Eat the Tea's moniker is an instructional one. At this charming, Victoria Park-adjacent café, noshing on the remnants of your drink is part of the process.
But if this inspires a cringe-worthy visual (like the contents of a Lipton's tea bag), don't fret. The blends steeped by this tea house slash eatery are totally appetizing -- think hibiscus leaves, goji berries, orange peels, and other healthy, rosy-hued edibles.
Plus, they've got more than fruits and flowers on the menu. Owner Maureen Ruggeri also offers tasty, vegan-friendly eats, and her banana kale sandwich ($8.50) is a surprising sweet and savory treat.
See also: Eat the Tea Celebrates One-Year Anniversary on the Full Moon
The unusual sammie features sunflower-seed butter, tangy kale, banana slices, and a smidge of jam, all smothered between two pieces of fresh, pillowy wheat bread.
It's a combo that's surprisingly delicious.
Paired with a little kale salad and a cup of the shop's Get Happy tea, it makes for a nourishing midday meal. Get Happy, a brilliant fuchsia blend, is a brew of goji berries, hibiscus flower, pear, apple, rose hips, and pineapple -- as pleasant to eat as it is to drink.
The purpose of eating the tea is added nourishment in the form of antioxidants, polyphenols, and chlorophyll, Ruggeri told Clean Plate Charlie last year. Add to all that good stuff with kale, sunflower-seed butter, and bananas and you've got a hell of a healthy lunch.
Everything except desserts are vegan-friendly at this cozy café. They also specialize in herbal tonics and elixirs, designed to heal various ills. They have blends for eye, skin, and weight issues, plus other ailments.
It's the perfect little chill lunch spot, complete with medicine in a mug.
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