Eli Tea

This place is a refreshing addition to the Birmingham scene. It’s not corporate or pretentious. Excellent selection of green, black, white and herbal teas, all available in hot or iced. Also, their tea cookies and cucumber chicken sandwich were good and just a few bucks. I think 3 cookies for $ 2 and the sandwich was $ 3. All in all I enjoy supporting this place over Starbucks across the street. I hope they are here for the long term.
Side note: my wife wants me to say that this place was breastfeeding friendly. Lol

I really like this tea shop. Great atmosphere, great tea, yummy cookies and nice people. I had a salad there today (Thai Chicken) and it was quite good. I want to put Eli Tea on my regular rotation!

Eli Tea, doesn’t sell tea, it sells a feeling. Specifically one of conscious superiority at having evaded the Starbucks across the street in favor of an ‘edgier’ experience.
Their simple (and I do mean simple) beverages/​snacks aren’t what puts this establishment at a lofty four star rating.
It’s their aesthetic.
For the same price as a generic St@rb#cks latte, you can get a decidedly less generic variety of tea or coffee (take that! Minion-​esque capitalism!) Then, you can choose to enjoy it in a venue which, while still contrived, does have a pleasing design and the added benefit of local art displays.
In short, Eli Tea isn’t perfect, but it makes me feel good (edgy) and how obnoxious would it be to expect more?

I have been to this tea place twice. The first time I went here, I had a pleasant experience and the tea was good. The second time my friend and I went here, it wasn’t such a pleasant experience. After we ordered, we sat down and we waited and watched as other customers were picking up their tea at the counter. 10 minutes passed by and we wondered when they were going to make our tea. We saw all of the steepers were empty and the workers were not making any other tea. I went over to the register to make sure the woman knew we were still there and she acknowledged us. After I sat back down I saw the only other guy that was working start making some tea but he only put leaves into one steeper instead of two but we ordered two different teas. We watched as he drained the tea into a cup, put a straw in, picked it up and sipped the tea! We were so mad he would make tea for himself before his customers so we got up and left!

There are a lot of really awful spots in Birmingham-​so Eli is a breath of fresh air. Wonderful service, delicious teas, and a quaint classic teahouse vibe make this place a lively addition to perk up a boring neighborhood.

Maybe it’s because we live in such a fast paced world… I didn’t mind much but the it took the employee forever to make my order and the simpler orders of the people after me. The tea was ok. The chocolate chip scone with pumpkin seeds was delicious.

Delicious teas here and the atmosphere is great. Was greeted immediately upon arrival. I got a small honey-​green matcha tea with milk bubble tea and it was delicious. Lightly sweetened with honey.
My s.o. Got the traverse city cherry festival tea which apparently is what their most popular/​famous tea is. Everything was delicious.

Wandering around Birmingham with my BF and we ducked into Eli Tea for a quick cup of tea to warm us up.
It is small and cozy with friendly service. I ordered a Turkish Double which is tasty and perfect for a chilly November night. My sweet potato macaroon was good, too. We didn’t try any but their bubble teas look yummy and all-​natural. Nice little place overall.

My first visit here and the individuals who worked here were the nicest people. The atmosphere is great and relaxing.
The tea was interesting and they help you pick out what’s your in the mood for by describing the tea to you. Free refills of hot water with a small pot of tea. Finally the biscuits were super tasty and went well with the black tea we chose.
I’d definitely return in the future when I’m visiting the area.

After taking my 10 year old cousin-​in-​law to the movies, we stopped by this café for a bubble tea. I’ve seen kids drinking it, and my cousin never had it. As we read through the menu together I noticed the flavors looked a bit mature and I thought hey if she doesn’t like it, I’ll drink it. False. The tea was made with organic «rice water», and what was compared to a «vanilla milkshake» tasted like watery rice pudding water with a cup of ground cinnamon spice. I think the guy needs to revisit what a vanilla milkshake should taste like…
I had to toss it. I tried really hard to finish it, but every sip dried out my mouth. I don’t recommend this place to kids… or anyone who wants bubble tea… THIS IS NOT BUBBLE TEA.

Good stuff, but maybe a bit pricey for my liking (thus I’m docking it a star). Definitely would recommend for tea lovers over the infamous coffee chain across the street. It is also quiet enough to get some work done.

Good selection of teas. Anything can be made into Bubble Tea. knowledgable and helpful team of employees. Macaroons were great! Bubbles in the tea could have been cooked slightly longer but overall would definitely recommend this place

Found this place on Unilocal with high reviews but low number of reviews and wondered to myself if this was a hidden treasure. And, indeed, it was! Got to chat it up with the baristas while I decided on my drink order about the place. It’s fairly new, opened at the beginning of last December. It’s pretty nondescript on the outside but when you walk in, you are greeted by friendly staff and a pretty substantial tea menu. They can do tea by the pot but also iced and bubble tea drinks. There’s a variety of milks you can choose from as well so it’s perfect for someone who is lactose intolerant. The desserts and cookies are fantastic. I ordered the Turkish double (iced) — my friends got the Chai Tea latte (hot) and the Honey Matcha Bubble Tea. I really appreciated that the tea was respected — the drinks were not overly sweet like you would find in most American establishments. The Turkish double was similar to a Chai but different in spice taste. My friends really enjoyed their drinks and even got a wrap which he loved. Upon checking in on Unilocal,you get an offer for 3 tea biscuits! I chose the cardamom biscuits and they were delicious! I have always wanted to try this flavor of cookie and this was a great first time. Yum. You have to come check this place out!

As far as tea bar’s go, I only know this one but it is a variety from the endless coffee shops and bars in Birmingham.
It’s less money than most coffee shops. It is small but in a prime location.

What a fun little café! Really delicious teas; we tried the vegan chai bubble, peach oolong, and iced apple ginger. Eli tea has about 30 other teas on the menu too. They have some tasty snacks from local bakeries. The staff is very knowledgable and helped us choose the teas we were craving. The décor is nice; I could sit and work here with their free wifi for a while

Incredible staff, really awesome atmosphere, and delicious tea. No better place to hang out on a lazy afternoon or after a busy day at the office.

Eli really is a master of tea. Stopped in on whim after drinking coffee all morning (whoops). But we found Eli and his staff to be very engaging and knowledgable regarding all their teas and pros/​cons to each depending on your preferences. We also tried the little cookies, I know others who have reviewed seemed to enjoy them but if I’m being honest I wasn’t thrilled with them. But the tea alone would bring me back in a heart beat.

Stopped by for a cup of tea to try this new-​ish Birmingham spot. Were offered a selection of 3 cookies from a good array available, so we went for it. Not usually a tea maven, so I appreciated the menu. It was divided into 3 sections, with different general types of tea, at 3 different price points. A very nice place to relax, take a break from shopping or the day’s work.

Highly recommend!
We found this shop late after dinner and was still open, tea selections was extensive but not overwhelming, especially for a tea noob such as myself.
Décor clean and the staff was AMAZING.
Ps thanks for the check in offer! The cardamom tea biscuits were very tasty

My friends and I were reluctant to go home so early after dinner, so we wandered around downtown Birmingham. Not much was open, but we are SO happy to have bumped into this place! It’s a relaxed, open atmosphere — perfect for hanging out for a while.
The tea selection is pretty broad, with a few choices in each type of tea (green, white, oolong, black, etc.). The prices are very fair, and the staff prepare it precisely. They have the classics, and also a few choices for the adventurous. I tried the Cherry Festival and Hazelnut Rooibos teas. I liked the Cherry Festival one, though the hazelnut was not really detectable in the Rooibos tea,.
It was really the service that made this an amazing experience. The staff were incredibly friendly and had exceptional hospitality. They really added to the chill atmosphere, and maintained a very clean and neat space. I guess they were supposed to close at 10pm, but most of the seating was full of people past 10:30pm. The server was so hospitable, and was sheepish/​reluctant to answer when we asked if they were technically closed already.
I’ll definitely come again if I’m ever in the area.
Also! When I went, there was check-​in offer for tea cookies. GET IT!!! They had cardamom cookies when I was there, and they were so delicate and amazing.