Unique tea shop Hi T lands in Hintonburg

• Name + address: Hi T, 1076 Wellington St. W.

• Type of food: Tea, desserts

• Prices: $5.50-$12.50

• Wheelchair accessibility:Yes

• LCBO Licensed: No

• Website: www.hitatottawa.ca

If bubble tea shops were stones we’d never stop stumbling our way through the city. I’m still at a loss to explain the popularity. Then again I’m a very serious fan of coffee, yet I don’t frequent that many coffee shops either.

I suppose what puts me off of the idea of the bubble tea shop is the array of luminescent powders I’ve seen in these places. This is often what goes into your drinks and I just don’t see that as tea. Of course there are real teas offered in many shops but it’s not what’s dominant.

Kiet Tran, owner of Hi T in Hintonburg had a different idea for a tea shop and it’s safe to say that there’s nothing else like it.

Hi T is an attractive and welcoming shop done in wood tones and accented with floral motifs. The selection of drinks is impressive and is not limited to tea. There’s coffee on the menu as well.

What sets Hi T apart is their topping bar. This a selection of 27 different gelatin-based flavoured squares, balls and slippery squiggly things that you add into your DIY tea. DIY bubble teas are offered in large or bucket sizes and you can add as much of the colourful, squidgy goodness as you like.

The bulk of these gelatin toppings are made in house and others such as the popping balls, that deliver bursts of fruity flavours, are brought in from Vietnam. Flavours run the gamut from strawberry and blueberry to egg and durian.

The tea I had was brewed from a combination of black tea and jasmine and it was an exceptional drink. It had been modestly sweetened and was rich with milk and the fragrance of jasmine. I’m perhaps a little too old to appreciate the joys of jelly jewels in my drink but I admit I did have a good time sucking up the egg jelly through the wide straw. It just worked somehow with the lovely tea I was enjoying.

I would also strongly urge the reader to try the Thai green milk tea. It’s a kind of matcha but incredibly fragrant and delicious. Note that as with the better tea shops, you can adjust your sugar level when ordering.

On the opening day, the complimentary desserts were cupcakes made by Victoria Sandoval Nguyen. Her company is Fiesta Box and based on her cupcakes (a treat usually best left on the bake sale table) I can’t wait to try more. The cake portion was masterful and the crowning touch was all done up in actual buttercream. Thank you for the real stuff Victoria.

With the recent departure in that neighbourhood of the excellent coffee shop Sharpfle Waffle, it’s good to see that an excellent tea shop with top desserts has moved in.