Tea in coffeeshops

Ann Arbor's coffeeshops are a frustrating bunch. There is a strangely neutral personality that pervades each and every one, at least in the area from downtown Ann Arbor to State St. and South University, seemingly modeled either on Starbucks or apathy. Starbucks, at least, has comfortable chairs. This lack of care seems to extend to the coffee itself, to the point that I have yet to get a non-Starbucks latte in this town that has an appropriate foam top on it and few places that use a hemispherical mug. Let me take a step back, though, and say that I am talking specifically about places where one can sit down and read or pick up a wifi signal and do some work. I realize that there are places in this town, for instance Cafe Zola or Silvio's, where you can get good espresso, but they don't seem to be the places that I would consider coffeeshops.

Having complained about that, I am impressed with the situation of tea in this town. Several places have loose tea and enough good options to be worth frequent visits.

Because of their proximity to campus and fast internet, I spend a lot more time than I am proud to admit in the Espresso Royales on Main and State, both of which stock a larger-than-expected array of teas. Nothing exotic, mind you, but you can get a decent green tea (I recommend the "sea mist" - I think it's a sencha, and definitely the grassiest of their selection), a very passable oolong, and an array of black teas that make for perfect morning sipping, when you want the caffeine and bitterness, but aren't yet up for thinking much about the taste. It can be unfortunately tricky to get your tea in a ceremic mug, even when you say "for here," but

Even better, at least for quality, is Eastern Accents ( 214 S. 4th St ). What they lack gravely in atmosphere, they make up in a fantastic set of teas. There are several different pure green teas, a wider selection of black tea, a few white teas, and even a bizarre, but delicious, smoky Lapsong Souchang. Moreover, it is served in a nice tea press that is small enough to drain before the leaves steep too long, but can be refilled as much as desired from a convenient hot water dispenser. They also have a number of Chinese steamed buns which tend to be about as good as steamed buns filled with stuff usually are. That's not saying much, but it can be a nice snack, and far better than anything you can get at Espresso Royale.

Sweetwaters also seems great for tea and emphasizes it much more on their menu than either of the places mentioned, but I haven't explored their stock quite as much. It's a bit more expensive, being Sweetwaters, but still cheaper than a latte. The one thing that they do which I like is that they have a pre-brewed tea every day that you can get by the mug for quite cheap.