Northeast Tea House — Restaurant in Minneapolis

Northeast Tea House is the best spot for tea in the entire Midwest. If you live anywhere within a two-hour drive, coming here is a must. Their serene atmosphere and soothing music, coupled with a mesmerizing live-coral fish tank, make Northeast Teahouse my go-to place for when I feel stressed.

The staff are all very friendly and incredibly well-learned in different teas from across the world and give great recommendations based on your preferred flavor notes. Whether you’re just getting into teas or a seasoned expert, they have everything you could possibly want. There have been many times where I couldn’t make up my mind and a staff member recommended something that hit just the spot.

They specialize in Gongfu, a traditional Chinese tea ceremony in which you pour tea between small vessels and watch (and taste!) as the color/flavor gradually deepens and becomes more complex. Highly recommend trying this! They also have a huge selection of freshly-milled matchas, hot or iced. Northeast Teahouse is one of only three locations in the U.S. to have a genuine matcha mill! Watching the mill at work is a unique experience and so cool to have right in the Twin Cities! They also work with small farmers across the world to provide exclusive tea cakes.

Besides hot teas, they also have some great iced teas with fun flavors like soursop or lychee! These are great to-go on hot summer days. Additionally, they have a TON of delicious homemade baked goods: Mochi (many different flavors) Biscotti Chocolate chip banana bread Matcha shortbread Earl grey and lavender cookies Walnut cookies Carrot cake Seasonal items (like mooncakes for the mid-autumn festival)

That’s not all! They also carry many beautiful tea sets, electric kettles, tea pets, tea cakes, and looseleaf by the ounce. I seriously cannot describe how beautiful some of these tea sets are. See the photos below!!

Bottom line is – you’ve just gotta visit Northeast Tea House. It is an experience like no other, and you’ll find yourself making up any excuse to come back again and again. Take your mom there! Maybe a first date? Bring your friends! Come alone and enjoy your own company! Stare at the...

I'm not sure if I'm their target consumer (a 30-something millennial who drinks green tea every once in awhile) but I checked it out since I live a few blocks away and wanted an alternative to coffee. The atmosphere is beautifully calming with the floor cushion chairs and laptop-free policy. The people working at the counter seemed knowledgeable and friendly. Love trying new foods, especially those from different cultures. I've had matcha pastries, matcha chocolate, and matcha lattes but never authentic matcha, so my review is more likely a reflection on my preferences than their products. The menu had an extensive list of matchas. I picked one that sounded appealing based on the flavor profile, and it was very fragrant and strongly-flavored, which is what it's supposed to taste like according to what I've read.

There are a few reasons why I probably won't be back to this place.

The small matcha, served in a small (8 oz?) cup, was just about half full. You get a few ounces of liquid. I was expecting a bit more matcha for $6.

The pastries were tiny. For $5, you're getting one bite of cookie. The mochi was a little bit larger, being the size of the bottom of a to-go coffee cup. I can go down the street and get a cream puff or cookie for $3 that's just as tasty which seems like better value, but that's irrelevant if you're looking for the authentic flavors this business offers.

They didn't offer any sweetener, lemon, or milk for the matcha. I had to walk home with the drink and add lemon juice and sweetener to temper the bitterness. For $6 I want to be able to enjoy the drink as is. Their product would be more accessible if they offered some condiments.

Reading some of the other reviews, I don't think this business is looking to appeal to a wide audience, which is fine.They're clearly successful at catering to the consumers who love them because there were plenty of people inside on a Saturday. I just wish I'd known what to expect before...

I came here specifically for matcha—this is the only place I know of that grinds it fresh on-site. That was the one thing I felt was missing from the matcha I’d been drinking: something freshly ground and sold within days.

I bought their most expensive matcha. It tasted incredible—vibrant, smooth, clearly high-quality. But it didn’t give me that intense, almost trippy feeling I used to get from another matcha I’d been buying online. That old one would sometimes shift my vision a bit, like the onset of a psychedelic experience. I always assumed that meant it was potent—packed with the compounds that make matcha so powerful.

Still, I gave it another try. I bought the top-tier again ($50–$60 an ounce), same result: excellent tea, but no “wow” effect.

So today, I mentioned it to the woman working there. I showed her the matcha I’d bought on Amazon, and she immediately recognized the region it came from. She pointed me to one of their matchas made in the same area—their least expensive one, actually, at $35 an ounce.

I was skeptical, but I gave it a shot. Went home, made it properly, and by the sixth or seventh sip—boom—I was flying. That same sharp, vivid clarity was back.

Not only is this a great place to buy top-tier matcha, but the staff clearly knows their stuff. I don’t know how deep everyone’s knowledge runs, but for someone to recognize a region in Japan and solve a problem like that on the spot? That’s seriously impressive. Five stars not just for the product, but for the level of knowledge and care. Truly an...