Thea Vegetarian Tea Garden Edit

I’ve been a Thea faithful since it was a tiny shop in Gays Arcade. The review by Robert Godden seems misguided at best!!!! The shop is Taiwanese and I sincerely doubt his assertions as to the milk!

I am no longer in Adelaide but it is my first port of call as soon as I arrive in town!

The oolong is prepared traditionally and the tiny cup is the traditional way to drink it.. ie smelling cup and drinking cup. I have spent some of the best hours of my life drinking tea with Mr Chen at the Tea Table downstairs.

Thea have amazing teas! I would strongly advised everybody to DISREGARD the review by Robert Godden!!!!

Anyone who knows Thea will know that it is of the FINEST STANDARD!

2.4 out of five
First a word about the food : well prepared, vegetarian, vegan Chinese/Vietnamese style.
Odd paper menus that you fill in and take up to the counter.
Now.let’s talk tea.
They have about 40, and many of them are available black, white, milky and either style can be hot or cold.
Note that during last years Chinese milk crisis, they offered no milk teas. Apparently they only use Chinese milk- presumably the stuff that was responsible for infant deaths.
So I’ll take mine black.
Actually I had a sip of my dining companions’ Lavender Milk and Almond Milk teas, and both were nice drinks, really bubble tea milkshakes, but the milk tasted to me like it might be powdered.
I had the ‘finest Chinese oolong.’
It was served as a pot of wet leaves, with a jug of decanted liquor and a thimble-sized cup
And it was THE SINGLE WORST CUP OF TEA I HAVE EVER TASTED MADE FROM LOOSE LEAF TEA.
It tasted like the inside of a rubbish bin and had an oily consistency, like drinking hot, stale vegetable oil.
I’ve gone to this place before with vegetarian friends – next time, they can find somewhere else. The excellent food is to no avail if I can’t have a good cup of tea.
To add insult to injury, it was expensive. Vastly better oolong is available at two more places within a block at least 20% cheaper.