December 31, 2017

Check out the Tranquil Tea Trio at Tranquil Tea Lounge in Fullerton, Orange County, CA

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Fullerton, Orange County, CA’s Tranquil Tea Lounge.

We’d love to learn the story behind Tranquil Tea Lounge.
My brother Jonathan and I created Tranquil Tea Lounge to be an alternative to all the coffeehouses and bars for locals and friends to hang out or celebrate a special event. The ambiance is modern but also feels comfortable and friendly at the same time. It is definitely not the typical high tea or Victorian tea house.

My brother Jonathan and I both grew up drinking tea and developed a passion for it. Jonathan has 10 years experience managing restaurants and I have 10 years of marketing and event experience so we wanted to take this opportunity to combine everything we love while educating the community on the health benefits and origins of tea.

We found a terrific location in Downtown Fullerton and after approaching 17 banks for our SBA loan back in 2008, we finally received funding and opened on June 5, 2009.

Tranquil Tea Lounge recently celebrated its 8 year anniversary.

Successfully running a restaurant is extremely difficult. Tell us about some of the challenges you’ve had to overcome.
My brother and I knew that the demand for tea was on the rise and there was nothing like our concept. The biggest challenge was how to get the funds to make this dream happen. We came from a middle class family so did not have the capital to do this on our own. Additionally, opening a start-up restaurant in 2008 during the financial crisis was quite risky. After traveling to different cities visiting various tea concepts and research on the tea industry, we wrote a detailed business plan. After diligently approaching 17 banks for an SBA loan back in 2008, we finally received funding and celebrated our grand opening on June 5, 2009.

Is there something unique or interesting about Tranquil Tea Lounge that our readers should know about?
Our goal is to share our passion and educate our guests on the different varieties and health benefits of tea. We also teach our guests about the different water temperatures and steeping times needed to prepare each variety of tea. Since we have nearly 100 teas at our tea lounge we have a tea display of clear jars labeled in alphabetical order located at the front of our restaurant for our guests to at their own leisure look at or open the jars of tea to smell.

We let our guests know they have the choice to make their tea iced or hot. When dining in, to help guests navigate through our extensive menu, our knowledgeable servers are always happy to provide our guests with recommendations and ask them questions such as do they have a preference of type of tea such as Black, Green, White or Oolong? Do they prefer something fruity? Something floral? Nutty or more traditional? etc.

If a guest orders hot tea the server will bring an individual tea pot to their table, then ask them if they would like to look at and smell the tea they selected before the server steeps it in the tea pot. After the guest smells and examines the quality of the tea the server will place the loose leaf tea in the tea pot, then pour the appropriate temperature hot water over the loose leaf tea and will let the guest know that they will be back to pour the tea when its done steeping. When an ice tea is ordered it is served in a tall glass with a carafe on the side for a refill.

Most Popular Items

Tranquil Tea Trio

Choice of half sandwich served with choice of mixed greens, caesar salad or soup of the day. Plus, choice of hot or iced tea.
Smoky Sundried Tomato Hummus

Sun dried tomato hummus infused with lapsang souchong black tea served with toasted pita bread.
Dietary: Vegetarian

White Chocolate Lavender Scone

Our pastry chef Betty’s homemade scone with white chocolate and lavenderParking Advice:
Parking in downtown Fullerton is free, there is street parking, a parking structure across the way and a parking lot behind our building on Amerige Ave.