The Tea Smith

My husband and I had a great experience here. The employees were very nice and helpful, plenty of seating when we arrived at 4:00 on a Thursday. Great price for loose leaf tea, and very large drink sizes (my guess is the «cup» of tea we each ordered was a 24 oz… so a venti Starbucks size). We ordered some loose leaf for home as well.
My only suggestions are that the scones were pretty rough… very hard, and bland. They said they came from Aromas Coffee, which I can’t say I’ve been to. Also would have been nice to have tea in an actual mug, rather than a travel cup when we were planning to stay and chat. Felt like a Starbucks in that way rather than a local tea house

I finally got a chance to try the bubble tea and I really enjoyed it. They had a good selection of flavors — I tried the strawberry. It was cool and refreshing on a hot day. My friend had the mango and was less enamoured but she’d never had it before and didn’t care for the tapioca balls. Still, it was fun to try something new.

Awesome place! I have been coming here off-​and-​on for the past couple years to study when I have some spare cash. The interior is bright and happy, the service excellent and the iced tea amazing! I always order a peach paradise tea, find a spot, and study for a couple hours each time.
SOOO much better than a library, Starbucks or Barnes&Noble. In fact, I’m going to go right now :)

The bubble tea drinks here are awesome. First off, they don’t use the powder, on all the drinks, but instead, your drink actually comes out tasting (and looking) like tea. I’d recommend the lychee bubble tea or honeydew bubble tea with fruit jelly! It’s like a snack and a drink all at the same time. You can also choose to have it iced or blended. They also have an amazing selection of dry tea leaves to brew at home, anything ranging from Chinese, Japanese, English, etc.
Atmosphere is very relaxing, peaceful, and calm — great for studying or chatting with friends. The products they sell here are unique tea sets, tumblers, mugs, and other novelty gifts which are fun to check out when waiting for your drink.
I deducted one star because for being a tea shop, the Thai tea here was disappointing. The first one that was made tasted very watered down — for those who have not had Thai tea, it should taste strong with a little added sweetness from milk or condensed milk. Although it was iced, something just didn’t taste right when I tasted it right after receiving it. I brought it back to the counter and the worker offered to make a new one. Again, the drink was super watered down and lacked a strong flavor. I decided just to get a taro bubble tea, and I enjoyed this much more than the Thai tea. Other than that — good service, bubble teas, and atmosphere.

This is a fun place to come and sample a variety of teas from herbal to rare teas. They also have bubble tea, or boba. The ladies were helpful and knowledgeable in selecting the right tea, and the prices are very reasonable. The iced teas taste delicious on a warm spring day, esp. The ginger peach. They have a fun selection of gifts and mugs.
Nice alternative to coffee shops with free wifi.

Both times I’ve been here I’ve gotten bubble teas that the (very friendly) staff has recommended — they were great. Lavender honeydew… Mmm. My dad even fell in love with bubble tea (the bobas, amirite?). Really cute atmosphere, I’d love to try some of their other teas sometime. Seems like a great study spot. Check ‘em out, it’s a partea in there!

I was extremely pleased to be able to order the bubble tea (bobas). They had many different kinds of tea and although overwhelming, I was very impressed by their selections. I will have to try a different kind every time I go!

So many good teas! I am hooked and want to try them all. I do not live in Omaha so I order from their website. The site is very easy to use and they ship promptly.
My favorites thus far are Coconut Chai (made into a latte), Moroccan Mint, Emerald Sun Green Tea, and Vanilla Bean Rooibos.

This location is pleasant with good tea. The «smithies» are knowledgeable and friendly. I’ve been here three times. The first time, a woman was working alone, she was very helpful and friendly. The second time there were 3 – 4 people working and they seemed more interested in each other than me the customer. The third time, Emma was here alone and was extremely helpful. I overheard helping many other people in a very customer service focused way.
They do tea right, with Zojirushi water boilers, and beautiful stainless steel or aluminum (??) tea tins.
They have a reasonably large selection, and I’d compare their selection, choices, and quality to Lupicia or Teavana. They sell small snacks, and have wonderful appliance, kettles, cups, and accoutrements available to help you enjoy tea.
This is a neat place. You should go here to buy good tea, to have a good cup of tea, or to go talk with friends and drink tea.

I went to the Tea Smith with a friend the other day and was really happy with the tea I ordered. I don’t consume caffeine often, so I love how many choices they have for herbal teas and tisane. I went with the bright berry tisane, which had a nice strong flavor without being overpowering. Perfect for summer… get it iced! My friend got something apricot flavored and it was nice too. Overall I was pleased with the wide selection and pretty reasonable prices for the quality of tea they offer.
I enjoy going to specialty places because I usually get great service by the tea or coffee experts that work there. I was expecting a really knowledgeable worker, but didn’t really get one. He was kind of awkward and didn’t know most of the answers to my questions about their teas. He didn’t really help me pick a tea, but just kept telling me his favorite black and white teas – which wasn’t a help because I had already told him I wasn’t interested in caffeinated teas. He was very slow in getting my order together, and just looked like he needed more training.
The darkest spot in this experience was the absolutely filthy floor! The floor at the front of the shop right by the window is very dusty and dirty. When sitting on the right side of the shop, it is very easy to see under the rolling cart with napkins, etc. Don’t look! It was literally piled with leaves, dust, dirt, and who knows what. This is definitely not something appetizing to look at. And where were the employees in all of this? Sitting behind the counter texting and chatting away. If I were the proprietor, I’d be miffed.
So the two star rating is given for the odd service and the lack of cleanliness inside.

Talk about horrible… how can you serve old boba (tapioca balls)? That’s just not right! The boba was hard as a rock (probably has been sitting out the entire day) and lacked any flavor. I couldn’t even chew or bite into it, if i wanted to. Tea was meh. What makes me mad is that they should’ve told they were out of boba instead of giving me day-​old boba. WRONG MOVE my friend.
I ordered a taro bubble tea to try and satisfy my craving that I had since I left Cali, which was 6 weeks ago. Needless to say, it did not do the job. Service was typical, but the taro bubble tea was NOT! Probably will never have boba in Omaha ever again. This just killed any of my boba cravings for the next few months. I’ll just wait until I go back to Cali to get some.
Thanks for trying though! I probably won’t be back!

I stopped in here recently. I’ve taken a liking to tea and I enjoy the fact that this place is a local business. That said, the customer service at tea smith leaves a lot to be desired.
My partner and I came here after a recommendation from a friend after we tried going to Teavana first (For the love of everything — DO NOT go to Teavana!). We were excited that this place was local and that they had a very large selection of teas.
I have no problem admitting that my partner and I are tea noobies. (Gotta start somewhere right?) Anyway, we walk in and start looking at the selection of teas. At no time did any of the 3 employees there acknowledge us or ask if we needed anything. If I had to guess we were standing there probably about 5 minutes.
We had a few questions but the employees working there were more interested in their social lives than helping customers. We tried one of the samples that they had out and it was AHMAZING! Unfortunately there was no sign indicating what the hell we had just drank and the employees didn’t care about us. So we ultimately left without knowing the name of the delicious tea we drank or spending any money.
I will give the tea smith a second chance and update accordingly.

I discovered the Tea Smith as a Creighton student and with the help of the staff at the Tea Smith became a loose leaf tea fan. I love that they emphasize tea for the true tea lover and don’t just use a bunch of fruity filler to create blends (I’m looking at you Teavana).
The staff has opened my eyes to the subtleties in an estate grown Darjeeling, the grassy delight of Japanese greens, and the floral beauty of white tea. Not to mention, they also keep me supplied with all of the requisite teapots, kettles, and accessories I need to keep this habit going.
I moved to St. Louis after graduating and now live in DC and the Tea Smith’s mail order business keeps me supplied with all of the tea I need. I love this store and recommend it to anyone who is getting into tea or is looking for an alternative to their morning coffee.
Keep being great Tea Smith!

They’ve got over 150 fresh loose leaf teas here! There always seems to be something new to try. The fair trade, organic Moroccan Mint is my fav!

I’ve been here twice. Having had boba tea from all places ‘boba tea’, i have been super super impressed. I’m taiwanese – and boba tea is FROM taiwan. You can see i have some taiwan pride. Anyhow, when I learned that I’d be moving to Nebraska, I was anxious that I would not be able to get my milk tea ‘fix’. To my surprise, I tried the Tea Smith on my husband’s second interview. …and lucky me — it was AWESOME. The boba is perfect texture, and the tea isn’t too sweet.
Today, I walked in thinking perhaps they would have ‘hot’ boba tea. They don’t offer it on the menu, but the ‘tea smith’ behind the counter said she’s made them before – from the actual tea leaves! She used the royal yunan leaves, added some milk and boba and sugar – and tada! It was soooo tasty. Obviously not made from powder, I really enjoyed the authentic flavors produced from the brewing. Again, great texture. woo000ooo for the tea smith!

I first found the Tea Smith while getting my nails done at a nearby shop (the name of that shop eludes me. nail tek?) and popped in quickly to grab some caffeine. In the years that followed it became my go to place for bubble tea when missing hawaii, and also a study spot (although as some have mentioned, the internet may be slower than you are used to).
I have no major complaints for this place. They have a wide and varied amount of loose leaf teas for purchase by weight and all I have tried have been of exceptional quality and taste. The prices aren’t bad for the fact that you can get exactly what you want and the exact amount.
The staff is friendly and nice, they even took me once when they had already closed but had not locked the door yet and I didnt notice and walked right in (whoops). Now that I have moved to Philadelphia, I make sure I visit each time Im back in omaha to stock up on specialty teas, because we lack a tea shop of this caliber in my area.

While there is wifi here, it’s slow. So if you need to watch a lecture while studying or stream something, you might wanna go somewhere else. Other than that I think it’s a great place to hang out or study. The day I was there, there were people studying, a grandmother and grandson, and two people who seemed like they were on a blind date. Only downside is it closes at 8pm. Omaha, for a city with such a ubiquitous college prescence (UNO, Creighton, UNMC etc), there certainly is a lack of late night study spots.
But lets talk about the tea because that’s probably the main reason you’d want to go there. I got a mango bubble tea when I went. It was good… not anything I haven’t had before and not the best but pretty standard. I’d def order it again… but it wasn’t something I think i’d find myself craving. I also noticed (a little too late) that they have oolong tea… which is really exciting to me coming from Hawaii. One of the things I really liked was that the workers bring your drink to you. How’s that for service? Awesome.

I love this place! The original (and now only) location was always closest to where I stayed in Omaha when visiting from Lincoln. The service is always great — the staff is so helpful in discussing the teas and letting me sniff! Now obviously this is no Taiwanese boba house, so I would never order bubble tea here. A refreshing glass of iced tea is great!
Now that I live outside of Nebraska, I just placed my first order online with the Tea Smith. I was in Nebraska twice this year and bought some new teas to try (Carribbean Breeze, Lemon Chiffon Rooibos), but the ones I love most are Not-​So-​Plain Vanilla and Almond Biscotti. I ordered these online plus 3 new flavors to sample, including the South of the Border Chocolate tea. I look forward to experimenting with my iced tea maker since I ordered the tea this weekend and I tracked it to my state today already!!!

Just heard the Legacy location has been shut down. Too bad.
Tried this location the other day, and had my first experience with Bubble Tea. I went in hear to study, and left because the vibe of being the only customer with jazz playing just didn’t suit me particularly well. Oh well, I’m sure others don’t mind.
Now the Bubble Tea. As a first timer, I gotta say this is the weirdest stuff. It was like a tea slushie with tapioca pearls, which I am definitely not a fan of. The concept of chewing «gummy bear-​like things» while I drink just is too strange for me. Some people really love it though.
The selection of loose teas is still wonderful, and the girls working the counter were friendly. I’ll come back for regular tea, but probably not to study for long hours on end.

I moved to Omaha from Chicago, and dearly miss good bubble tea. I ordered a Taro bubble «milk», as they call it, and unfortunately, that’s all it tasted like, was milk. Next time I’ll just ask them to put more taro powder in, I guess. Oh, and more tapioca pearls, because there were so few in my cup!
Although this place is a little pricey, they do have a HUGE selection of teas. They offer free samples and the staff is helpful and friendly. Another downside I noticed was that there wasn’t any music playing in there… which I guess could be a plus for some who like to study in peace and quiet!