Friday Foodie: HoiTea ToiTea

A new tea shop in Indy? Not only in Indy, but in my Broad Ripple neighborhood?? Sign me up! A few days after HoiTea ToiTea opened on the friendly corner of College Ave and Broad Ripple Ave, I dragged Husband (and his medical school textbooks) out for some afternoon tea.

The HoiTea ToiTea concept is one of cafe, tea blending classes, and retail destination for tea-related goods. I was able to talk to the owner during my visit and learned this location is hopefully the first of many for a possibly expanding brand. The owner has a passion for tea that she hopes to share with her Indianapolis community. Pretty cool stuff.

Let’s start with the atmosphere. Verdict? Pretty confusing. I loved the big open windows that allow you to look out into Broad Ripple, but was unsure about the theme of the rest of the decor. The furniture was casual, almost “porch” tables and chairs. The cafe had a pretty open feeling and the walls were painted simple, solid colors. Random small chandeliers hung on the ceilings throughout the shop, introducing a “I’m budget-friendly, but still want to be classy” feeling. It was honestly a bit of a hodgepodge vibe, but not in the cool, “industrial garage sale” way.

On to the food: I ordered a raspberry scone with clotted cream and a flight of champagne tea cocktails (so fun!). Husband ordered a different scone and a pot of English Breakfast hot tea. I appreciated the store also offers soups and sandwiches for diners wanting something more substantial. I found my scone to be a little dry and my tea cocktails to be unique, but nothing I will have regular cravings for. Service was pretty slow, especially since we were some of the only people in the store. Our bill also got pretty expensive as we were accidentally charged twice for an item and had to ask for it to be adjusted.

Overall? This is definitely not a stuffy tea shop with tiny cucumber sandwiches and fine china, instead, it reads as casual and approachable and a little random. Tea blending classes sound interesting, but they are also pretty expensive ($35). I think there is definitely some room to grow as service improves and menu items change, but I’m going to need a pretty good reason to care.

Rating: 3/5