PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES

In order to get inside the tea room at the Vintage Tea Leaf, you have to wander an awkward path—one that curves in between the aisles of its gift shop, where stuffed animals and all sorts of soft, gaudy things are piled towards the ceiling. When you finally reach the tea room, you’re met with its overwhelmingly lavish and floral décor, an instant reminder of how the other half lived—circa 1850, anyway. But the Tea Leaf is a place of ritual, so it’s obliged to offer tea cozies and miniature spoons and all of that grand elegance. However, hidden away in the highbrow menu is a drink that’s decidedly simple—the green tea extract health cocktail. Deceptively titled, the drink is, more or less, iced tea. It’s offered in both normal and flavored varieties—raspberry, peach, tropical, and the like. But what makes the cocktail truly unique (so the Tea Leaf claims) is that it’s supposedly equal to 15 cups of plain green tea. Not sure how they do it, but somehow that sounds about right. See, once you actually drink the thing, it hits you slow and steady in your optic nerves, your eyes widening to the size of your tea cup saucer with each sip. But the drink is more than just an endless energy kick—it’s smooth and sweet and balanced. Add some scones or sandwiches and your trip will turn completely surreal, a reminder that this kind of long-gone decadence does exist, resurrected now by some of the best tea around.

VINTAGE TEA LEAF 969 E BROADWAY | LONG BEACH 90802 | 562.435.5589

Tags: emasculated, green tea, tea, vintage tea leaf