the starbucks of tea ?

I must confess that when facing particulary potent bouts of homesickness, I have been known to indulge in a certain american coffee chain. I mean, the drinks are the same. The food is the same. The music is the same. The chairs are the same. It's actually kind of creepy... as in, if you don't sit within view of the window, you could easily pretend you were in Ohio... though why would you ?

My only major beef with Starbucks in France is that the only tea-latte option is chai. How sad. I love inventive tea cocktails. So much so, that I've tried to make a couple at home, to unfortunately disastrous results.

Last week, I read on this rockin' Paris blog, that there was a new tea time in town. A place that sells inventive tea cocktails & cupcakes. And so I raced over the next day for gouter (an adorable way of saying after-school snack). Oki. It was my after-singing snack, and well earned at that. And I loved what I found. A scrumptious blueberry muffin (a rare commodity outside of the aforementioned coffee chain), and an iced red rooibos tea with orange juice, mixed fruits and limonade*.




For now, the place isn't very well-known, and thus not crowded. But I forsee this become a popular place for gouter between girlfriends. Or in summertime, a stop for a refreshing iced tea to survive the Paris heat.

www.teabythe.com

*limonade does not mean lemonade, as the name would suggest, but rather is a sweet sparkling water often used in cocktails.