Edelweiss Gartens
Edelweiss Gardens in the City of College Station, TX, is a great tea shop specializing in hand-made and organic teas. The founder of Gartens, Amy Banta, has a background in hospitality management. She enjoys traveling and meeting new people. This was how she met her husband Herb while enjoying an airplane ride over Scotland. Since marrying, they have traveled extensively and now have tea rooms at their home in College Station, Texas.
The atmosphere of the tea room is cozy and homey. There is a counter with a small menu and a plaque for the owner, Amy, with her famous photo of St. Patty from her travels. The tea room is open to the public and has been decorated by local tea lovers to serve as a tea house and a place to relax with a good book.
Several tea selections include Irish cream, English breakfast, French breakfast, blackberry cobbler, banana split, strawberry shortcake, lemon mousse, and macaroons. I especially enjoyed the banana split and strawberry shortcake because they had a hint of sweetness without being overly sweet. The English breakfast selections consist of: country gravy, oatmeal crumble, blueberry crumble, and cinnamon toast. I wasn’t able to find the macaroons, so I purchased them separately.
If you order tea at the Gardens Tea in College Station, you will need to make your selection at the store. There is no online selection because they do not have an online presence. However, they do have a few websites where you can make your purchase. Once you have picked out your tea of choice, the store staff will pack it for you.
The only thing I would like to note about Gartens Tea in College Station, Texas, is that they run promotions where they offer complimentary tea to their customers once a month. I believe they run this promotion because they think college students are always looking for something new to taste. However, I was a bit confused by the idea of complimentary tea. Usually, tea houses only offer premium or hard varieties. Since I live about 30 minutes from my office, I would typically come home and enjoy a nice pot of tea. I didn’t think about how much I would spend on it.
Overall, Gartens Tea in College Station, Texas, is an excellent place to buy tea. I believe the selection is good, the prices are reasonable, and they deliver on time. My only real complaint is the fact that they don’t have an online website. However, if you don’t have access to the internet, they still have a few small shops in the town where you can purchase a cup of tea.