Brooklyn Tea — Restaurant in Atlanta

I am about to create a new category: "Places that specialise in serving warm beverages containing mild stimulants in an atmosphere of serene conviviality." I have done this to avoid calling this a Tea Room. I am British, and frankly Tea Room suggests the wrong vibe entirely. This is not a place for aging white middle-class women to have a good natter about the weather and nork down scones with the Jersey butter and strawberry jam. This is a tea joint with the vibe of a coffee joint. It also serves excellent coffee. Being British, I appreciate good tea, but on the occasion of my visit I wanted good coffee, and BT did not disappoint one iota. In this day, it is pretty much unnecessary to say that a coffee (or even a tea) place serves good coffee. If it didn't it would either have to improve fast or go out of business. So, the quality of the coffee (and tea) are givens. What makes one place better than another is the vibe, and BT has it right. Relax, airy, lots of natural light, suitable for conversation, but equally suitable for reading, or writing, or scanning your phone. A place to slow down for a while amidst the bustle of city life. Take a deep breath. Eat a guilt free waffle. There really is a Brooklyn in Brooklyn Tea. She is the owner, founder, and CEO; and at the moment she is in the Carolinas someplace, but when she started Brooklyn Tea, she was in Brooklyn. The Atlanta connection is that her sister is in Atlanta, and her sister was behind the counter at the Castlebury location on the day I went. And full of bonhomie, knowledge of her products, knowledge of the neighbourhood, and just general friendliness she was, too. It is therefore completely honest and authentic to refer to Brooklyn Tea as a "local place," which means we should all try to support it, as distinct from supporting a large multinational like Starbucks. Down with Starbucks. Up with Brooklyn Tea. That said, BT has several locations and higher aspirations, so it combines the best of both worlds -- the workers owning the means of production plus global aspirations. Everybody wins. BTW, the selection of teas is outstanding, though I did not notice my personal favourite: Formosa Lapsang Souchong, which is a smoked tea from Taiwan. Perhaps by the next time I am in Atlanta they will have it. Or perhaps they have it now, and I just missed it. (I wasn't wearing my glasses when I went. Silly me.) An aside. I had just has lunch around the corner (literally about 50 yards away -- or roughly 50 meters, as we in the civilised world long ago made the conversion to metric; someday America may join in and switch from 8-½ x 11 inch paper to A4, from the American form of Imperial measures to metric, and from Fahrenheit to Celsius. Someday, but not yet. How quaint you Americans can...

I had been looking forward to coming to this location but was very disappointed. I met a friend on Sat. at about about 315. When we arrives there were only 3 other customers inside so the place was not very busy. We scanned the QR menu only to notice most items are sold out. We rang the bell for assitance and a single person came up front. I asked about available pastries and was told the Biggie cookie was the only available item. I tried to order a white peach tea from the menu posted on the board above the register and was told that was out of stock. I asked what was available and was told "This is all we got", no product names, no descriptions, nothing. I had to say I have never been here before I was told to look at the jar names below the kettles posted on the counter. My entire party got the mango paradise tea, (2 hot, 1 iced) since it was in stock and 2 Biggie cookies. We went to look for a table and had trouble because all of the empty tables were dirty with old tea dishes or food crumbs. We asked for napkins and said to wipe off the table but were given bone dry napkins. Also, I stood at the counter while waiting for the napkins which were apparently in the back so none available for customer to grab as needed. The employee also fixed the cookies while I was at the counter, one fell on the counter, given the vibes, I'm sure I would have been given the one off the counter had I not been standing there which was an issue given the place was dirty. The teas were not great, they tasted like honey water syrup with a hint of tea. I expected customers would either be asked how sweet or given unsweet to sweeten themselves. The cookies had a clear crystal on them but it was so flavorless I couldn't tell if it was salt or sugar. The music was good but overall not a...

Came into Brooklyn Tea today because of the buzz surrounding this coffee shop. Unfortunately, I was thoroughly disappointed! Before we placed our order, we were told the kitchen was closed due to their monthly block party. We agreed to just get 2 coffees instead. We ordered the Double Dutch and the Fire Hydrant (Hot). We waited over 30 minutes to receive our order and both were poorly done! In this time we watched the workers scatter as if they had no clue what they were doing! Orders were piling up and the staff members were restocking prepackaged teas on the shelves. It was so bad, a girl that arrived after us complained about the wait time for her order. The Double Dutch had to be remade but here’s the cake topper, they ran out of oat milk which was the only option we wanted. We then were forced to substitute our original option as a result. The Fire Hydrant was taken in the back to be reheated because it was incredibly cold. Although the coffee was now hot, it tasted extremely watered down. I live in NY and have never visited the Brooklyn location so to come to Atlanta and have a terrible experience speaks volumes. Unfortunately, I will not be recommending this establishment to anyone. Poor service, poor coffee… poor everything! Never again! P.S. I wish I could have rated the food but unfortunately we never had the chance to try the...