Review: Joffrey’s Tea Traders Café Brings Specialty Teas to Downtown Disney (Soon to be Disney Springs)

July 12, 2015 Denise

Hi everyone!

Joffrey’s Tea Traders Café officially – and quietly – opened last week, a new addition to The Landing at Downtown Disney, soon to be Disney Springs. Just a few weeks earlier, Vivoli Gelato had opened next door – and The BOATHOUSE is across the way. Joffreys Tea Traders Café isn’t hard to find if you are looking for it, but it is easy to miss if you aren’t. The sign “blends” in with the bricks a bit, and palm trees partly block the sign at some angles. But if you love tea as I do (I’m sitting at home with both a cold brewed iced tea and a hot tea next to me right now), then Joffrey’s Tea Traders is a must-do on your next Walt Disney World trip.

The sign tells it all – this Joffrey’s location is all about tea. Joffrey’s has had a very long relationship with the Disney company, and I always thought of Joffrey’s more as a coffee than a tea company. Joffrey’s recently added a line of specialty Disney coffees to its online store. But they take tea very seriously as well.

Joffrey’s Tea Traders Café is in the shadow of The BOATHOUSE restaurant.

We have visited twice so far. On our first visit, the shop was quite busy. The second time, it had just opened and was empty except for us. The photos are from both visits. I really like that there is seating, and there may be a little more counter space with seating added in the coming months. It feels like a neighborhood bar or coffee shop, a comfortable spot to enjoy tea and treats. We spent quite a bit of time talking with COO & Head Roastmaster Chris de Mezzo while there, he is extremely passionate about tea and blending new types of teas. He created the blends for much of what is on the menu. I didn’t photograph while he was making teas for us, because I was enjoying it so much that I didn’t want the camera to interfere. de Mezzo is based out of Tampa, but is often on Walt Disney World property. If you have a chance to be at the Tea Traders when he is there, you will learn so much about tea! There is a Tea Smith several times per day blending tea at the shop.

Our first purchase was the Red Raspberry tea. There are plenty of choices of either cold or hot beverages. Each of these is $3.99.

Several frozen beverages are available: Chai, Matcha and Lemonade. Each is $5.39. We hadn’t ever had matcha before, and sampled it in the frozen form on the first day we visited, and then purchased it when we returned. On a 90 degree day, it is a very nice treat!

Here is the menu, which includes the prices. Not every item is on this menu, but there are small fold-out menus on the counter. For example, there are 9 black teas available in the 50 or so drinks listed on the fold-out menu, but it doesn’t list them on this sign.

Spirited beverages are available for $8.49, both hot and cold. Spiked Chai, Frozen Matcha topped with Bailey’s Irish Cream, and Joffrey’s Whisky Sour are just a few choices.

Tea themed treats are available, all at extremely reasonable prices. A few items rang up a little higher than on the signs, and I expect that they have fixed that now – but the .99 tea-themed tarts and most items here are as priced. Where else can you purchase a small, delicious treat on Walt Disney World property for under $1.00?

These baked goods are from The Bakehouse Orlando, which I found out from their Instagram account. This weekend they were planning to have macarons, so treats can vary. Everything was terrific, especially the Chai Brownie and Chai Spice Marbled Cake.

We didn’t try the Match Berry Mini Tart.

There was also an Earl Grey Apricot Mini Tart.

I purchased the Chai Spice Marbled Cake twice – for research, of course. 🙂 This rang up at $1.99, still very much worth it!

Guests can smell the different types of tea available.

I am not a fan of root beer, but the herbal Root Beer flavor tasted just like the drink (minus the carbonation and too much sweetness). I like the flavor much better as a tea.

This is a look at our plate of treats that we shared. There is nothing that I can’t recommend, and I really like the shortbread cookie that looks like a Joffrey’s tea bag.

I don’t sweeten my teas, so I didn’t investigate sweeteners – but honey is on each place setting. And I really like the setup!

This was our Frozen Matcha sample. On the first day we visited, we were offered quite a few samples. My favorites were the Frozen Matcha and the Masala Chai Tea Latte.