If coffee makes the world go round, then tea is right there greasing the wheel. If you’re looking for a caffeine pick-me-up but don’t want your eyes to vibrate, check out the variety of teas available in the Oklahoma City metro area. From mint- and fruit-flavored to dessert-like, there are many options.
By Jacob Threadgill | Photos by Garett Fisbeck and file
Argana Cafe
2908 NW 23rd St.
arganacafe.net | 405-652-1234
Sometimes when ordering tea, the customer has to decide if they want sweet or unsweet. At Argana, the house Moroccan hot tea is flavored with mint and honey for a refreshing swig that leaves a tingle on your tongue. The tea complements a menu that features many slow-simmered meats cooked in a tagine, a cone-shaped clay pot that returns moisture to the dish for optimum succulence.
Cafe De Taipei
603 S. Broadway, Edmond
405-216-9968
This late-night Edmond eatery offers plentiful selection of sushi to fulfill your dinner and late-night cravings. Open 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 5 p.m.-10 p.m. on Sunday, complement a samurai roll (crab salad, avocado and cucumber sushi topped with baked spicy scallops) with a refreshing boba tea, available in black and jasmine green tea.
Cafe Oasis
1135 NW 25th Street
cafeoasisoklahomacity.com
405-528-5700
This restaurant is aptly named, because for those of us who are tea connoisseurs in a desert of coffee drinkers, Cafe Oasis is just that: an oasis. Located on the second floor next to Super Cao Nguyen, the cafe is home to perhaps the city’s largest selection of teas, available in both green, black, served with milk and with delightful chewy tapioca balls.
Fung’s Kitchen
3231 N. Classen Blvd.
fungskitchenoklahoma.com
405-524-4133
If you’re bored or perhaps exasperated at the mutant dishes being concocted on brunch menus across OKC, Fung’s Kitchen offers something different on the weekends as its dim sum menu expands. Choose between a variety of steamed buns and dumplings from the passing cart, and pair it with a hot Chinese tea, traditional iced tea or creamy Thai tea.
Leaf + Bean
321 N. Oklahoma Ave., Suite 107
leafandbean.com
Locally owned Woodshed Tea Co. supplies the fresh, loose-leaf tea that is the basis for Leaf + Bean’s flavored tea at its two locations. Go to the Deep Deuce location where natural light and a peach blossom iced tea make for the perfect location to pontificate. If you’re in a hurry, swing by the N. May Avenue location for your tea fix in a jiffy.
Thai House
500 NW 23rd St.
thaihouseokc.com | 405-524-0503
Thai House brews Thai tea to perfection. Strong black tea is brewed with star anise, crushed tamarind and cardamom and mixed with either sweetened condensed milk or whole milk for a memorable treat. The tea pairs well with an order of pad thai or with multiple trips to the buffet.
Urban Teahouse
519 NW 23rd St., Suite 107
urban-teahouse.com | 405-606-7005
The packages of boxed tea we buy at the store are filled with all sorts of impurities that dilute the flavor of the tea. At Urban Teahouse, owner Kristy Jennings is the patron saint of preaching the benefits of properly brewed loose-leaf tea. You can choose from a bevy of flavors in a variety of tea categories. There are unusual flavors like spicy chocolate truffle for standard black tea, and more exotic varieties of tea like oolong, rooibos and matcha.
