Well, I will agree with Maddhatter that Teaopia tends to be a little more like Starbucks in the dark aspect, and I think clientele. To a degree, I am ok with this, as the decor is kinda warm and snuggly, and it seems like there ought to be a fireplace to sit by and read your book with your mug of hot tea. Though there is no fireplace. And the tea is average compared to some places in town, in terms of blends and originality. There are some nice blends though. It’s sorta like sushi…I don’t mind good traditional stuff, but I really dig experimental and fusion stuff too. I think Teaopia is trying to appeal to the coffee drinking Starbucks crowd more than some of the other places. This location seems to be quieter than the Mayfair one on the times I have gone in. I can’t say I had bad service there, but I will say that the ladies at Mayfair are friendlier I think. It could just be that I am at Mayfair more because of my job and they all know me there.
If given choice, downtown, I’ll go the extra few blocks up Government to DAVIDsTEA instead. I can’t quite pin my finger down on exactly why I prefer DAVIDsTEA, but I just like the environment and selection better. That said, if DAVIDsTEA didn’t exist, I’d be fine with Teaopia. I do have some teas from them that I do quite like. :)
