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| - I visited Kawa with a pal a couple weeks ago as I live closeby. The saw that they had loose leaf tea, and got real excited, because as I mentioned in an earlier review, I hate terrible tea at good coffee places.
It was an earl grey kinda day, so I ordered a cup of "loose-leaf, creamed earl grey with some cold soy milk." I went outside to hold a table, and my friend brought our order over. I had been given a cup of bagged, supermarket grade earl grey, with steamed soy on top. While I appreciated the effort of the steamed milk, neither component was what I ordered. My friend knows nothing about tea (she knows this), and said it looked really good and she' d drink it if I didn't. While I wanted to just bring the drink back, I just let her drink it.
I went back up to the counter, and tried again, this time ordering a different loose leaf tea, figuring they may have been out of the first one. All the tea looks like a universal price on the board, but this time, the barista warned me, "this one is a little pricier than the normal tea because it's loose," as he put a teaspoon of the tea into one of those make-your-own-teabags. I said fine, as I wasn't down for drinking Higgins and Burke. However, when he rang it up, I was pretty dismayed. It came to over $6. I have worked in and managed several teashops here, visited several shops in San Francisco, and attended the 2010 World Tea Convention, serving and drinking some of the best harvests you can acquire, ANYWHERE. Never, ever, have I served up or paid $6 for a 12 oz cup of mediocre tea. I hear incredible things about Kawa's coffee. Maybe that's what they should stick to. Or rather, what I should stick to next time I visit.
I reeally want to like this place, as it's about 5 blocks away from my apartment, but this isn't the first time I've gotten a less than favourable impression. I might try once more, when I am in an espresso sipping mood, but for now Kawa, three stars. I'm sorry. :(
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