We have a tour and review for you today of a brand new spot that’s just opened at Downtown Disney (soon to be Disney Springs) — Joffrey’s Tea Traders Cafe!
Tea Traders Cafe Sign
The retail shop and tea counter is the brainchild of Joffrey’s, a name that you’re most likely familiar with if you enjoy coffee and tea while out and about at Walt Disney World. Joffrey’s is the official coffee of Disney World and Disneyland, and operates many kiosks and stands throughout Disney parks and resorts.
Let’s take a look around!
Atmosphere
Tea Traders Cafe is located in The Landing area of Disney Springs. If you’re trying to get your bearings, it’s the ground that was once known as Pleasure Island.
You’ll find the expansive shop right beside the newly-opened Vivoli Gelateria, across from The Boathouse and what will be Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar.
Exterior
Entrance
The cafe is bright and airy with large windows that allow for plenty of natural light to enter the space. The inside of the cafe is larger than you might expect, and offers a bit of bar seating for tastings.
Inside Tea Traders Cafe
Inside — Another View
There’s no doubt here what the specialty of the house is. Jars of tea leaves line the walls, as do teapots, which are displayed as decor and in use in various brew methods. There are teapots for purchase as well.
Display of Tea Canisters
To the left as you enter, you can order a drink or a pastry from the cast members manning the counter. In this way, the shop feels very much like your neighborhood coffee bar. Come in, order, grab your drink and eats, and you can be on your way.
Pastry Case
Frozen Tea Drinks and Displays
But if you have the time, there are also lots of opportunities to learn more about tea.
The Tea Bar
At the tea bar, we found an assortment of loose teas, plus plenty of condiments to customize our brew.
Loose Teas to Choose From at the Tea Bar
Condiments at the Tea Bar
I was definitely intrigued by the Flavored Sugars that were available!
Minted Sugar
Rose and Mint Sugar
At the tea bar, you can watch how teas are blended and see demonstrations of different tea preparations by the tea master or one of his teasmiths. (I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a teasmith.)
Blending Tea
You can even check out a Gong Fu Cha demonstration, a traditional Chinese ritual tea ceremony.
Gong Fu Cha Demonstration
The cast members are knowledgable, and available to walk you through the world of tea. They’ll offer samples and suggestions depending on your tastes, and maybe even lift the veil of mystery a bit when it comes to tea and tea brewing.
Discussing and Tasting Tea
Open and Smell Me! 🙂
Beyond the pastry counter and tea bar, there is also a Retail Component to the shop where you can purchase a variety of loose-leaf tea, teapots, and other accessories for preparing your own cuppa at home.
Teas for Purchase
Oolong Loose Leaf Tea
Black Teas
Eats (and Drinks)
Even though we spent the majority of our time at the Tea Bar, I still want to give you a look around at what the shop has to offer. The Menu Board overhead gives you a glimpse. You can enjoy Iced or Frozen tea; Loose-Leaf Brewed, or a Tea Latte.
Menu Board — Click to Enlarge
There are also some really fun “Spirited” — or Adult — Tea Beverages, in both hot and cold varieties.
But before we jump into drinks, let’s take a look at that pastry case.
Pastry Display
Two different Mini Tarts caught my eye. The Matcha Berry Mini Tart is colorful and tempting.
Matcha Berry Mini Tart
And tea lovers with traditional tastes are sure to be intrigued by the Earl Grey Apricot Mini Tart.
Earl Grey Apricot Mini Tart
We saw Chai baked into a couple of different options — a rich-looking Brownie as well as a traditional Marble Bundt Poundcake, available by the slice.
Chai Brownie
Chai Spice Marble Cake
Tea Bag Shortbread Cookies were also on display.
Tea Bag Shortbread
But for this first visit, we were more interested in tasting our way through the tea offerings. We began our tasting with a steaming cup of Oolong Tea. With a mellow, soothing flavor and slightly floral notes on the finish, it was a nice, gentle entry into the world of tea.
Oolong Tea
Next, we’re for something with a hint of citrus. Chris, the Tea Master, introduced us to a blend he called Citrus Sorbet. We watched as he crafted the brew with loose tea leaves right in front of us and explained the whole process as he worked.
Preparing the Citrus Sorbet
The tea was equal parts fruity and floral. I identified the subtle scent of orange blossom in addition to the more familiar citrus notes. The taste is just as the name suggests — all the same traits of the Oolong tea we tasted first, but with the addition of fresh orange flavor.
Citrus Sorbet Tea
Next on our list, a set of customer favorite iced teas to try! Currently, Iced Teas on offer include Classic Unsweet, Luscious Peach, Green Blackberry Jasmine, Tropical Mango, and Red Raspberry.
Iced Teas
First up was the Blackberry Jasmine Green Tea. The smell of this one was amazing, with deep berry flavors and ending notes of jasmine.
Iced Blackberry Jasmine Green Tea
Tropical Mango was next with a strong mango flavor and a subtle blend of peach, red raspberry, passion fruit and papaya blended in.
Next, we tried the Luscious Peach. This one is definitely for peach lovers, as the flavor came through very strong.
Iced Teas — Up Close
After our plunge into iced tea, we got to sample two different Frozen Teas.
First was Matcha Frozen Tea. While this wasn’t my favorite, the grassy flavors and natural sweetness have a big fan following; Matcha is a serious trend in tea circles right now.
Matcha Frozen Tea
But I couldn’t pass up the beloved Disney Frozen Chai. Everyone loves this. Maybe not everyone, but almost everyone. It’s the same addictive treat that you can enjoy in Disney’s Animal Kingdom at the Royal Anandapur Tea Company.
Frozen Chai
In fact, I liked the Frozen Chai tea so much that the cast members made me a Chai Latte to sample. This was one of the best Chais I’ve ever tasted. The spices — cinnamon, cardamom, clove, and others — were well balanced.
Chai Latte
In addition to the menu items, cast members will do their best to try and recreate any custom blends or drinks you’re looking for.
Overall
This place will definitely be a haven for tea-lovers, and may even be a draw for non-tea-drinkers due to the pastry counter and interactive experiences. I’d love to hear what you guys think.
Will you be visiting Joffrey’s Tea Traders Cafe? Leave a comment and let us know what looks good to you at this new spot!
Thanks to Joffrey’s for inviting us to explore their shop on its opening day. We were not obligated to write about Tea Traders Cafe. Read more in our disclosure policy.
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As an avid tea drinker, I can’t wait to visit this new spot! It looks beautiful and peaceful, with a lot of interesting choices. I can’t wait to try the iced teas, and maybe even the spirited raspberry delight! Yum.
Are the rest of the iced teas (aside from Classic Unsweet) also unsweetened?
I’d also love to try both the matcha frozen tea and the frozen chai if they’re not too sweet. On the snack list for my next WDW trip they go!
This is way more appealing than Starbucks. I can’t wait to try this place in August.
I have been looking forward to this opening for so long! I cannot wait to try everything.
I will definitely be checking this out. So many teas though, I don’t know how I will choose!
Finally, a place for those of us who want choices and quality – and not Starbucks!
YAY for Joffrey’s opening at Disney Springs! The shop looks AMAZING. Can’t wait to show my support in September when I am there again.
I’d love to try the different flavors of tea. I can’t believe how reasonably priced their pastries are; what a refreshing change of pace! There are so many kinds of tea and it would be nice to sample and narrow down a favorite or two.
I am a tea drinker who’s planning a trip to Disney this Fall. I will definitely be visiting Tea Traders. As a matter of fact, I am actually excited and looking forward to it!
Wow! I bet those cute little tarts are the ONLY things under a dollar on property! I’ll take a half dozen!
I am an avid tea drinker and a little bit of a tea snob. I visited and the place was as amazing as you described! I sat at the tea bar and observed a Gong Fu Cha Demonstration and sampled several teas. My favorite was the Huang Jin Gui, a light, hand rolled oolong. I definitely liked the hot teas better than the iced teas. Couldnt resist buying some tea and a cool double walled travel mug to brew and drink tea from. I am taking that everywhere! This will definitely be a place I go every trip.
One of the best write ups of tea I’ve read on the net. Hard to find good and descriptive recommendations. Will check out. Bravo!
..can’t wait to “open and smell” those amazing flavors!
It is clear that much thought and planning went into this beautiful tea cafe. We are so excited to have our Herb Crystals and Flower Crystals featured! Thank you to the team at Joffrey’s.
What happened to the cakes!? I have come to tea traders several times since it has opened and always enjoy every type of tea I try, but the pastries seem to get worse and worse. When I went the first week they opened with some friends we tried their bundt cakes (one baileys and a lemon one). They were great! Very moist and tasty. A couple weeks ago I went again by myself to buy more tea for my home and found that the cakes were gone! I had the “lemon bars” instead. I use this term lightly because I know from personal experience these were not lemon bars, simply a shortbread type cookie (with no lemon flavoring) with a lemon icing on top. A huge let down. I have also tried the cookies since and aside from the Earl Grey cookies I would not get them again for the price. Your tea is amazing and puts Teavanna to shame, but your desserts need work. They appear to be on the decline from when they opened.
Our last day at Disney, I had a stuffy head from weather changes. I thought I would get something hot to drink to help clear my head. I stopped at the store in down town Disney, store #5431. Could have gone to Star Bucks just around the corner but I thought I would try this instead. I ordered the spiced hot tea. It was very very hot. I waited 15 minutes for it to cool off enough to drink it, but never cooled. Finally, I tried a sip of the tea. To my horror, it was the worst tea I had ever drank. It was extremely bitter. I just through the whole cup in the trash. This is just my opinion so, don’t be angry with my comments. You may love it but , I will not return to a Joffrey’s Tea Co. ever.
Visited Joffrey’s Tea Traders Café in November. Sampled several teas – all were wonderful. Cast member was very helpful and took quite a bit of time helping me find just the right tea for my daughter. Really enjoyed my visit and very much look forward to my next stop at Joffrey’s Tea Café (such a nice change from Starbucks and other coffee joints)..
Went a week ago and had the best tea ever and it had a splash of liquor. Soooo good and refreshing. Miami needs one pronto!
Tea was good and the spirited drinks were nicely priced. Service was horrible. The young cashier made my friends and I very uncomfortable about buying alcoholic drinks, as she obviously didn’t believe we were of legal age…even after checking our ids. She laughed when we ordered our drinks, asked for ids and then said “you’re not 21, are you?” So rude from a Disney employee. We are all of legal age, and if she checked our ids properly she would have known that. Ruined our whole night.
At a recent visit to Disneyworld…I ordered the Joffrey’s Chai Tea Latte. I have tried MANY different Chai lattes in the past. And this one was by far the BEST I’ve ever had. Do you sell a mix? Or do you have a recipe to share. I really want to make it at home to enjoy and remaind me of our stay in Disneyworld. Thanks!!
Lisa — Check out the Joffrey’s website, where you can order teas and coffees to have shipped directly to you — including their Masala Chai. You’ll find it under “Black Teas.” Hope this helps!