Tea in Thu Dau Mot

There are now many high-end tea houses in Thu Dau Mot, with more opening every week.  This list is not comprehensive and it will probably either (a) be updated often or (b) go out of date quickly.

I am also leaving out the many, many, many cheaper tea stands that are scattered throughout the city.

The list is sorted (very loosely) by how much I like the business.

Whisk Cheese & Tea (Facebook link) 

• Whisk is on Dai Lo Binh Duong (the highway), a little north of Yersin and Big C.
• They have great Japanese tea, milk or cream cheese tea, buckwheat tea, a few excellent flower blends (including sakura), and a couple of fruit options.
• They also have delicious cheese tarts, strong WiFi, clean bathrooms and spacious comfortable seating.

Cueicha (Facebook link)

• Cueicha is at the north end of Pham Ngu Lao, just south of Dai Lo Binh Duong.
• Cueicha has a variety of sweet, fruity, milky and/or bold teas.  They can do unsweetened Tieguanyin with adzuki beans and basil seeds, which is a favorite of mine.
• Cueicha's teas are carefully brewed and consistently satisfying.  (Many other establishments burn their green or oolong teas.)  Cueicha has pretty good WiFi, a small but comfortable seating area and clean bathrooms. 

M!x Tea & More (Facebook link)

• Mix is on Thich Quang Duc, next to Hoang Van Thu street.
• Mix has a variety of high-quality fruit teas and a few simple snacks.  This includes a couple of savory snacks, whereas most other places are pure sweets.
• Mix has strong WiFi, clean bathrooms and spacious comfortable seating.  The owner is very friendly and good with English.  Furthermore, Mix is adjacent to Ibis Coffee, which has some good food available.
   

Bonba Tea (Facebook link)

• Bonba is on Dai Lo Binh Duong, northbound side, one block south of Becamex Tower.
• Bonba has fruit, flower, and high-quality milk teas.  They also have good Oolong and Tieguanyin.  They are the only place to go for a few delicious things like dragonfruit jam, black tea jelly and a fruity homemade "rainbow" mix of tapioca pearls.
• They have Hong Kong "eggy" waffles, Japanese taiyaki (fish-shaped waffles), and sometimes fresh popcorn.  Their bathroom and work space are both good, and the staff are quite friendly.

The Garden House (menu)

• Garden House is near the "New Tiamo" apartments, south of the little roundabout.  Google knows this one.
• They have a wide variety of Japanese teas (such as sakura or houjicha), plus some really good fruit teas.
• They also have an expanded coffee house menu and a fancy high-quality juice bar.  The juice bar is particularly noteworthy, I don't know of any others in this city.  Things like "green drinks" haven't really caught on in Vietnam, but Garden House does a good job.

 

La Belle

• Chanh Nghia, the big intersection with the traffic light, across from Tokyo BBQ and Ong Tay Texas Steaks.
• Various high quality teas with some flowers and fruits.  They seem proud of their ai-yu.  They also have good little Taiwanese pineapple cakes, and a few more coffee-related options than most places.  (Apparently this has something to do with a Hong Kong style influence.)
• This is one of the most expensive tea shops, but the tea and the toppings we have tried so far have all been excellent.  They don't have much seating space, sadly.

TooCha

• Dai Lo Binh Duong, southbound side, same intersection as Highlands Coffee and Becamex Tower.  (Between Highlands and GongCha.)
• TooCha focuses on quality.  Their menu is a bit small, but everything seems good--and slightly below the usual prices.  They don't seem inclined to burn their green tea.
• Apparently their milk and sugar are Organic.  Also: Try the strawberry jellies, they're delicious.
• The work space is large, attractive and comfortable, with many power outlets and strong WiFi.  The bathrooms are good, too.

Bonheur

• 27a Huỳnh Văn Lũy, Phú Lợi -- The next main road north of Yersin, the one across from Big C, immediately next to the good Thai restaurant.
• Good hot flower teas, some options for milk tea, smoothies and coffee.  Not a good place for actual tea, as such, but good WiFi and seating.  It is definitely worth visiting for the flower teas.

BobaPop

• Bobapop is next to CO.OP Mart on Yersin, or on Thich Quang Duc near CMT8.
• Bobapop is pretty much the standard for milk tea, and they have some fancy/healthy teas too.  They don't have some of the specialties like fresh fruit or top-quality milk, but they're consistently good.

   

Meet Fresh

• Meet Fresh is in Chanh Nghia, sort of south-central, mildly difficult to locate.
• They have good tea, rare toppings (like barley pearls or mung beans), and a wide selection of respectable puddings/tofus/slushies/bingsu.
• They also have a good work space.  It's a pretty nice place in general, although I find their choice of location a bit odd.

Tea Land

• Between KFC and the big cathedral, near the large CMT8 roundabout.  Next to the temple on the street behind the park.
• They lean toward sweet/milky/fruity, but with above-average value for the money.  Their fruit tea is cheaper than Royal Tea and there's a lot more fruit in it.  They have adzuki beans, chia seeds, and oolongs, but no green tea.
• They deliver and they have a permanent buy-5-get-1 deal, so they're a great place to make large orders for a class or for a group of coworkers.

Happy Tea

• Happy Tea is on Vo Thanh Long (Waffle Street) near the park.  In other words, it is two blocks south of Citimart.
• They specialize in the usual sweet/syruppy/milky teas, but they do a good job.  Their peach-orange-lemongrass tea is one of the best in town, and their water chestnut add-ins are some of the best in town.

The Nanny

• Central Chanh Nghia, main east/west road, west of the big intersection.
• The Nanny specializes in matcha treats, which they handle ably, but they have some other food and desserts as well.
• They have a reasonably comfortable and romantic seating area.

Bolero

• Take the elevator above the giant electronics store (and Highlands), west of the big roundabout with the cathedral on CMT8.
• A wide selection of high-quality brewed teas, brewed fruit teas, and brewed flower teas.  The baked goods vary in availability but they all seem to be of excellent quality.
• This is a very comfortable, classy, romantic place to go.  They also have live music sometimes.

Pozaa Tea

• Pozaa is on Le Hong Phong, just south of the main part of Thu Dau Mot, a few blocks north of Dai Lo Binh Duong.  They're just south of a traffic light (the one nearest to Bean Family).
• They have some almost-unusual flavors of above-average sweet/milky/fruity teas, but their fruit teas seem to be of good quality (and with real fruit).
• Apparently the name means "gangsta," which amuses me.

Ni Yom Thai Tea

• Ni Yom is on Thich Quang Duc, halfway between Dai Lo Binh Duong and CMT8; or Duong 30/4, halfway between Dai Lo Binh Duong and CMT8 (near the bus station).
• They have Thai Tea, green or red.  Everything is fairly sweet here, but it's a convenient place to get Thai Tea, and you can get some variations or add-ins.

Me Nau

• Me Nau is on Thich Quang Duc, in the middle between CMT8 and Dai Lo Binh Duong.
• They have a few basic teas, unsweetened if you prefer, and some interesting toppings.  Sadly, they don't have oolong.  They are one of the least expensive places on this list, so it's a good place to get something basic.

YAME / Kenshin Tea

• On Yersin, on the third floor of the Korean clothing chain YAME.
• They have some common above-average options but also a few surprises.  The watermelon & kefir drink is particularly noteworthy.
• The cafe is surprisingly cute and cozy.

Anna Cafe & Cakes (Facebook link)

• Anna is on Dai Lo Binh Duong, southbound side, between Yersin and Thich Quang Duc.
• They have good breakfast and great cakes, fresh hot rose tea and Peach Lemongrass tea, and coffee.  It's a reasonably romantic place to go, too.

 

Gong Cha

• Gongcha is on Dai Lo Binh Duong, southbound side, just south of Becamex Tower.
• Gongcha does high-quality milk teas.  Their commitment to quality has made Gong Cha a pioneer and a market leader in Vietnam, although they don't necessarily have the specialties that I like.  They have a pretty good seating area.

Phuc Long

• Phuc Long is on CMT8, one block south of the big cathedral, just south of KFC.  There is also a shop in Aeon Mall (although the service at that one is terrible).
• Phuc Long is a top-quality retailer for Vietnamese-grown tea.  They do sell some brewed tea and coffee in the shop, and sometimes some decent baked goods.

Uncle Tea

• Uncle Tea in on CMT8, one block south of Thich Quang Duc.
• They have an interesting mix of fancy teas, comparable to the other big names (like Gongcha, BobaPop, or Ding Tea).   The flower teas and the Puehr are the most noteworthy.

The Alley

• Chanh Nghia, main road, between the big intersection and Thich Quang Duc, northbound side of the divider.
• A standard fancy Taiwanese place with especially high prices, but they do make good tea.
• They don't have a good space for hanging out, it's spacious but blank (and lacking power outlets), and they can't be bothered to create takeout menus.  Also, this is the current premiere example of "paying for the name."  They explicitly advertise their style and don't mention the tea!  However, despite seeming very snooty, they deliver on quality--a lesson which Royal Tea ought to learn.

Kokoro Crepes & Tea

• AEON Mall, third floor, near the grocery area.
• They have some decent tea and toppings, plus sweet and savory crepes.
• Everything is pretty good but they do tend to be sold out of many choices.

Ding Tea

• Ding is on Thich Quang Duc, near the intersection with Yersin, east of the highway.
• Ding is one of the big-name quality milk tea chains.  They're good, but not particularly unique.  This location has an adequate seating area.

Giờ Dây Thun

• North side of Duong 30/4, several blocks west of CO.OP and the bus station (west of the market), just before the road splits off.
• They have a few decent sweet options, plus a dessert made of cookies that are frozen with liquid nitrogen.  And they'll freeze anything else you buy, if you want them to, which is wacky fun.  (Frozen jellies and peaches are pretty good.  Frozen citrus fruits are a bit bitter.)
• The name means "rubber time," so they get points for humor value.

Chew Coffee

• Chanh Nghia, main road, between the big intersection and Thich Quang Duc, northbound side of the divider.
• Matchas and milky teas.   Nice space and average prices, but I question the quality of the matcha.
• Funny name.

Soul Tea & Board Games

• Dai Lo Binh Duong, southbound side, a few blocks north of AEON Mall.
• They have a few sweet flavors and blue pea flower tea.  They have some decent homemade toppings.  As their name suggests, they also have a bunch of board games and space to play.

Star One

• CMT8, just south of Vietcombank.
• They have some novel flavors like starfruit teas and sparkling water teas, as well as more normal smoothies, fruit teas and milk teas.  They're nice but they don't have any seating space.

Tra Tien Huong / Cotcha

• Cotcha is on Thich Quang Duc, between CMT8 and Hoang Van Thu street.
• This used to be the best teahouse in the city, but they got bought out.  They got rid of half their menu--the half I Iiked, sadly--and raised their prices to nearly double.  They are probably still comparable to Gongcha or Ding in many ways, but their WiFi and bathrooms are inadequate to support long stays.

Royal Tea

• Royal Tea is on CMT8 just south of the Cathedral, or Ngo Gia Tu (the road in Chanh Nghia that goes to Becamex Tower)
• They have extra-expensive fruit teas and milk teas.  The quality of their fruit and/or milk isn't especially good, but it also isn't especially bad.  This is a big flashy company and you're mostly paying for the brand name.

Mr. GoodTea

• Mr. GoodTea is in the middle of Duong 30/4 (the road between the highway and the bus station).
• They're an average-quality milk tea chain that would be a lot better if most of their menu wasn't consistently out of stock.

 

Koi Tea

• Koi is nestled away in Chanh Nghia, near the Royal Tea there.  They have some big billboards to help point the way.
• They seem to have good Japanese teas, but the service has always been lousy for me.  Even with a native Vietnamese speaker forcing them to repeat the order back, they routinely make it wrong.  It's also expensive.

Đậu Milk Tea 

• This is on Duong 30/4 south end (the road behind Becamex Tower), next to Heekcaa.
• They have sweet/milky teas only, but a few good toppings and the suprisingly rare option for masala chai.

 

2! Tea (Hai Tea)

• Yersin by the Cathedral, or CMT8 by CO.OP Mart.
• Sweet and milky teas, good toppings, unhealthy but yummy.  Some sn

Ibis Coffee

• Thich Quang Duc, next to Hoang Van Thu street.  By Mix.
• This isn't a tea room, but you can get oolong with adzuki beans, so I am including it.  Their food menu is worth trying, they have some cute desserts and the noodle bowls have nice vegetables.

 

Special Black Tea

• Duong 30/4 (behind Becamex).
• They do in fact have great black tea.  The menu for this chain has some interesting items, but sadly this branch will never carry them.

The T House

• 11 Bạch Đằng, Phú Cường -- You take the river road north from the main market for about 1 km, then this place is on your right in the weird triangular roundabout.
• They have various routine high-quality teas and very cute interior.

Miocha

• One block east of New Tiamo, one block west of Gian Dinh Dau (Bean Family).
• They have some routine above-average tea options and probably my personal favorite interior decoration scheme.  I think they also have a small food menu.

Anh's Tea

• Duong 30/4 (behind Becamex).
• They have some common mid-quality sweet/fruity/milky teas.

Rucher Tea

• Thich Quang Duc, eastern end, near Ding Tea
• Generic milky/sweet teas with a nice seating area.  Nothing special.

Hot & Cold

• Yersin, just west of Dai Lo Binh Duong.
• They have a lot of sweet/milky teas, plus some snack foods.  They were the most popular milk tea chain in southern Vietnam when I arrived, but they haven't expanded as fast as the high-end places have.

Heekcaa

• Duong 30/4 south end (the road behind Becamex Tower).
• A big chain with various fruity, Japanese, and milky options.  Some things look good, but they always taste off to me and they are quite expensive.  I want to come here for the nice work space, but it's not worth the bad tea.

Yolo

• Yolo is on the north side of the highway to the new city, near the big messy intersection with a light and a gas station as you leave Thu Dau Mot.
• They have cheap syruppy drinks at prices which are much too high.  They do have a couple of normal juice options, though they're very expensive.
• Not recommended.

Orange PartTea

• Intersection of Dai Lo Binh Duong and Duong 30/4 (the big roundabout south of Becamex Tower).
• Low-quality sweet stuff.  Not recommended.  If you want some cheap junk tea, you have much better options.
• This business seems to be closed now.