One of the joys of the city of Chicago is that there’s always something new to find. I love to take detours on my way to work, late arrivals be darned, and I’ve found some great places. After my souring experience trying some of Dunkin’ Donuts’ tea selections, I was looking for some other places to combine a love of tea and love of sweets during that precious half hour I have between arriving in Chicago on the commuter train and my arrival at the office.
At the behest of a family member, I decided to meander once again outside my normal route to work and check out The Doughnut Vault, one of the many doughnut shops scattered throughout downtown Chicago. I could give you my thoughts about all of the shops I’ve encountered, but that’s for another blog. This particular Doughnut Vault is hidden away inside a building across from one of the major train stations, and I almost missed it the first time I walked past.
My fiance and I went into the Vault for, what else, a doughnut, and I discovered that not only do they sell doughnuts (and very good ones, I might add) and specialty coffee drinks, but also teas curated by Rare Tea Cellars, a tea wholesaler known locally as a place to find some interesting flavors. They are a proud supplier of the teas at suburban favorite Madame Zuzu’s Tea House, as well as many hotels and restaurants in the city. Their specialties are rare and unique teas, so I was surprised to find some of them served alongside gourmet doughnuts.
Maybe I was unimpressed by DD’s tea selections because they didn’t pair well with their namesake pastry, although I’m doubtful. The pistachio doughnut I devoured in the vault was wonderful with the lightly-roasted oolong I had with it. I will agree with many that coffee is the superior doughnut co-star, but this was excellent. A big ol’ bag of oolong in a cup of hot water, and I am a happy man.
I do wish that better methods of making tea in cafes was prevalent, as I received a cup of hot water with a bag of leaves, but that’s just the way it is. I was fortunate enough that I wasn’t in a huge hurry, or I’d resort to my usual option of carrying around a second, empty paper cup to stash the tea bag before the tea got too bitter. But having a higher quality leaf sold in a place I wouldn’t normally expect to see it is a huge step in the right direction. This particular shop also serves their coffee with the grounds in the cup, so maybe it’s just their style.
If you’re looking for a quiet place to have a sweet breakfast and a tall hot cup, I highly recommend the Doughnut Vault. Just remember to get there early. When they run out of doughnuts, they close, and you’re out of luck.
What a pleasant surprise to find good tea at a donut shop. Our renowned donut shop, Voodoo donuts literally only sells donuts to go. With lines typically 30 minutes long, I’ve learned to bring my own tea with me. Sounds like a real find for you although donuts and tea, even delicious tea, doesn’t make for a healthy breakfast I’m afraid. Every once in a while it’s fine to go to the dark side however:)
I also just discovered our local pastry shop serves loose leaf tea and offers punch cards on return visits. Pastry and tea? I ‘m there!
I also recently found out that my neighboring pastry shop featured loose leaf tea! They offer their leaves in a pouch which makes it easy to remove at the end of your steeping to get just the right brew! Super excited at this find because it is a great place to just chill with the girlfriends. With the discovery of their added tea selection and punch cards for tea and donut purchases, will be frequenting it more often!
It’s good to hear more places are bringing in loose leaf but yes, the brewing techniques of a cup or pot of hot water self-timed, etc., is so inferior to the way coffee is presented in foodservice.
Definitely. If you didn’t already know to take out your tea bag after a certain steeping time, it would certainly ruin your first tea tasting!