Matcha latte - this was REALLY good.
I wasn't really impressed overall, but it's a nice place.
"Coffee Shop":
Platform T: A Tea Lounge
http://www.platformt.com
682 S Colorado blvd
Glendale, CO 80246
Date Visited:
Saturday, May 7, 2016
About 9:15 a.m. - 2:15 p.m.
Purchased:
Green Izu Matcha (almond milk) Latte: $5.56 (total, I think it was $4.50 + .55 cents for almond milk)
16 oz Jasmine Green Tea: $4.40 (total, I think it was $4.00)
I LOVE tea and in addition to the shoutouts to Commonplace Coffee in Pittsburgh, I also frequented a Tea Bar (Te Cafe - whoo!) that introduced me to many teas. So I was looking forward to trying this place out. While I did really enjoy the tea, it didn't live up to my expectations.
When I first ordered I said I wanted tea, but was deciding, and asked how things worked. They have a teapot service, which I was expecting (where you get tea in a pot and can get hot water refills and drink forever), but they did not mention this to me...and I would have thought that was the signature serving. However, they did mention matcha and I don't think I have had matcha before (at least that I remember), so I was pretty excited to try that. However, I think I was given some misleading information about matcha. She said it was "tea espresso", which is fair enough, but they had a list of matcha "flavors". Matcha is actually just one type of finely ground green tea, grown and processed in a special way. So maybe they have other "tea espresso type things"...but they're not matcha. I did get what they were calling "traditional tea ceremony" matcha, so it was probably the real thing, but false information makes me doubt the process. And I don't think the barista knew the difference.
I got the matcha made into a latte anyway, so it's not like I was going for a pure experience. And it was really delicious. I liked it a LOT. So I will give it due credit for that. It had a very nice, smooth green tea flavor and I thought it worked awesomely with almond milk.
My issue with it was that it wasn't very warm...which was even more unfortunate because the seating areas were pretty cold! I had a sweatshirt on and was still cold (granted, I was wearing sandals...but also long pants). The drink was also pretty small. So with those two things combined, I ended up needing to get another drink before I was there too long (about an hour later). I looked at the offerings for a bit and ended up getting a cup of jasmine green tea. It came as a 16 oz cup. I think it was well-brewed and had a nice, smooth flavor. And it was hot! I enjoyed drinking that for a while and it was nice to sit and drink for a while, whereas the matcha latte was a pretty short experience (but more memorable - it was delicious).
Jasmine Green Tea
For other comments... I really didn't like their prices. Maybe partially because I was spoiled by the Te Cafe, where I could go in and get a pot of tea for $3 (sometimes $4 or $5 for more expensive teas, but they had a Tea of the Day for to go cups or $3 pots, so sometimes even the more expensive teas were only $3). Granted, Platform T was a larger location, nicer tables, etc overall, and it's a different city and these are all things that raise the price for atmosphere, which I am okay with. However, $4 for a 16 oz glass of cheap tea is a bit ridiculous. Especially when it wouldn't actually cost them any more in tea to provide the leaves to re-steep. Since match is a bit more of a specialty and a bit more involved to make, I was more okay with that price, but for the small size I would still not be likely to order it very much.
It was $7 for a pot, which I think is on the high end of reasonable, if it is served in a really classy pot with classy dishes, etc. and there were also tea-knowledgable baristas (both of these are questionable for this place). But the catch is that for "high-end" teas it's more! I checked for one (I guess it depends which tea) and it was $9 for a pot. So this is 3-4 times more expensive for a pot of the same tea than I have gotten at a similar establishment. And like...this place just wasn't that good. The furniture was decent and there was a lot of seating, the glasses I drank out of were pretty, but it wasn't overly comfortable or character-filled or styled or anything especially remarkable. And it was uncomfortably cold! It is a nice place, good furniture, good windows, good dishes, but not worth it to me.
In the context of it being more expensive than it was worth, one of the baristas seemed to know more and be able to talk about the tea more than the other one. Like I said, if I was getting a bigger "tea experience" for the price I would complain less, and it would help to have super classy tea baristas.
One other thing that was cool was that they had a display with all or most of their teas and there were little drawers that had loose leaf tea leaves inside for each kind. You could open them up and smell the types of teas. See...it had the makings of an awesome classy tea shop, but just wasn't quite good enough.
There is a free parking garage in the business complex that Platform T is part of, in addition to shorter-term free parking outside of most of the establishments.
No wi-fi issues.
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