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| - 4.5*
Following a friend up the narrow stairwell leading to the O-C Tea Cafe, I was quite sure I'd have the dibs on the FTR! I'm happy, though not at all surprised, to find that some fellow Yelpers have already discovered this little oasis in the most unlikely of places.
If you grew up somewhere in North York, you would know that the Finch/Yonge intersection does not exactly represent inspired establishments, and you would often find yourself driving to adjacent towns (ie Markham/Thornhill/Kris' hoods!) in search of a half decent hangout. Enter Orange Caramel; whereas scoring a stained but comfy chair would be like winning the lottery at your local chain coffee shop, O-C (at least for now) offers an entire room of comfy chairs, couches, and loft seats of all designs! The laid back feel and decor makes me think of what a hip Korean tea house in Miami would look like!
The menu is rather concentrated, which is not a bad alternative to the fifty page menus one would normally come across in a similar establishment. The use of an hourglass for steeping your own tea is an excellent idea that should really be implemented more often. I also noticed a few board games lying around, though I'm not sure how safe it is to play Jenga with a hot beverage in hand.
There is a bit of room for improvement. I'd love to see a few more specialty tea choices like lapsong or sencha added to the menu, and my ginger tea could have used a bit more ginger!
Overall, O-C is definitely my current favourite tea house north of Bloor and maybe even in the city.
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