Blue Monkey Tea in Squirrel Hill.
Tupelo Honey Teas in Millvale.
Tupelo Honey Teas, Millvale
This bright little red brick storefront currently offers takeout through its main window on Grant Avenue, due to Covid precautions. They offer 75-plus tea blends, and a lot of cold-brewed drinks such as Peach Lavender, Peaches + Yerb and Thai-ish Iced Tea.
Owner Danielle Spinola began with a life-changing cup of tea in the back of the Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai. She came home and decided to learn everything she could about tea. Now, she forages in Girty’s Woods and around Millvale for herbs and flowers to add to tea, like wood sorrel, which has a naturally lemony flavor. She’s creating fresh tea blends to benefit a Girty’s Woods conservation project.
Millvale Breakfast with Pu-er Tea, Keemun and Lavender — from Tupelo Honey’s Pittsburgh-themed yinzer line of teas — is doing quite well at the moment. That also includes Nebby Chai and The Incline, featuring organic Yerba Mate, spearmint, peppermint and cardamom. Fall teas like Apple Spice, Turkish Apple and Pumpkin Pie are also starting to sell. Tupelo also sells lots of loose leaf teas.
The shop also has a great vegetarian food menu with dishes such as Tempeh Panini, a vegetarian grilled cheese sandwich with brie and roasted apple, and ice cream sandwiches with house-made cinnamon ginger cookies.