Artisan Chinese Tea

A recent addition to Minneapolis’ Seward neighborhood, Verdant Tea Tasting Room & Tea Bar offers a curated selection of artisan, seasonal Chinese teas from small family farms. Owners Lily and David Duckler are obsessed with tea and the hospitality culture that revolves around it. They spend a lot of time in China each year researching tea folklore, working and sourcing obscure, small batch teas. The farms they’ve chosen to work with do not hire export brokers, they aren’t state-run factory tea farms, they are small 10-15 acre family farms and in many cases Verdant is their only client.

In their sunny, zen-like neighborhood cafe, the Ducklers are hoping to energize the local craft tea movement here in Minnesota. At the tasting room, you can sip on a variety of phenomenal Chinese teas, build your own tea flight or engage in a guided tea tasting. They have an astonishingly unique and custom crafted micro-brewed chai, and a house made kombucha on tap that is available by the glass or in growlers to go! Forget the bottled stuff you get at Whole Foods, this kombucha is worth a trip in itself. Verdant Tea has also added a few good options for a bite to eat – classic soba noodle bowls, curry, congee, pastries from Birchwood Cafe, artisan Sweet Science ice cream and Real Deal chocolate bars and truffles.

Check out Nate Uri’s recipe for tea-infused Mabo Royale (fried kingklip in tofu & pork bean sauce).

Find out more about Verdant Tea in this episode of Meat & Greet.

Contact

2111 East Franklin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55404
612.223.8907
verdanttea.com