I saw online that this little tea spot opened near Costco and had Vietnamese Bánh mi and boba. I went to pick up a friend today from the airport and we stopped by.
First of all this was a really odd and hard to find spot since you have to cross the freeway to get there. Then it's in an industrial building with a lot of construction to the left. The place itself is tiny and hidden away. There are a lot of signs indicating that they're open.
It's very cramped inside with a snack area and an open fridge. There is one long table and a side bar as well as one table on the exterior. For the size they really utilized the space well.
Service was very friendly and she told us we can sample anything. She had a lot of teas and boba on display. She said that the 1st 8 milk teas are freshly brewed but the rest like the taro are powder. I was really excited about her crystal jelly. They're hard to find in El Paso and I was excited to see them offer it here.
We got 2 boba milk teas, Jasmine with crystal jelly and taro with strawberry popping jelly. Both were really good. Creamy with the tannic flavor of the jasmine tea shining thru and not too sweet with the crystal jelly perfectly squishy, it was a really good milk tea boba. My friend said his taro milk tea was really good as well with the strawberry popping jelly adding more sweetness to the drink.
I also got the banh mi with BBQ pork. It was smaller than I expected and the roll isn't even close to being legit even though it was toasted. I think she used a Kaiser roll? I swear I saw the same roll on the German Berlinger Freheit truck's curry sausage roll.
The ingredients were fresh (cilantro and cucumbers). The pickled veggies weren't pickled enough; they were tasteless and just added texture, they didn't have pate and I didn't taste any Maggi sauce, but the pork was on point as well as the bo (butter Mayo).
I guess if you're desperate for banh mi, this could be a stand in, but it's a poor substitute for a real banh mi. It's a good sandwich on its own but I don't think it could be considered a Vietnamese banh mi, when half the ingredients are wrong or missing.
The total for 2 small drinks and 1 small sandwich was $17-ish, which is a pretty good deal these days. I could see a lot of people working around here going to get lunch. It's a bit too out of my way to make it a regular thing. I wish them the best of luck with the weird location.
Tea Cafe'
(915) 500-1789
Inside 6070 building, 6070 Gateway Blvd E STE 101, El Paso, TX 79905
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ya5cMpiddua5scEy6
