monica Sunny, founder of the Chai Box, describes the process of making chai as a grounding daily ritual that provides a bit of calm and indulgence. The Chai Box Cafe, her company’s first stand-alone chai shop, brings that family ritual to life for everyone.

“I wanted this cafe to feel like an extension of my home,” Sunny told the AJC.

Monica Sunny sits inside her tea shop, the Chai Box Cafe. “I wanted this cafe to feel like an extension of my home,” Sunny says. (Courtesy of the Chai Box Cafe)

Getting into the Chai Box Cafe is enough to make anyone feel stressed, from the traffic on Howell Mill Road to the confusing parking lot to the line stretching out the door. But once customers reach the counter, smell the chai spices and see the gorgeous pastries beckoning from their case, a sense of peace begins to set in. Despite all the hustle and bustle, the staff — sometimes led by Sunny herself — remain friendly, easygoing, helpful and engaging. Their calmness helps tame the mad rush that seems to consistently besiege the cafe.

The Chai Box was already a well-established brand based in metro Atlanta, selling chai blends and concentrates online to customers around the country and the world. That impressive foundation has likely contributed to the cafe’s instant success, but the brick-and-mortar tea shop would be popular without a local brand behind it.

The interior is light, airy and modern, with a gallery wall of vibrant photos illustrating the process of sourcing chai from India. The smell of warming spices and sugar is enough to intoxicate anyone who walks through the door.

Hot chai gets a traditional long pour at the Chai Box Cafe on Howell Mill Road. (Courtesy of the Chai Box Cafe)

The chai drinks are spectacular, expertly blended and brewed before being served in straightforward preparations such as hot masala chai, or special options that veer into decadent dessert territory, like the gulab jamun chai affogato. The latter drink is served with not one, but two gulab jamun — fried balls of dough soaked in a spiced sugar syrup — along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Each signature chai blend has its own distinctive flavor profile, illustrating the range of experiences offered by the various spice blends. The heavily spiced masala chai warms the palate while the hill station chai, made with rose and cardamom, fills your head with floral aromas.

The pastries at the Chai Box Cafe are just as impressive, often fusing the French technique of pastry chef Amber Latimore with Sunny’s own family recipes. There are showstoppers on both the savory and sweet sides of the aisle, such as the spicy saag paneer Danish pastry and the sophisticated rose pista tart, a gorgeous treat based on a sable Breton that blends rose, cardamom and pistachio flavors.

Getting into the Chai Box Cafe is enough to make anyone feel stressed. But once customers reach the counter, a sense of peace begins to set in. (Courtesy of the Chai Box Cafe)

The Chai Box Cafe offers a rare experience when it comes to tea shops. In the specialty coffee world, it’s a bit more common to find shops that import and roast their own beans before brewing them into a perfectly dialed-in cup of coffee. The Chai Box Cafe follows the same farm-to-cup process with chai, with as much or more attention to detail.

Sunny, who is now an empty nester after raising three boys, said the cafe was like her fourth baby. With Sunny and her team lavishing the Chai Box Cafe with so much love and attention, it’s clear this baby has a bright future.

Note: The Chai Box Cafe, which first opened in mid-June, will hold a grand opening celebration beginning the morning of Aug. 7, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.

1963 Howell Mill Road NW, Atlanta. 844-242-4269, thechaibox.com.

The interior of Honey Bubble and Mama Lin’s Chicken Delight is decorated with colorful pop art-style wall pieces and a life-size sculpture of a Mini Cooper protruding from the wall. (Henri Hollis/AJC)

Honey Bubble and Mama Lin’s Chicken Delight

When Honey Bubble first opened more than 13 years ago near Ponce City Market, the famous food hall and shopping destination hadn’t even opened yet. Honey Bubble was a pioneering tea shop concept, bringing boba tea into the heart of Atlanta at a time when customers snapping cellphone photos of their beverages was still an oddity.

Last year, the shop closed following a dispute between its owners and landlords, though Honey Bubble representatives promised the business would reopen elsewhere.

Chef and owner Mei Lin, who is also an owner of the Consulate in Midtown, made good on that promise in June. She reopened Honey Bubble in the Madison Yards development in Reynoldstown as part of a combined restaurant space that also houses her new eponymous restaurant, Mama Lin’s Chicken Delight.

The rich, foamy ube matcha cloud drink from Honey Bubble is surprisingly balanced. (Henri Hollis/AJC)

The new incarnation of Honey Bubble brought its same philosophy to its new space near the Atlanta Beltline’s Southeast Trail: freshly brewed tea, flavored boba options and sweet, colorful drinks that can be purchased by the literal bucketful.

The space is fun and inviting, with bright, pop art-style decor and a full-sized sculpture of a Mini Cooper protruding from the wall. On my visit, the service was prompt and friendly; I appreciated the employee’s help navigating the boba tea menu, which has a dizzying array of options.

The boba tea drinks tend to be very sweet, though the tea flavor still shined through in the more basic options I tried, like the royal milk tea and the lychee clear tea. I was warned that the ube matcha cloud drink would be the sweetest drink I ordered, but I found the rich, foamy beverage to be the most balanced, even if it was still dessertlike.

Honey Bubble’s “famous” brownie gains depth from the inclusion of taro, even if the texture is more like cake. (Henri Hollis/AJC)

Honey Bubble also offers a short list of solid desserts, including a “famous” (according to the menu) taro brownie. The consistency of the pastry was closer to a cake than a brownie but, thanks to the added depth from the taro, I couldn’t put it down.

The Mama Lin’s side of the menu is a little more focused, and I look forward to trying the chicken sandwich with one of the interesting sauces available, such as the ATL lemon pepper or Sichuan pepper hot sauce. But this is a feature about tea, and if you’re a fan of Honey Bubble or boba tea in general, the new shop won’t disappoint.

935 Memorial Drive SE, Atlanta. 404-835-2009, instagram.com/honeybubbletea.

Le Faucheur allows customers to suspend reality and forget that they’re sipping tea in a metro Atlanta shopping center. (Courtesy of Daniel Fatemi/Le Faucheur)

Le Faucheur

When I was in France with my wife in February, we took a tour of Versailles and got tea at Restaurant Angelina in the palace.

After that experience, I was impressed with Le Faucheur in Dunwoody, a new tea room which compared favorably with the real deal in the French countryside. It helps that the mirror-lined main dining area is windowless, allowing customers to suspend reality and forget they’re sipping tea in a metro Atlanta shopping center.

Le Faucheur offers a very specific experience, but for those seeking it out, it’s likely worth the $75 prix fixe charge. It’s one of the few places in town that offers a traditional high tea service, with tiered towers of delicate snacks and pots of expertly brewed tea, served in ornate fine china.

The high tea service at Le Faucheur includes a three-tiered stand filled with both savory and sweet snacks. (Courtesy of Daniel Fatemi, Le Faucheur)

Each tea service comes with a variety of little sandwiches, including artichoke and lemon zest; prosciutto and melon; and a caprese with tomato, basil and mozzarella. The middle tier of the stand holds scones, which are served with jam and house-made clotted cream.

The highest tier offers sweets, including fresh-baked ricotta almond cookies; a mini cannoli; and shot glasses of zabaglione, a light Italian custard.

While no single item stands out as a culinary tour de force, the collection of all these little bites together makes a delightful meal. The clotted cream was a particularly nice touch — not something you’ll often see around Atlanta.

A baby grand piano greets customers as they enter Le Faucheur’s main tea room. (Courtesy of Daniel Fatemi/Le Faucheur)

And the tea is not an afterthought. Each customer gets a bottomless pot of their choice of tea, with a variety of options available. The list of black teas includes Pu’erh, Darjeeling, English breakfast and Earl Grey, and there are three green teas and one white tea, as well. At least one type of tea, the Persian cardamom, is served with a saffron sugar swizzle stick, which you stir into the steaming teacup to sweeten it.

The servers lean into the ceremony of the high tea, further enhancing the atmosphere. Everything is delivered to the table on little gold tea carts, and the servers are more than happy to answer questions throughout the experience. Le Faucheur even offers etiquette classes, on occasion.

A customer at Le Faucheur takes a sip from the one of the shop’s traditional teacups. (Courtesy of Daniel Fatemi/Le Faucheur)

It would be easy for a place like Le Faucheur to feel cheesy or contrived, but this tea room is fully committed to the experience. There’s a beautiful baby grand piano and antique furniture filling the front room, and the baroque decor extends all the way into the restroom. This is an occasion restaurant, more than anything else; a place to gather with friends, go on a unique date or hold a multigenerational get-together that will delight all ages.