I stumbled across Teadrops as a tourist exploring the Westport area in Kansas City. It is part of a nice shopping area in what appears to be a young and hip neighborhood that is only a couple of miles away from Kansas University. I gave it 4/5 stars because the floor was extremely sticky where I was sitting, and the display area had local papers and advertisements scattered about instead of a teapot and cup selection.
In terms of service, the woman behind the counter was very nice and had a great sense of humor. Despite being there alone and having a constant stream of customers, she was still friendly and fast with getting orders. However, the less tea savvy consumer may not have known when to remove tea bags from the tea, as this establishment doesn’t appear to hand out sand timers or anything that can help you keep track of how long the tea has been steeping, which can be a big problem for some teas that become very bitter if oversteeped. The woman was probably so busy she didn’t realize to tell me when to remove or even if to remove my teabag, which could confuse those who don’t know about loose leaf teas.
Most of the customers coming in and out of here got bubble teas, and very few seemed to be interested in the loose-leaf teas, which gave me the impression that this place stays afloat mainly by catering to sweet, shake-loving customers. I have no doubt these boba teas are delicious to some, but that’s not really my cup of tea. However, this may cause their tea to be less fresh/more stale since there is not enough turnover. Plus, it appears that they do not sell tea online, which is disappointing since I have fallen in love with some of the teas I purchased and brought back home with me to Minnesota. They have a larger selection in store than they advertise online, and there is also an area where you can sniff some samples of loose leaf tea before deciding what you want. They sell tea in 1oz increments. They also have cute cupcakes that they switch up each day, some of which are made with tea. I saw some green tea, cappuccino, red velvet, chocolate, and vanilla cupcakes for $2.50 (which they make fresh the night before) and they sell day old ones for $1.50.
This is a nice place to meander if you want to sample some of their teas and check out their interesting products. However, I tend to drop by during the week in the morning/afternoon to avoid crowds (it is the mall of America, after all). They have a wonderful variety of teas and I’ve found the employees able to provide good suggestions upon telling them what I’m looking for. Overall, I am very satisfied with the teas I’ve tried there and with the advice given about how to get the most out of my teas.
The most important thing I noticed about this Teavana location is how they give you a tad more tea than you ask for, and although they ask you if 2.4 oz is okay when you ask for 2oz, when you’re buying a lot of tea the difference can certainly add up. Thus, although the pressure to buy is somewhat subtle, it is definitely there.
LatteTeaDah’s review was wonderful at describing the atmosphere of Indigo and the types of products available. In my opinion, I did not find this place to be confusing to find, and I am definitely not familiar with the neighborhood. I saw the large sign in front of the strip mall and was able to pull in on a whim and easily find it. I found the atmosphere to be very clean, airy and open, and sunny while being unique versus feeling like a “large coffee chain.” Plus, the baristas there are definitely not young; seems to be the same two people there, a middle aged gentleman and an asian women who both are very knowledgeable about the teas who possibly own the place. I believe the crowd there tends to be younger in the evening, but in the mornings and afternoons I see many adults grabbing tea to drink there and to buy loose leaf teas. What I liked most about this shop was the sitting area with Tatami mats next to wide windows – it’s pretty refreshing to soak up the sun and listen to their mellow music and it is a quiet yet refreshing place for a graduate student like me to study while enjoying a reasonably priced pot of tea. You can sign up for their e-mail newsletter at the register and get coupons every few weeks too.
