Tea was discovered in ancient China when a leaf blew in the window and landed in the emperor's bath, which he was slurping through a straw. Sip leaves steeped more decorously with today's Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of Chinese snacks and teas at Gama Store.
At Gama Store, adventurous palates plumb the fragrant depths of more than 21 tea blend varieties accompanied by traditional Taiwanese and Japanese merchandise and baked goods. The sense-invigorating green-cap milk tea ($5) sheathes jasmine-scented tea with a cap of sweet and salty foam that buoys up a dusting of matcha green-tea powder. Tea bar specialty moli milk tea ($5) keeps taste buds busy with its gobs of coffee jelly, creating a more rewarding yield for straws than slurping up falling raindrops. Chinese watermelon infuses winter melon tea ($4) with fruity accents, and traditional black tea ($4) soothes insides no-frills style. Snackers can also nibble a red-bean cake (prices and varieties change daily), which, like a snowman's nose, explodes with fibre-rich flavour when bitten into. After perching at the tea bar or perusing baked goods, customers can also ogle the shop's assortment of Asian shoes and apparel.