Fabulous place to relax! We stop there every time we are in the Twin Cities.

I was back up in the Twin Cities this weekend celebrating the engagement of my former roommate. While I was there, I took the opportunity to visit Indigo Tea Company. Although I lived in the Twin Cities area for two years, I had never heard of this particular teashop until I joined Steepster.

It’s a cute little place that serves lots of delicious looking treats along with tea in a pot, mug, or to-go cup. They have a traditional Asian seating area up by the front window as well as tables and chairs.

They have a pretty impressive selection of loose leaf tea and I love the little sample tins that let you examine and smell each variety. The only thing I don’t like is that almost all of the tea comes pre-bagged in 4oz amounts. They will sell 1/2 a bag (though they charge a 25% “handling fee” to do so) and a few of the teas are available in 1oz sample sizes. But I wish they had the option to buy all of in smaller amounts; even 2oz is a lot to commit to, especially if it’s something you’ve never tried before!

Fabulous place to relax! We stop there every time we are in the Twin Cities.

Yeah, I love this teahouse. I make a point to stop there every time I visit the Twin Cities… Good atmosphere, great teas and I like the short tables in the windows where you sit on pillows like you’re supposed to when drinking tea.

When you first walk into the store you are greeted with soft, relaxing music and a calm atmosphere. You will find both European and Asian influences in their store design. Their prices are great on both their loose leaf teas and their drinks. We’ve been going to Indigo since it opened and it keeps on improving. Their tea selection is updated frequently and the baristas are knowledgeable with their tea info. For those of you who have dairy allergies they also have soy and almond milk.

This place was really easy to find as they have a nice sign right on the edge of the highway you turn off of to get to it. I was SO excited to go here! Currently I’m in the process of redoing my resume and was planning on going to a coffee shop to stay focused. Instead of going to a chain store, I decided to find a place in the metro area as I’m going to be down here for the rest of the week. Indigo Tea Co was 5miles away from the place I was staying so I excitedly choose to go here. I’M SO GLAD THAT I DID!

The atmosphere is so calming. I came around 2:30 on a school day so there are a lot of middle aged people just getting together to chat it up. I love that the owners (I’m assuming these are the owners) were there when I came in so if I needed help I could get some experienced words of wisdom. The shop is set up in a way though that I could (and was) very hands off. All their teawares are displayed on these nice shelves, followed by all their teas prebagged in 4oz bags. You can also smell all of their teas in little samples sizes to the side. The prices for all the teas seem very fair, and I love that all their tea containers are not overpriced. I think I’m actually going to get a couple! Yesterday, I went to Teavana to restock on some teas and got a container as well. I got $10 off my purchase so the container ended up being only $2 (I wouldn’t have got it for the retail of $11), but the ones here at the same size are not only much better quality but a third of the price as well!

There are two tatami mats and tables in the corner by the window, surrounded by a lot of plants.The rest of the places to sit are in a nice, open environment that is also very cozy. I’m giving this a 4star only because they do not offer wifi here. I am, however, currently able to leech of some neighboring store so that’s pretty great. Another complaint I have is that I can’t seem to be able to find any outlits for my laptop, which is the reason I came. I bought myself a pot of pomagranate green tea for $3.66, which comes with a free water refill, and am happily going to work now. This would be a perfect place to just go and talk, I wish I lived closer so I could come here more often.

Edit: Okay, I changed my mind about the 4 stars. I can’t fault them for not having outlits and this place is just too cute, and the people are too friendly to NOT give it 5 stars.

LatteTeaDah’s review was wonderful at describing the atmosphere of Indigo and the types of products available. In my opinion, I did not find this place to be confusing to find, and I am definitely not familiar with the neighborhood. I saw the large sign in front of the strip mall and was able to pull in on a whim and easily find it. I found the atmosphere to be very clean, airy and open, and sunny while being unique versus feeling like a “large coffee chain.” Plus, the baristas there are definitely not young; seems to be the same two people there, a middle aged gentleman and an asian women who both are very knowledgeable about the teas who possibly own the place. I believe the crowd there tends to be younger in the evening, but in the mornings and afternoons I see many adults grabbing tea to drink there and to buy loose leaf teas. What I liked most about this shop was the sitting area with Tatami mats next to wide windows – it’s pretty refreshing to soak up the sun and listen to their mellow music and it is a quiet yet refreshing place for a graduate student like me to study while enjoying a reasonably priced pot of tea. You can sign up for their e-mail newsletter at the register and get coupons every few weeks too.

I rated this a little higher than I might have otherwise, because it’s really the only tea shop serving the southern Twin Cities metro, and as such it fills a few niches incredibly well. But it is situated in a back corner of a confusing strip mall complex with a frontage road, meaning you may need to whip out your navigator if you’re not familiar with the neighborhood. The variety of teas, accessories, and the serving menu are top-notch, but it’s very much a college café type of atmosphere reminiscent of the larger coffee chains. The young baristas know how to serve up a great boba milk tea, but if you have questions about steeping times or origins on the loose teas available for purchase, you may or may not get an experienced response depending on the day.

That’s where my list of criticisms ends.

Pros:
Despite the austere strip-mall outer appearance, the inside decor is bright and inviting, and there are two tatami-mat tables that look out through the front windows. Plenty of sunshine even in the dead of a Minnesota winter. You may have to compete with the younger crowd for access to the Tatami mats, so if you’re seeking the more “authentic” experience, you might have better luck on a weekday. There are plenty of wooden tables and chairs on the other side of the store, benches with pillows and cushions.

The servingware selection is in the middle of the store and becomes the focus from each direction. Indigo has an impressive selection of Japanese servingware and teas – the first in my short experience around town that has had such variety. They also have other traditional serving pieces, infusers, Chinese Yi-Xing, and English style teapots and cups.

As for loose tea selection, they offer everything that’s mentioned on their web site, already pre-packaged and labeled with steeping times. They have smaller canisters with each type available in a lazy-susan display so you can smell or try your particular favorite before purchasing, the prices for each variety labeled to the side of each of the display shelves. This is why I don’t place too much hope that the staff is as versed in tea as the proprieter may be – the display is very much a “serve-yourself” experience. Oolongs, china blacks, 3 types of Pu-erh, tisanes, nice selection of flavored blends, and a larger-than-expected selection of greens and whites.

The café side of the store has a pastry/deli case. There were a few varieties of scones, macaroons, and panini sandwiches, but nothing that looked remarkably different than the average selection at other places. The beverage menu includes a large variety of syrups for boba tea and milk tea, as well as straight brewed tea. I tried a peach flavored iced milk boba tea and it was wonderful. It was actally better prepared than boba tea I’ve had elsewhere further into the cities (places that boast of being about nothing “but” bubble tea).

Prices were comparable to other places in town – you can get a brewed pot for $3 and up, a large milk tea with boba pearls for about $4, and you’ll find accessories ranging from the traditional to a JoeMo travel mug, at reasonable prices.

Their loose tea prices however can be a real bargain, depending on which variety you’re looking at. I came home with 4 oz. of organic pu-erh for about $3 less than I paid at a different non-chain specialty shop in the area, per oz.

Indigo’s clientele does seem to be more of the younger crowd, though there was a family and a few 30-ups there during my visit. Lots of bubble teas and lattés being ordered.

I do plan to go back to Indigo more often and look forward to trying some of their Japanese green teas in the near future. It’s a pleasant, quiet place to enjoy a drink, and (thankfully!) an alternative to Teavana for stocking up on accessories for the southern Twin Cities tea enthusiast.